Blueberry Smash Cake (First Birthday Cake)

sliced blueberry birthday cake on colored plates.

5 from 106 votes

Blueberry Smash Cake (First Birthday Cake)

This naturally sweetened birthday cake is delicious and easy to make ahead of time. Plan ahead to let 4 bananas ripen to have brown spots to ensure that the cake has plenty of natural sweetness.

Prep Time15

Cook Time22

Total Time32

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: -10 (or one smash cake)

Calories: 405kcal

Author: Amy Palanjian

Equipment

Ingredients

Blueberry Cake

4 medium bananas (very ripe with lots of brown spots is best for flavor)
1¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (or plain whole milk yogurt)
1 cup blueberries

Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup freeze-dried blueberries
12 ounces cream cheese (softened at room temperature; I prefer full fat)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extra

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 6-inch cake pans with nonstick spray and line with rounds of parchment paper. Grease again with nonstick spray.
Add the bananas to a blender. Blend into a puree. Measure out 1 1/2 cups.
Add to a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Stir together gently.
Divide in half and pour into prepared cake pans. (You’ll use about 1 1/2 cup batter in each.)
Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cake comes out cleanly.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool completely in the pan.
Make the Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting. Add the freeze-dried blueberries to a blender or clean spice grinder. Grind into a powder. Measure out 1/4 cup of the powder and add to a medium bowl. Add the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract. Beat until very smooth with a handheld electric mixer.
When ready to frost, place one cake, parchment paper removed, on a cardboard cake round or plate. Top with 1/3 cup of the frosting. Remove the parchment paper from the second cake and place on top of the frosting. Add the rest of the frosting on top and spread over the top and around the sides.
Sprinkle on additional freeze-dried or fresh blueberries if desired.

Notes

Dairy-free: Use melted coconut oil instead of the butter in the cake. For the frosting, use plain or vanilla nondairy Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese and omit the butter. (If using vanilla nondairy yogurt, omit the vanilla extract.)
Gluten-free: Use cup-for-cup gluten-free flour instead of whole wheat.
You can also use freeze-dried strawberries instead of blueberries to make a pink cake.
To make this as a larger two-layer 8-inch cake, follow the same steps but bake for 18-20 minutes.
Sweeten frosting to taste, if desired, with 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey.
You can make the cakes a day ahead. Let cool and store in the fridge in airtight containers.

Nutrition