Make // Homemade Smash Cake

So there I was, planning Skylar's sky-themed first birthday party practically last minute—like, less than a week before his actual birthday. And naturally, the bakeries I normally love were completely booked. What’s a mom to do? DIY, of course! I really wanted those adorable smash cake photos, so along with making the main party cake, I knew I had to whip up a smash cake too. Turns out, it’s not as hard as it seems!

I’m definitely not a pro when it comes to cake decorating, and I even bought fondant only to return it because it freaked me out. But hey, the vision in my head turned out pretty close to what I imagined for this sky-themed smash cake. This is the second post in our birthday series this week, by the way! Check out the images below—I promise they speak a thousand words about how this turned out.

As most smash cakes tend to get more smashed than eaten, I kept things simple with a boxed cake mix. One box of cake batter, one tub of white frosting, and a few drops of blue food coloring later, I had myself a baby-blue canvas ready to go. You can use mini cake pans or even Corningware dishes of similar size, following the instructions on the box to bake them. Once the cakes were baked, cooled, and their domed tops sliced off with a sharp knife for flat surfaces, I initially planned a three-tiered cake. But after arranging everything, it looked a little too tall, so I settled on two tiers instead.

Stacking the layers together, I added a bit of frosting in between for stability. Then, I just slathered the frosting over the top. Some people prefer to start with a "crumb coat," which is a thin layer of frosting to catch any crumbs before adding the final thick layer. But honestly, at the end of the day, it’s all going to get messy anyway, so I skipped straight to the fun part! With leftover cake batter, my kids and I made some cupcakes to enjoy later. For the finishing touches on this sky cake, I got creative. Using sugar paper, I cut out cloud shapes—it was super easy and added such a cute touch. Since we had a cotton candy machine for the party, I also used blue cotton candy as a topper. It looked magical until I removed it during the photos because Skylar isn’t a fan of cotton candy (oops!).

It was such a blast making this cake and throwing the party! Watching Skylar turn into a one-year-old right under my nose still feels surreal. If you missed the first post in our birthday series this week, check out Confetti Popcorn + Free Popcorn Box Printable. Happy baking, everyone!

Until next time, stay sweet!

Love,

[Your Name]

Citric Acid

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