My baby girl Sophie just turned one and I made her this healthy baby smash cake. I can’t believe a whole year already flew by! To celebrate, I wanted to make her a cake that was wholesome, but also delicious. This cake was like eating banana bread in cake form. It turned out super tasty, moist, and flavorful!

This healthy smash cake doesn’t have any added sugars and is naturally sweetened by the ripe bananas and dates. It was plenty sweet and tasted so good, especially paired with the coconut whip frosting. Baby Sophie enjoyed it and so did everyone else.

I am no cake making professional so this cake was really easy to make. You just mix the dry ingredients together and add all the wet ingredients into the blender. Then you combine the two and bake! I used three 6-inch cake pans to make this into a three layer cake. If you are using a different size cake pan, make sure you adjust the baking time accordingly. It will be done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Because this cake doesn’t have eggs and is sweetened with dates and bananas, it is a little denser than traditional cake. I made the layers the day before to ensure that it had time to cool completely before frosting. If making it ahead of time, wrap the layers in plastic/cling wrap a few times (to make sure it stays moist) and place it in the fridge. This makes it easier to level off the tops and prevent crumbs from getting everywhere when you frost it. However, if you don’t want to level the tops off, you can just store it in room temperature.

I used a coconut whip frosting because we love coconut whip in our house. It’s so delicious and tastes great with any cake. I used vegan greek style yogurt as the frosting for between the layers because it helped the layers stick/stay in place better than coconut whip. Coconut whip is a bit more slippery compared to yogurt, so the yogurt worked really well. You can also sweeten the yogurt a little bit with a touch of pure maple syrup if you want.

I would recommend frosting the cake not too long before serving. As the cake sits in the fridge with the frosting for awhile, I noticed the coconut whip getting a little discolored. Since the cake is cold, leaving it out for 20-30 minutes in room temperature before serving is best. I actually like to microwave leftover slices for a few seconds to warm it up.

This healthy smash cake was a hit and I would definitely make it for myself to eat when I crave a healthy dessert. I would even eat it for breakfast because it is so nourishing! Nevertheless, I’m a huge banana bread fan and this banana smash cake is delicious! Tag me @nutsaboutgreens on Instagram if you make it and leave a comment below!

Ingredients

3 cups flour (I did half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp sea salt
4 super ripe bananas
7 medjool dates, pitted and soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 Tbsp water)

coconut whip

2 cans coconut cream, refrigerated for at least 24 hours
2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar, or to taste (optional)

optional

1 cup thick vegan greek yogurt (use regular if not vegan)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease very well three 6-inch cake pans. You can also line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper if you are worried the cakes will stick.
In your high speed blender, make the flax eggs by adding the ground flaxseed and water. Swirl it around to mix it and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
In large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
In the blender with the flax eggs, add the bananas, drained dates, milk, vinegar, and vanilla. Blend until completely smooth.
Pour blended mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the melted coconut oil. Stir with a spatula until combined. Don’t over mix the batter!
Divide the batter into the three 6-inch pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans (at least 1 hour), then run a knife around the edges to loosen it up. Flip the pans and carefully remove the cake. Place layers on a cooling rack to completely cool.
Use a serrated knife to level the tops right before you plan to assemble. If you are frosting it the next day, double wrap the layers in plastic wrap tightly and store in the fridge. Right before you want to assemble, take the layers out of the fridge. Then level off the tops (save to scraps to snack on!) and frost. When frosting the cake, I found that using greek yogurt in between the layers helps the layers stick better because coconut whip is a little more slippery. It’s totally optional though and you can try using coconut whip in between layers. It’s just a little more slippery.
To make the coconut whip, scoop out the coconut cream into the bowl of your stand up mixer. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add the maple syrup and vanilla (and powdered sugar if using). Beat again until combined. If you don’t use the powdered sugar, I would add a 1 tsp of tapioca starch to help thicken it. I wouldn’t frost the cake too far in advance because the frosting will change color a little bit in the fridge after you frost the cake.
Let the cake sit out in room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving. Store cake in the fridge.

Servings: 8

Author: valeria.chao

Healthy Baby Smash Cake (vegan, no sugar added)