A cake smash session is a fun, messy, and memorable way to celebrate your little one’s first birthday.
But choosing the right cake is just as important as picking the perfect outfit or backdrop! The wrong cake can be too tough to smash, too slippery to handle, or even stain little hands and faces. To make sure you get the absolute most from your cake smash photo shoot, here’s everything you need to know when selecting the perfect cake.
Why the Right Cake Matters for a Cake Smash
Your baby’s first reaction to the cake will set the tone for the whole session. If it’s too hard, too sticky, or just not baby-friendly, they might be unsure about diving in. We’re already putting them in a kind of unfamiliar position so we don’t want any extra barriers to them having a good time in the way.
The perfect cake is:
Soft and smashable – easy for little hands to grab and squish
Baby-friendly in size and design – it doesn’t need to be massive – 6-8″ is fine! Generally, I sit babies behind it for the action and so if it’s really wide, they can struggle to get close to it.
Best Cake Types for a Cake Smash
The texture of the cake makes all the difference. You want something soft, fluffy, and easy to break apart. The best type of cake to use is your classic sponge cake (but steer away from chocolate as it can look like poo in the finished pictures). Buttercream icing works better than fondant icing as it is soft, squishy and creamy for the maximum messy experience. It’s worth staying away from fruitcake or super dense cake as it’s too tough for little hands to play with and multi tiered cakes can end up dwarfing your baby in the pictures and pull focus from the true star of the show.
Top Tip!
Bring a Change of Clothes for yourself to your cake smash photo shoot if you’re planning on going out anywhere after your session. It is a truth universally acknowledged that no one loves a cuddle more than an icing covered baby. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll escaped un-sugared!
Buttercream vs. Fondant – Which is Best?
Buttercream is the clear winner! It’s perfect because it’s easy to grab, it smears beautifully for supremely messy photos and it doesn’t require a lot of effort to break through. Fondant can provide a challenge to get through for little hands and it lacks the mess factor which is part of the fun after all!
You don’t Need to have it Professionally Made
When cake smashes started, a lot of it was about how elaborate the cake was and, given that time is limited when you’re raising a nearly one year old, there’s not always a lot of time for baking. So many people felt they needed to get one professionally made. Now, I’m definitely not against this but I’d hate you to think that this is your only option. Although the cake is going to be centre stage for at least some of your photo shoot, it really doesn’t need to be super fancy to look great in your finished images. Home made is also fabulous and also there are an increasing range of supermarket cakes that do the job just wonderfully. There are also a large range of premade cake decorations online that you can use to tie a basic iced cake into your theme.
Fancy a look at my top ten recommendations for a supermarket cake – check out this article!
Top Tip!
If you don’t want your baby to have sugar, then you can use whipped cream as an alternative frosting. Don’t fancy the white look – you can colour it with fruit like blueberries or raspberries!
Cake Size & Shape Tips
Size matters! A 6-8 inch round cake is ideal – big enough to smash but not too large to be overwhelming. Single tiers offer your baby the easiest access and round or slightly domed cakes work well – if you’re looking for something a bit different to a standard round cake, the giant cupcake can work really well. I do have cake stands that you can borrow for your photo shoot in a variety of styles but I’d definitely only recommend using them if you want maximum destruction as it’s almost guaranteed that your cake will end up on the floor at some point!
Candles & Toppers
Candles and toppers can be a fun addition to your cake smash but they’re not essential. They generally come with quite baby-unfriendly spiky bits too so they don’t tend to stay in for the whole shoot so if you don’t have anything you want to use, then don’t feel obliged to get anything specially.
Best Cake Colours for a Cake Smash
The cake is the centrepiece of the session, so its colour is important! You’ll already have selected a backdrop colour when you come to visit so it is worth choosing something that complements your choice with soft pastels and neutrals really going with anything and photographing beautifully. If you like a classic, then you can’t go wrong with white or cream on either a fully iced or semi naked cake. Really strong colours can stain a bit but if you like it bright and bold, then I find sanitiser will get any leftover colour off of skin but probably steer clear of red icing as the finished result can look like a horror movie.
Top Tip!
Not all babies want to dive straight into a cake so, if you want to get them digging in there, bring along some of their favourite snacks and we will poke them in the back of the cake. They’re more likely to reach for something that’s familiar to them and that they know they enjoy and you won’t be able to tell the difference in the photos.
Decorations & Fillings – What to Avoid
Your cake should be safe, simple, and baby-friendly. Simple buttercream swirls always look great and if your baby is a big fan of fruit, including their favourite as a topping can really encourage them to dig in! You can’t go wrong with those tiny sprinkle dots (though I warn you now, you will be finding them everywhere for days!) but try to avoid anything that could be a choking hazard such as nuts or those larger decorative pearls. Lots of cakes have a large centrepiece such as a rainbow or a mermaid tail and, while these can look amazing if they chime with your theme, they are probably going to be your baby’s focus as they are enticingly easy to grab and can distract them from really getting stuck into the cake. Usually I say to start with them in so we get themed photos and then take them off so they don’t provide a distraction through all of your session.
Allergy-Friendly Options
Many parents are mindful of allergies and dietary restrictions which is one of the reasons that I don’t provide a cake at your session – you know best what will agree with your baby. The Cake Box chain offer egg-free cakes and they have branches everywhere, plus their icing is super squish-able (and tasty). Banana based cakes can be a natural low sugar alternative and I’m reliably informed that a standard hack for creating vegan cakes is a a cake mix and lemonade. I’ve never
One really important factor is, whatever cake you choose, is to relax and let the fun happen naturally. You don’t need to worry if your baby doesn’t immediately dive in and start causing total cake devastation – most babies take a little while to warm up to the idea and in some cases, they really won’t go for it at all. The good news is that you don’t need a lot of destruction to get great first birthday pictures – it’s fun when it happens but as long as your little one is happy and engaged with the experience, the photos will always give you fun photos to look back on. There’s no right or wrong way!
The perfect cake smash cake is fun, soft, and baby-friendly. Whether your little one smashes it enthusiastically or just dips a tiny finger in, the session will capture memories you’ll treasure forever.
Planning a cake smash session? I’d love to help! Get in touch to chat about how we can make your little one’s milestone extra special.
Ultimate First Birthday Photo Guide
Make your first birthday photos unforgettable! Discover how to prepare, outfit tips, cake selection hints, and info on what to expect at your cake smash and / or tub splash photo session with my article series…
First Birthday Photo Shoots in East Grinstead
Celebrate your baby’s first birthday with a session designed to suit you! Choose the Mini First Birthday Shoot for a simple and sweet session featuring your little one in one outfit against a single backdrop, complete your favourite image for just £45. For an all-inclusive experience, opt for the Full First Birthday Shoot, where we’ll capture your baby’s cake smash, a fun tub splash, and even family or sibling moments, all with three digital images included for £95. Let’s make their first birthday unforgettable—book your session today!
