Pinkalicious First Birthday: Smashing The Cake

Every baby must have a smash cake at their first birthday party right? Well, I thought so. I pondered giving Eden a healthy version of a cake cause you all know I'm kind of crazy and well, I was struggling with the idea of just introducing an entire sugar filled cake just because my child turned one. So, I looked for recipes and came to the conclusion that to make one that was dairy/wheat/orange veggie free was nearly impossible. Yes, I could have figured something out, but at that point I was overwhelmed with party details and just knew I had to let this one slide. So, I made a cake. Out of a box. The frosting? From a can. Tinted with pink food coloring. Not my proudest moment, but sometimes as parents we just have to do what works and I am proud to rock that mantra for today. 

 

So, here's the thing. I actually thought Eden would dig in face first into her smash cake. I mean, this girl is not afraid of a little dirt. Or so I thought. I think my idea of "dirt" is a little different than most. Maybe I should have considered the fact that as soon as she is done eating she holds her hands up until we take her to the sink and wash them. Either way, this girl did not even think the cake was a good idea. In fact, she downright threw a fit in the middle of her party crying, "mama! mama! mama!" and holding on so tight with her cute little fingers wrapped firmly around my neck. I'll admit, while it was disappointing to not have a baby covered in pink frosting, I wouldn't trade the feeling of having my daughter need me. Made me feel loved. I have no pictures of her sitting in front of her smash cake, bawling her big eyes out, but I did decide to do a "take two" at home with just the two of us. 

This is actually the same cake from her party, I just saved it and brought it home. I added sprinkles to the top (as I had intended to do the first time around) that helped to cover up some of the imperfections that occurred when she hit the cake at her party. 

Also, just a hint. I knew I wanted to get all of these great shots of Eden enjoying her cake at her party. This was super important to me (this was before I found out that she would have nothing to do with the cake). So, I taped up a large white plastic rectangular tablecloth (bought at a local party supply store). I made sure to tape it high enough that it would serve as a background, but also left enough on the ground so that all of the mess would be contained and we could just toss the tablecloth when she was done. This was especially important since we were in a business that was also serving customers at the time. Just a hint for those of you wanting to get some great shots of your little one! 

Aren't you in love with the ombre pink insides of the cake? I was so excited to reveal it at her party and then extra disappointed when she never even made a dent in her cake to reveal all the work I had put into the INSIDE of the cake. So, of course I had to cut into it the next day to show all of you what was hiding on the inside. It turned out even better than I had imagined and I was so happy with it. All I did was put a little pink food coloring (this is crucial, don't use the red dye, it just won't work. I found some pink coloring by Wilton's at WalMart and it was so worth it) into the cake mix until it was the perfect shade of light pink. I then poured the batter into my small 6 in. cake pan (found at WalMart as well in the craft section). Then I would add a bit more into the batter until I had a medium shade of pink that I was happy with, and then baked that in the 6 in. pan. I think you can guess what happens next. Yep, I added some more until it was hot pink and baked that. The frosting was a similar process, just added a little bit of pink coloring until it was a very light shade of pink. Super easy and yet definitely an attention grabber. *Thanks to my handsome hubsters for helping get the frosting absolutely PERFECT!*

Here are some shots of our little pot-bellied girl getting her cake on. As you can see, she still wasn't that into it. 

Right after I snapped that last photo she promptly picked up her foot and stomped on the cake. I think that was her way of staying, "get rid of this darn thing!" I listened...and then Josh and I totally dug into the center (where her baby feet hadn't smashed into) and ate it right up. Quite the load of sugar. 

If you missed the first post where I revealed photos from her party check here. 

Also a quick thank you to all of you who have commented on her party! I have definitely done my share of picking the party apart until I feel like it was a terrible event because that's just what I do, but you all have reminded me that it was fun! I know Eden will enjoy looking back at the photos of her party and won't know about all of the little details that didn't go perfectly. What actually turns out "perfect" anyway?