First Birthdays · Cake Trends · 2019 Archive
Cake Smashing: Cute Milestone Or Cake Crime?
Archive note: This opinion piece was written in 2019, when cake-smash photoshoots were gaining visibility in our feed. The trend comments below describe that period. The linked Pastel Swirl Number Cake is still an active current product, but the argument is preserved as a 2019 rant rather than a statement about today's market.
People were buying cakes specifically to obliterate them for the gram. Because nothing says “happy first birthday” quite like wasting a perfectly good cake while a baby looks mildly confused under a cloud of buttercream.
A smash cake is a small cake made for a baby, usually on their first birthday, to prod, grab, smear and destroy during a photoshoot. It can make cute pictures. It can also be wasteful, sticky and a tiny bit absurd.
Cake Is For Eating
I understand why parents like the pictures. Babies are adorable. Cake is adorable. Messy babies with cake are undeniably funny. I simply object to sacrificing an entire cake when a slice can achieve exactly the same buttercream-on-cheeks result.
My 2019 compromise was: give the baby a slice, take the photographs, then let everybody else eat the birthday cake like civilisation intended.
A Better First-Birthday Cake
Our current Pastel Swirl Number Cake makes the age part of the design and is intended to be eaten, which already puts it ahead in my very biased ranking system. You can also browse our current number cakes and birthday cakes.
So, Was Cake Smashing The Dumbest Cake Trend Ever?
My answer in 2019 was: possibly. The photographs can be cute, but a beautifully made cake contains ingredients, time and skill. Watching the whole thing get flattened for content still feels like a tiny buttercream tragedy.
Love,
Reshmi xoxo
Earlier in the archive: Fault Line Cake Recipe and Tutorial
Later in the archive: Birthday Cake Trends 2020
I really thought the whole world did smash cakes for 1st birthdays since the beginning of time. It makes perfect sense in my head because nobody wants to eat from a cake that a baby has touched with their hands, mouths, etc. Giving them a piece of a store bought cake is wasting money as far as I’m concerned. I would never allow a 1 year old to waste money. There are free smash cake places where it is included with the purchase of a larger cake so essentially they are wasting it but it is not costing a dime for them to waste it.
I really thought the whole world did smash cakes for 1st birthdays since the beginning of time. It makes perfect sense in my head because nobody wants to eat from a cake that a baby has touched with their hands, mouths, etc. Giving them a piece of a store bought cake is wasting money as far as I’m concerned. I would never allow a 1 year old to waste money. There are free smash cake places where it is included with the purchase of a larger cake so essentially they are wasting it but it is not costing a dime for them to waste it.
Yes it’s stupid. When you can just cut a big piece of their cake and let them mess in it. Why pay someone the prices they’re charging for this little trend. STUPID.
The biggest thing is “method”. I can understand giving a baby a cake on their birthday and “watch what happens” and “OMG I caught a candid photo how adorable” but it’s now gotten to a point where parents are booking studio photo sessions for the purpose of having their baby get messy with a cake. That to me screams “do it for the gram” and I’m not on board with staging a cake smash.
I’m looking at all of these comments and oh my gods in heaven the amount of negativity is shocking it’s a one year olds birthday and everybody’s talking about how much of a waste of a “good cake” it’s one cake, just one frigging cake, not a ten tier wedding cake and the babies are having the time of there life enjoying the new taste feeling the different textures from the butter cream and the sponginess on his or her fingers. Young Children learn by touching exploring food like this. They learn to feed themselves like this. And yes it can be very messy. But it baby’s first birthday and that’s how their family have decided to do his or her cake. But it’s far from disgusting. Nothing that a few wet wipes can not cure. If you are wicked enough to feel this way about an infant a one year old then you should be sterilised and stay away from children because that is an awful thing to say about somebody’s child you should be damn right ashamed of you’re selves!!! Yes people throw parties for their one year old it’s a celebration you damn right it is. And they have asked there nearest and dearest to come and celebrate there child’s first birthday it’s a milestone and also too celebrate the parents first anniversary of being parents and doing a great job as far as I’m concerned. I seriously can’t believe the amount of people who say cake smash is disgusting honestly if parents wish to do this because it’s somthing they have done for there children then let them do this without all the BS negativity. Mind your business
Does the baby ever actually eat this entire little cake? No, it’s more likely that the majority of the smash cake ends up in the trash. Which is why this trend is wasteful, overindulgent (of the parents, not the sweet baby) and just plain gross. What’s wrong with giving the baby a piece of the main cake to smash up and enjoy? That’s what we did and it was enough. Sheesh!
You definitely sound like a joy to be around. Boo hoo people’s kids are smashing cake. Who cares. Uptight as can be. I would never buy a cake from someone so ignorant.
I agree! My family NEVER did this. On top of it being wasteful to a perfectly good cake, since when is it okay to teach our kids we play with our food and smear it all over our bodies??? Lol that’s so gross!!! AND on top of THAT, if it’s the baby’s 1st birthday, they are likely surrounded by tons of family and friends and dressed in their birthday outfit – why are we going to destroy the outfit and then have to leave our guests to now go hose this baby down. I never understood the trend of letting kids be messy and play with their food!!!
nice post
For me it feeds into the whole culture of turning one’s children into cute commodities. I wonder how much these things are for the children… or the parents need to show off their cute lifestyle. I’d take natural pictures in the park over this any day.