How to Prepare Baby for a Cake Smash
Can you believe it? It’s time for your baby’s one year session! You made it through this first year and now it’s time to celebrate this beautiful milestone. Many of my clients are nervous on how to prepare baby for a cake smash. While cake is a personal choice and totally up to my clients, it is a really fun way to celebrate. The pictures can be SO cute whether they are diving into the cake, touching it tentatively, or using a wood spoon to hit it. I also give my clients the choice to use other foods besides cake.
Do what baby loves most if you aren’t into cake. Babies can do a cake smash, watermelon smash, taco smash, pizza smash, fruit smash, or really any favorite food their baby loves! However, if you want baby to enjoy the cake part, I have some tips for you to make sure they do. Don’t be stressed on how to prepare baby for a cake smash. With these tips, this part of your session will be a piece of cake! 
How to Prepare Baby for a Cake Smash
Try It Out
This tip is the most important tip of all. Let your baby try the icing/cake before you come for your session. Let your baby TOUCH the icing and cake. They can try a cupcake. The sugar will be a huge surprise for them if you don’t. Usually by the second or third try, they will love or tolerate it. However, if it’s a surprise then I can almost guarantee that they will hate it. Unless they are second or third babies have already had intros to sugar which so many have then they may tolerate it more. I have seen so many babies not enjoy this part because they have never touched or tasted cake! Don’t forget to let them make a mess and try messy foods like yogurt and mashed potatoes.
The Icing
I highly recommend buttercream icing or whipped cream icing. Babies don’t like fondant. It’s ok to put a few items on the cake in fondant but they will not enjoy a whole cake in fondant. It also presents a choking hazard. Here are some other choking hazards – gum balls, giant sprinkles, candy, etc.
The Design
- Choose a cake’s colors by the colors of the backdrop. I’m happy to pass along the inspiration photo so your baker has an idea of the exact colors I use. I do recommend avoiding brown and black. Those colors really cover the baby’s face and the colors just don’t look good.
- 6 inches is my favorite size and fits on my cake stands perfectly. I can also make 5 inches work. 7 inches is a little harder and usually doesn’t fit a cake stand but we can use the floor (with the cake plate under it). 8 inches is too big as it can cover the baby. 4 inches can be too small.
- 2 Layers is perfect. You can go with three but keep in mind that the taller the cake, the more it may cover up baby! If it’s taller then that’s fine, we will just use a shorter cake stand.
- Ask the baker for a white cake plate. Most of the time, gold doesn’t match the set or the cake. Also ask the baker for a cake plate that is just bigger than the cake. The cake plates that are for 8 inch cakes won’t fit on the typical cake stand for a six inch cake.
It’s the little details that will help prepare your baby for their cake smash and have a beautiful cake to compliment your images!
Check out my portfolio for ideas of cakes that work well. You can also see a super fun cake smash right here.
