Smash Cakes for a First Birthday in Toronto: Size and Timing

What is a smash cake?

A smash cake is a small cake set in front of a one-year-old so they can dig in, usually while someone takes photos. Our design for it is the Smiley Smash Cake: a smile lit up in sunshine yellow, made for joyful first-birthday pictures.

It is made to order in Markham, finished with real dairy fresh cream, and delivered across Toronto and the GTA or picked up from our Markham kitchen. It comes in seven cream flavours, from Vanilla to Black Sesame, and you choose the version, size and flavour on the product page. The Smiley Smash Cake is a pre-order cake, so the earliest date is the day after tomorrow.

Our pick Smiley Smash CakeA smile on sunshine yellow, in three versions from $50.956″ · 8″ · 10″ · serves 6–22From $50.95Keto from +$1.00 Choose size & version

What size smash cake should I order?

Start with the 6-inch, which is the smallest size and serves 6 to 8 normal dessert slices. A baby will only get through a little of it, so the rest can go to a small family.

Prices are pre-order prices at the time of writing, and your cart shows the final price. A slim coffee slice is less than half of a normal slice, and serving counts are a guide only.

There is one decision that matters more than size. If the baby is going to smash the cake, guests will not be eating it, so you have two options:

• Cut the guests' slices before the smash, then put the rest in front of the baby.
• Order a second cake for the table and keep the Smiley for the photos.

If you would like a small cake only for the baby, the 2.75-inch mini cakes cost about $17 to $24 each and come in 0 Sugar Added and Keto versions. They are not a Smiley design.

Which version of the Smiley Smash Cake should I choose?

Choose the Lightly Sweet version if you want a cake lightly sweetened with cane sugar, and one of the other two if the table prefers a cake without it. All three are real dairy fresh cream, and the only difference is how they are sweetened and whether they contain flour.

The 0 Sugar Added and Keto versions are sweetened without cane sugar, and each cake's ingredients are listed on its product page. The eggless option is only available on Lightly Sweet, because the eggless recipe is made with sugar and flour. It is +$5, applies to the cake and cream of the main cake only, and decorations may still contain egg.

When should I order a first-birthday cake, and can it be same-day?

Order as soon as the date is fixed: the earliest pre-order is the day after tomorrow and the furthest is 180 days away. The Smiley is not available for the same day, because only cakes with Express in the name can be made for same-day or next-day.

We take a limited number of cakes each day, and once a date fills it closes. For pickup, there are time slots from 2 to 6 PM Monday to Saturday and 1 to 2 PM on Sunday. Delivery runs every day to core GTA areas, and an evening window of 5:30 to 10:30 PM is available. Next-day and later orders can also choose a 1:30 to 5:00 PM window, which is free in most areas and adds $9.95 or $14.95 in some. Fees are a guide, and your cart shows the final fee.

If the party is one day away, the Express collection lists the cakes that can still be made. For a party cake to sit beside the smash cake, the Joyous Elephant is a little elephant framed in baby blue and white, with fresh blueberries and handcrafted fondant. It starts at $87.95 for 6 inch, $117.95 for 8 inch and $157.95 for 10 inch, and it is also a pre-order cake. For a bigger look at the baby family, see our baby milestone cakes guide.

How do I get good smash cake photos?

Plan the sequence before the cake comes out, because fresh cream is softest at room temperature. Keep the cake in its box in the fridge until you are ready, take it straight to the table, and start the photos soon after. The cake does not need to warm up first, and it should not sit out for more than two hours in total, or one hour on a hot day.

A few small set-up choices make the afternoon easier:

• Put the cake on a tray or board that can be wiped clean, with a cloth under the chair.
• Take the decorations off first if you are worried about small parts, and keep picks, candles and ribbon away from little children.
• Light a candle only for the photo, and take it off before the smash.
• Keep wipes and a spare outfit close by.

Photos on the product page are for reference: each cake is handmade true to the design shown, rather than as an exact replica.

What should I tell you about allergies for a first birthday?

Tell us in the cart note and confirm by phone or email before you order. Our kitchen handles dairy, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts and tree nuts every day, so we cannot guarantee that any cake is free of any allergen.

Our cakes contain real dairy fresh cream. Unless you choose the eggless option on a Lightly Sweet cake, it also contains egg, and the cake base is made with flour except in the flourless Keto version. If your baby has not yet tried dairy, egg or wheat, read the ingredient list and our allergy information before you order. For a first birthday, the birthday cakes page is the place to browse other designs.