This 1st Birthday Cake recipe has 2 tiers, 6-inch diameter layers of delicious banana bread cake with a cream cheese frosting – all naturally-sweetened of course 🙂 Top with all-natural sprinkles for the cutest 1st Birthday cake ever! (gluten-free option)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

1st Birthday Cake

1st Birthday Cake

Hi Everyone, I’m excited this share this tasty and adorable 1st Birthday Cake with you!

I developed the recipe for my son’s 1st Birthday this Autumn.

The warm flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup in this banana bread cake lend themselves well to the Fall season but taste great year-round.

I love that it’s naturally sweet because I did not want to have any added refined sugar to the recipe.

I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour but you can make it with the same amount all-purpose or cake flour.

I used all naturally colored rainbow sprinkles which I found on Amazon.com.

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I love this cake because it is SO moist!

I used India Tree Nature’s Colors Carnival Sprinkles (6 Ounce) and purchased them from Amazon.com.

Ingredients for 1st Birthday Cake

Banana Bread Cake Batter

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour, or the same amount all-purpose flour or cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, preferably Saigon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs large, I used farm fresh eggs
3 mashed medium ripe bananas
3/4 cup maple syrup (In place of the maple syrup and honey you can sub 1 cup granulated white sugar)
1/4 cup wildflower honey

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese regular (1 block)
2 tablespoons maple syrup, regular

Kitchen Tools

2, 6-inch cake pans

parchment paper
pencil (for tracing the pans)
large mixing bowls
baking spatula
offset spatula
handheld electric mixer
measuring spoons and cups
wooden spoon

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Our Other Recipes

If you like this 1st Birthday Cake recipe, be sure to check out our other cake and dessert recipes.

If you make this 1st Birthday Cake recipe, please let me know in the comments below, thank you for reading and following along!

This recipe post was originally published on 11/10/2018 and updated and republished on 5/7/2021

1st Birthday Cake

Name: 1st Birthday Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese (regular, 1 block), *This is enough to cover the cake in a thin layer, if you want extra frosting, you can double the amount of frosting if you want to lay it on thick you can double the frosting recipe; 2 tablespoons maple syrup, regular; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, organic preferred; 1/4 cup India Tree Nature's Colors Carnival Sprinkles, or amount to taste; 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour, or the same amount all-purpose flour or cake flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, preferably aluminum free; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, preferably Saigon cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 2 eggs, large, I used farm fresh eggs; 3/4 cup maple syrup, In place of the maple syrup and honey you can sub 1 cup granulated white sugar; 1/4 cup wildflower honey; 3 mashed medium ripe bananas; 1/2 cup Canola oil

Yield: 12 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This 1st Birthday Cake recipe has 2 tiers, 6-inch diameter layers of delicious banana bread cake with a cream cheese frosting – all naturally-sweetened of course. Top with all-natural sprinkles for the cutest 1st Birthday cake ever! (makes 12 slices, gluten-free option)

Ingredients

Banana Bread Cake Batter

2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour, or the same amount all-purpose flour or cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, preferably aluminum free
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, preferably Saigon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, large, I used farm fresh eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup, In place of the maple syrup and honey you can sub 1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup wildflower honey
3 mashed medium ripe bananas
1/2 cup Canola oil

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese (regular, 1 block), *This is enough to cover the cake in a thin layer, if you want extra frosting, you can double the amount of frosting if you want to lay it on thick you can double the frosting recipe
2 tablespoons maple syrup, regular
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, organic preferred
1/4 cup India Tree Nature's Colors Carnival Sprinkles, or amount to taste

Instructions

Banana Bread Cake Batter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease both cake pans, and set aside. Add 2 rounds of parchment to the bottom of the cake pans to help it come out of the pan better.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
You can mash the bananas by hand using a large fork or potato masher. I prefer to use a blender (or a food processor would work too) to get the bananas pureed. This should only take a few moments on the puree or liquefy setting of your blender.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, pureed banana, sugar, and oil. Add the eggs to the flour mixture and stir until combined. It's okay if it's a little lumpy. Spread the batter into the cake pans, and divided evenly.
Bake for 22 minutes to 27 minutes in the 350-degree oven. You can check if it's done by inserting a knife or toothpick into the center and it should come out clean if it's done. When it's done, let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. You can use a bread knife to cut the rounded tops off the cake layers so that the layers are level. Make sure the layers are completely cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In a mixing bowl, add the 8-ounce block of room-temperature regular cream cheese, vanilla, and maple syrup. Using a handheld electric mixer, mix the ingredients until the mixture is combined.

Assemble the Cake

Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting in a thin, even layer on top of the first layer and then add the 2nd cake layer. Add more frosting to the top and sides. Spread the frosting in an even layer until completely covered. Sprinkle the sprinkles all over the cake. Serve right away or chill (covered) in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Notes

You will need 2 round cake pans (6 inches diameter x 2 inches high)
In place of the maple syrup and honey, you can sub 1 cup granulated white sugar
This recipe is developed from, "Vegan Banana Bread."

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 717Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 388mgCarbohydrates: 107gFiber: 2gSugar: 60gProtein: 12g

Please note that the Calculated Nutrition is an estimate at best.

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Sara Maniez

Owner at Life's Little Sweets

Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community.

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Comments

Anne says

July 20, 2019 at 1:36 pm

In step 4, you say to put in oil. Do you mean honey? There’s no oil in the ingredients list.

- Karen says
  
  April 2, 2021 at 1:20 pm
  
  Great question! What did you do?
  
  - Sara Maniez says
    
    April 2, 2021 at 2:10 pm
    
    Thank you for catching this! I have corrected the recipe ingredient list.

1st Birthday Cake

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