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Stand Out Cake Smash Cakes

Posted on 21 Jun, 2021 by Sarah Hart

Tonbridge Cake Maker

I’ve written this blog to provide you with some inspiration for cake smash cakes when booking a session at Sarah Hart Photography, Tonbridge. I’m extremely lucky to have a wonderful local cake designer who creates most of my cake smash cakes. Over the years, Denise from Cakes Unlimited UK, has made untold number of cakes of many different designs. Denise has over 20 years experience in cake making and sugarcraft. Not only are her cakes beautiful to look at (almost too lovely to smash!), but they are incredibly tasty too. I’ve put together a small taste of some of Denise’s wonderful cake designs for you to admire and help in choosing your little one’s cake for their cake smash.

Most popular cake smash cakes

For the vast majority of my cake smash photography sessions, a large giant cupcake works perfectly for a simple cake smash set up. You choose the colours you’d like for your baby’s first birthday cake smash photoshoot and then we can match the cupcake colours to this set up. The base of the giant cupcake is made of Candy Buttons which come in a variety of colours, melt easily and sets similar to chocolate. The toppings of the giant cupcake are generally created from buttercream swirls, again in a choice of your colour. My preference is for a paler colour icing than the base, purely because, less food colouring is needed in the icing and the babies don’t end up cover in bright blue/green/red etc!

Themed Cake Smash Cakes

Sometimes, due to the nature of the cake smash set up when a themed cake smash has been chosen, a different cake design better suits the session than a giant cupcake. I chat with Denise about the theme and colours that are being used in the set up and together, we come up with a design that will work well with for the photo shoot. Below you can see some examples of Denise’s wonderful creations.

The bluebell cake was designed for a little girl with a May birthday. Denise hand painted bluebells on to the cake as she was worried that small sugarcraft bluebells might be a choking hazard to a 1 year old (safety is a big consideration at my photoshoots!). Similarly, Densie also painted leaves on a simple round cake for a a Wild One themed smash topped with a golden fondant crown. One of my favourite cake designs was of the Hungry Caterpillar – you can see more of this cake smash here: Hungry Caterpillar Cake Smash. And for a little girl who’s name Swara, mean “music”, Denise made a bright and colour drum cake! More themed cake smash ideas can be seen here: First Birthday Cake Smash Fun.

Disney themed cakes

Over the years, I’ve had several requests for a Disney themed cake smash. These cakes often suit more brightly coloured, bolder designs. Plus, as long as the design isn’t too intricate, they can be kept to the usual cake smash cakes budget included in my session fee. Denise last year created a fabulous Moana themed cake. With beautiful blue and green swirl icing, you can see more of this themed cake smash including the set up here: Moana Cake Smash. In addition, she’s also made a wonderful sunset cake for a little boy’s Lion King Cake Smash. And another favourite was her Under The Sea cake which she created corals and a gorgeous Nemo from fondant icing!

Simple Cake Designs

Despite Denise’s obvious ability to creative, sometimes simplicity is required for a cake smash! An ombre swirl cake in a colour of your choice can look the part. Or instead, perhaps a naked cake for a very elegant and simple cake smash design. Whatever the brief, Denise can create something that will look the part in your set up. The naked cakes work well if you ae conscious of not giving your little one too much sugar! However, I will just add that usually, very little of the cake is consumed at a cake smash! A few strawberries, some flowers or little cake topper all look lovely on a naked cake. If you have a little one with an allergy, Denise can also cater for them. The little boy below had a beautiful dairy-free cake made with butter free icing due to a dairy intolerance.

Hopefully this blog has provided you with some inspiration for your little one’s cake smash! If you have an idea for a cake smash or would like to find out more about my sessions. Just drop me a line: sarah@sarahhartphotography.com

Looking forward to helping your little one celebrate their first birthday!

Sarah x

Sarah Hart Photography is a Tonbridge Cake Smash Photographer. With a beautiful studio housing many cake smash backdrops and small props, she can create a unique set up. She regularly serves clients from Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and London. In addition to cake smash photography, Sarah also offers newborn photography and family portraiture.

Tags: baby cake smash • cake • cake smash • cake smash photography • kent cake smash • maidstone cake smash • sevenoaks cake smash • tonbridge cake smash • tunbridge wells cake smash