If you’re thinking about making a Cookie Monster smash cake for your baby’s first birthday I have great news for you! It’s easy to make at home if you have the right supplies and a little patience. This was my first time using a grass piping tip and attempting a Cookie Monster themed smash cake, so I’m certain you can do it too! You can have a fun little smash cake photo session or use a smash cake as part of your party entertainment as the grand finale.
You might also want to check out this recipe and make a few Cookie Monster cupcakes for the rest of your party guests to enjoy. At the end of this page, you’ll find a full printable recipe sheet with ingredients.
Check out this free printable baby’s 1st birthday checklist for more party ideas!
- Ingredients
- 2 cups Butter
- 8.5 cups Powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1.5 cups Flour
- 1.75 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- Blue food coloring
- Black food coloring
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Oreo cookies
- White candy chocolate melts
- Black candy chocolate melts
- Materials
- Bowls
- Spoons
- Piping bags
- Grass piping tip
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
- 5 inch round cake pans x2
- Cake spatula
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Cake board
How to make a Cookie Monster smash cake
Bake cake
Preheat oven to 350 (175 celsius). You can use a box of cake mix or make your own recipe at home.
Cream together 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup unsalted butter. Add in two eggs, and mix in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Add milk and stir until the cake batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into two greased cake pans. You could also line the bottom of your cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides; I find this helps the cake to ‘release’ more easily. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool your cake completely then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. If you’d prefer not to work with frozen cake you can put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it nice and cold, but not frozen.
Trim cake
Make sure you trim the top of the cakes so they are flat and level. Trim the outer ring of the cakes so the size of each cake layer is the same (so it’s not lop-sided). An uneven cake is much harder to frost later.
Make frosting
I doubled my recipe for vanilla buttercream by using two cups of butter to make sure I wouldn’t run out. Make your vanilla buttercream frosting with 2 cups of butter and about 7 cups of icing sugar, 2 tsp of vanilla and 4 tsp of cream or milk. Blend it in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer until it’s fully mixed and no sugar crystals remain.
Add in blue food coloring and blend it again to make sure the color is well mixed. Scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of frosting into a separate bowl and add black food coloring.
How to make Cookie Monster cake eyes
Melt white candy chocolate melts (or white chocolate chips) using a microwave on low power or a double boiler on your stove. Lay out some parchment paper. Use forks to dip your oreo cookies and cover them in melted white chocolate then tap off any excess chocolate for a smoother finish.
While the white chocolate is still sticky, lay your covered oreos on parchment paper and add a black candy melt on top. Put the black candy melt near the edge of the cookie, not directly in the center to help make the ‘googly eyes’ of the Cookie Monster cake.
If your black candy melts look dusty, put a dot of vegetable oil on your fingers and rub it so it looks shiny.
Frost cake
Put an even layer of frosting between your cake layers. Then add a thin layer of blue buttercream frosting to the outside of your cake as a crumb coat. This will help lock in any crumbling bits of your cake edges from making your final product look messy. Once your crumb coat is on, cool your cake in the fridge for 10 minutes to make the next step easier.
Use piping tip #233, a grass tip, to give your Cookie Monster smash cake a shaggy look. Fill your piping bag ½ full with blue icing. If your bag is too full it can be hard to get the right amount of pressure to use this piping tip correctly.
Start at the bottom layer of your cake working your way around the whole thing to put layers of shaggy frosting on your Cookie Monster cake. Squeeze, gently press into the cake, continue squeezing, then pull away gently to create the fur. Stop squeezing and pull away from the cake. The longer you pull away from the cake, the longer the blue frosting fur will be. Take breaks if your hands get sore during this step. Work your way slowly up the side of the cake.
Make your Cookie Monster smash cake mouth
On the top of the cake, take your black frosting and use a butter knife to spread it into the shape of a big, happy Cookie Monster mouth. It doesn’t have to be perfect, the blue frosting fur will cover up the edges.
Outline the mouth with a layer of blue frosting fur and your grass piping tip. Pull the frosting towards the center of the mouth, not away from it. Work your way out from the mouth to the edges of the cake with more blue frosting fur.
Decorate your Cookie Monster smash cake
I was able to push a cookie into the black frosting ‘mouth’ of my Cookie Monster cake. You may want to use a small paring knife instead to create a slit for the cookie to rest in your cake’s mouth.
To cover the gap in the cake, I added more black frosting to make it look smooth again (like the cookie is disappearing into the Cookie Monster’s mouth). Then I added some crumbled chocolate chip cookies to make it look even better.
Add your chocolate-covered oreo cookie eyes to the top of your Cookie Monster smash cake. They shouldn’t look in the same direction; Cookie Monster has fun, crazy eyes.
Cookie Monster smash cake tips
- If you can’t get your grass tip to work, take it off and poke through the holes with a toothpick to make sure they are clear.
- If your piping bag is breaking or you can’t get enough pressure to make your grass tip work properly, your frosting might be too thick or too cold. Try letting it sit on your counter longer or it will warm with your hands as you work with it.
- To thin out your frosting if it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of cream at a time. If you accidentally add too much liquid just add more powdered sugar.
- Do a test with your food coloring brand to ensure it washes off your skin with gentle soap and water. You don’t want to stain your baby’s skin. I used Wilton Food Coloring and although it did dye my hands, it washed off easily after a soak in warm water.
- Do not put a lit candle or sparkler near your baby for their first birthday; they may reach for it and be burned.
- Take away the cake after you’ve got a few great photos. A bit of sugar on this special day is totally fine for most kids, but you don’t want to let them consume the entire cake.
- Have a second outfit handy and a plan for how you’d like to clean your baby after their cake-smash session.
Other common smash cake questions
How many layers are in a smash cake?
Having two layers can be an excellent idea in order to give the cake some height. If your round pans are too large for a nice small smash cake, consider using circle cutters or even circular tupperware as a guide to cut a larger cake down to size.
What type of cake is best for a smash cake?
A light, airy cake, like a white sponge cake, is a good choice for a smash cake. You don’t want it to be too heavy or your child won’t be able to tear into it easily. Vanilla-flavored cake is best for a smash cake since it’s a mild flavor most babies like. Chocolate cake can look much dirtier in cake smash photoshoots.
Smash cake or presents first?
You will likely want to do presents before the smash cake. If you have a special cake smash outfit or party clothes for your baby, they will definitely get messy during the cake smash. Save the smash cake for the end of the party.
Final Cookie Monster Smash Cake Thoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Cookie Monster smash cake tutorial! Congratulations on surviving your first year of parenthood. You’re doing great!
Save this recipe to your Pinterest for later, or send it to a friend who’s planning their baby’s 1st birthday. It’s such a fun cake for a Cookie Monster party or Sesame Street themed birthday.
Cookie Monster Smash Cake
Equipment
- bowls
- spoons
- piping bags
- Grass piping tip
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
- 2 5 inch round cake pans
- Cake spatula
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- cake board
Ingredients
- 2 cups Butter
- 8.5 cups Powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1.5 cups Flour
- 1.75 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- Blue food coloring
- Black food coloring
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Oreo cookies
- White candy chocolate melts
- Black candy chocolate melts
Instructions
Bake cake
- Preheat oven to 350 (175 celsius). You can use a box of cake mix or make your own recipe at home.
- Cream together 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup unsalted butter. Add in two eggs, and mix in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Add milk and stir until the cake batter is smooth.
- Pour the batter into two greased cake pans. You could also line the bottom of your cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides; I find this helps the cake to ‘release’ more easily. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool your cake completely then wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. If you’d prefer not to work with frozen cake you can put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it nice and cold, but not frozen.
Trim cake
- Make sure you trim the top of the cakes so they are flat and level. Trim the outer ring of the cakes so the size of each cake layer is the same (so it’s not lop-sided). An uneven cake is much harder to frost later.
Make frosting
- I doubled my recipe for vanilla buttercream by using two cups of butter to make sure I wouldn’t run out. Make your vanilla buttercream frosting with 2 cups of butter and about 7 cups of icing sugar, 2 tsp of vanilla and 4 tsp of cream or milk. Blend it in a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer until it’s fully mixed and no sugar crystals remain.
- Add in blue food coloring and blend it again to make sure the color is well mixed. Scoop out 3-4 tablespoons of frosting into a separate bowl and add black food coloring.
How to make Cookie Monster cake eyes
- Melt white candy chocolate melts (or white chocolate chips) using a microwave on low power or a double boiler on your stove. Lay out some parchment paper. Use forks to dip your oreo cookies and cover them in melted white chocolate then tap off any excess chocolate for a smoother finish.
- While the white chocolate is still sticky, lay your covered oreos on parchment paper and add a black candy melt on top. Put the black candy melt near the edge of the cookie, not directly in the center to help make the ‘googly eyes’ of the Cookie Monster cake.
- If your black candy melts look dusty, put a dot of vegetable oil on your fingers and rub it so it looks shiny.
Frost cake
- Put an even layer of frosting between your cake layers. Then add a thin layer of blue buttercream frosting to the outside of your cake as a crumb coat. This will help lock in any crumbling bits of your cake edges from making your final product look messy. Once your crumb coat is on, cool your cake in the fridge for 10 minutes to make the next step easier.
- Use piping tip #233, a grass tip, to give your Cookie Monster smash cake a shaggy look. Fill your piping bag ½ full with blue icing. If your bag is too full it can be hard to get the right amount of pressure to use this piping tip correctly.
- Start at the bottom layer of your cake working your way around the whole thing to put layers of shaggy frosting on your Cookie Monster cake. Squeeze, gently press into the cake, continue squeezing, then pull away gently to create the fur. Stop squeezing and pull away from the cake. The longer you pull away from the cake, the longer the blue frosting fur will be. Take breaks if your hands get sore during this step. Work your way slowly up the side of the cake.
Make your Cookie Monster smash cake mouth
- On the top of the cake, take your black frosting and use a butter knife to spread it into the shape of a big, happy Cookie Monster mouth. It doesn’t have to be perfect, the blue frosting fur will cover up the edges.
- Outline the mouth with a layer of blue frosting fur and your grass piping tip. Pull the frosting towards the center of the mouth, not away from it. Work your way out from the mouth to the edges of the cake with more blue frosting fur.
Decorate your Cookie Monster smash cake
- Add your chocolate-covered oreo cookie eyes to the top of your Cookie Monster smash cake. They shouldn’t look in the same direction; Cookie Monster has fun, crazy eyes.
- I was able to push a cookie into the black frosting ‘mouth’ of my Cookie Monster cake. You may want to use a small paring knife instead to create a slit for the cookie to rest in your cake’s mouth.
- To cover the gap in the cake, I added more black frosting to make it look smooth again (like the cookie is disappearing into the Cookie Monster’s mouth). Then I added some crumbled chocolate chip cookies to make it look even better.
