Birthday Cake Açaí Smoothie by Alex Caspero

The smoothie tastes like a piece of birthday cake! Perfectly fitting for celebrating SAMBAZON’s birthday– a creamy Açaí cake smoothie with a dollop of coconut whipped cream and sprinkles on top.  

How does this smoothie taste like cake? That’s the genius of combining a few plant foods. When blended with bananas, Açaí takes on a creamy, ice-cream-like base with a slight undertone of chocolate. The perfect canvas to add to our cake flavor!  

Next, pitted dates taste a lot like caramel, giving our smoothie more sweetness and cake-like flavor. The same is true with cashew butter. Unlike other nut butter, cashew butter flavor is fairly neutral but provides plenty of creamy, rich taste. Lastly, adding a very small amount of cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract completes the taste of the cake. You’ve got to try it! 

And, of course, no cake recipe is complete without a little frosting. Consider adding a dollop of coconut whipped cream and a few sprinkles for this cake smoothie recipe. This is optional but a fun way to enjoy this birthday cake smoothie.  

As a registered dietitian and a mom, it might surprise you how much I love using sprinkles to get my kids excited about new foods. The power a dash of sprinkles has on a bowl of oatmeal, mashed potatoes, avocado toast, or the like is pretty amazing. A few sprinkles can really create novelty around previously rejected foods. If you have a picky eater in your house, try this trick!  

We’re also big fans of Açaí and especially using SAMBAZON’s packs in a smoothie or smoothie bowl. Açaí berries contain dietary fiber, a small amount of protein, and heart-healthy omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids. Just one of the reasons that I love serving my kids Açaí smoothies regularly. They are a nutrition powerhouse win for this dietitian mom and a delicious treat for my babes.  

Açaí is unique since it is a very versatile fruit; it goes well with almost anything you want to blend in it! For nut allergies, tahini can be substituted. Other nut butter, like peanut butter or almond butter, can also be used, but they will provide a more pronounced flavor than cashew butter.  
 

Tips for Success 

For this creamy birthday cake smoothie, I highly recommend using frozen bananas. To make them blend easier, I usually chop them before adding to the base of the smoothie recipe.  

I keep the total liquid to 1 cup so the smoothie is thick, like a milkshake. Depending on the power of your blender, you may need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides.  

I add a few hemp seeds for extra protein and healthy fats, but you can omit them if you’d like. Lastly, I prefer unsweetened, fortified dairy-free milk for additional calcium and vitamin D.  

Birthday Cake Açaí Smoothie 

Serves 2 

Ingredients 

• 1 SAMBAZON Açaí Blend Packets, Original Blend 
• 1 banana, frozen and cut into chunks 
• 1 cup of milk of choice 
• 3 tablespoons cashew butter 
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract 
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds 
• Coconut whip, for topping, optional 
• Sprinkles for topping, optional 
   

1. Place the Açaí packet, banana, milk, cashew butter, cinnamon, vanilla, almond, and hemp seeds into a blender. Puree until very creamy and smooth.  

1. Pour into two glasses, top with coconut whip, and sprinkles if desired.