Healthy 1St Birthday Cake?

I can't help you with the sugar, but can suggest that if you want to use a box of cake mix...replace the oil with and equal amount of applesauce. I've done this several times and find the cake to be just as moist. If you want it a bit more moist just add a tiny bit more applesauce then what the box calls for oil. Good luck and have fun at the birthday party - if you get stressed out at any time during the day, just remember back to what you were doing a year ago and how tired you were then. :-)

1 mom found this helpful

I have heard of using apple juice to flavor carrot cake instead of sugar, although sugar is actually better for you than Splenda and other sweeteners. Xylitol is safe and works well for baking but it IS expensive.
I have made carrot cake with apple juice and whole wheat flour and it turned out pretty well. Try www.allrecipes.com for exact recipes.
Happy birthday to your little one!

1 mom found this helpful

I actually ordered a cake for a co-op. It is an all natural food place and it was really good. They do have sugar, but no hydrogenated oils...no corn syrup. There are no artifical food colorings either. They do sell lower sugar cakes, but they don't have the funky sugar substitues in them.

While I'm sure you will get plenty of suggestions for reduced sugar cakes - I think you seem to be worrying a lot about a pretty short one time thing. I'd be surprised if your one year old even EATS much cake. Most kids I've seen get it everywhere (making for cute pics) but get very little in their mouths! For instance, we had to convince my son he was supposed to eat the cake since it looked SO different from the healthy regular food he was used to.

Even if she does eat a lot - it is ONE day - a very special day - and she and you deserves a treat to celebrate!

I would not worry about the sugar too much.. Your daughter will have more on her then intake.. I would maybe make, or buy just a little one for just her, so she can dig into it, and play. She will have a great time.

This is a yummy cake that you can even cut back the small amount of sugar in half and use splenda if you choose...Then top with a sugar free icing you can buy at the store and walla yummo....

Fragrant and Healthy Carrot Cake
Submitted by: K.
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 3 members Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 25 Minutes
Yields: 9 servings

"This carrot cake uses very little sugar and is very fragrant and sweet from molasses and dried figs that I use as a substitute for sugar. Citrus fruit and spices give it very fresh taste. It is a very moist and tasty cake."
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon carob powder (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 orange, juiced and zested
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1/2 cup raisins
5 dried figs, chopped
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 cups grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, cake flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, carob, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the molasses, oil, eggs and orange juice. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened, then stir in the orange zest, lemon zest, raisins, figs, poppy seeds, carrots and pecans until evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan.

There is also this recipe for a sugar free applesauce cake....Also yummy!!!

Sugarless Applesauce Cake
Submitted by: K.
Rated: 4 out of 5 by 21 members Yields: 12 servings

"A good cake for diabetics."
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar twin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat the eggs until light and add sugar twin. Add applesauce and vanilla.
4. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Fold in raisins.
5. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Hi J., I use unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil when I make cake. You can't tell the difference! Use cool whip for the frosting. It has a lot less fat than regular frosting and kids still love it. If you want to be really good use the lite version. Good luck!

My daughter has not had more than one bite (if that) of either of her birthday cakes, I have some great pictures of a lamb cake and a dora cake. sorry I just cant support making a low sugar cake(i dont know of any recipes off the top of my head), but most likely it will end up all over her face.
Ok maybe an angel food cake with strawberries???

Hi J. - my litte one turns one the first week of June, so I just recently asked the same question. Here were my responses if it helps: http://www.mamasource.com/request/5988426245438701569

Hi J.,

I felt the same way with our twin's first birhtday. I would suggest a carrot cake, banana-withOUT-nut cake, or angel food cake as good alternatives. My sister is a type 1 diabetic, so growing up we had angel food cake at all of our birthdays.

We ended up having a "regular" Baby Einstein cake for the boys because of long drama I won't bore you with. What ended up happening, is that the boys ate about 2 bites and just pounded in the rest. It still got on their face and on the clothes, but almost none of it got in their mouths (I was watching like a hawk!).

Regardless of what you choose, try to not stress about it. It'll probably turn out better than you think!

Hi J.. I made a wheat-free,dairy-free cake with dairy free frosting for my twin's first birthday.
My oldest daughter, Gavyn picked the cake up, took one taste and tossed it away from her. :)
I actually thought it tasted pretty good (considering). They both hated it.
But, it did get them a little messy and we got the traditional "cake photo" for their first.
I bought the cake mix from Campbell's on 100th in Urbandale.
Also, you may want to google and see if you can find a cake made with avocaodos. That's what a friend of mine did.

Good luck. :)
H.

Just wanted to say... I felt the same when my first baby was turning one and almost had a fit when grandma declared she was making the cake, lots of frosting, etc. However, my daughter just played in it and turned the paper plate over on it, making the cake like the stuffing in her plate taco... So, what I'm getting at, is that your daughter might not even eat any of it. I hear that's pretty common. The best idea I've heard since then is decorating the cake with things baby would recognize and like, such as Cheerios, Nilla wafers, you get the idea. (I guess I'm assuming baby will have her own private cake, guests will have one of their own.) At any rate, whatever you chose will be the right decision, and enjoy the day!!!!!! :-)

My little girls both had a banana for their 1st cake...despite what previous advice has said, any amount of sugar at that age is very detrimental to their immune system.
We simply cut a chunk of banana fo it would 'stand up' and we put a candle in the center. After 'mom or sister' blows the candle out, and they get to mush the banana up and make a mess of themselves - however, you don't have to worry about the 'sugar effect'. It's a banana!

:)
C.

I had the exact same worries but just decided to relax and go with a regular cake from Costco. Glad I did since the cake ends up more a play thing for a 1 year old! My son barely ate any. And the few bites he got did not damage him! But since everyone seems to love Costco cakes, the guests were all happy.