Mom Seeking Healthy Alternative to Traditional 1St Yr. Birthday Cake

Hi T., I just saw a great recipe and was planning on making it this weekend. Here it is:

Carrot and Zucchini Birthday Cake
Ingredients:
2C Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
Mix above in a large mixing bowl.

Mix the following together in a second mixing bowl and then add wet mixture to the dry mix
3 eggs (free range) beaten
½ C oil (I used canola, any vegetable oil will do but I wouldn't use olive its too heavy)
½ C unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs ground flaxseed
10 oz crushed pineapple unsweetened (puree this by itself then add to wet mix)

Mix by hand until smooth, do not over mix or use a mixer because it becomes rubbery. Then add the following and stir again until just combined.

2 C shredded carrot
1 C shredded zucchini
1 C chopped nuts (I used almond meal but any nuts should work)

Mixture should be slightly thicker than pancake batter but not too thick and sticky like muffin mix. If it is too thick add a little milk or soy/rice milk until desired consistency is reached. Remember do not over mix.

Pour mixture into 2 greased 9in round pans and bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool fully on wire rack.

Just before serving make frosting.
6oz cream cheese (regular or vegan)
2 Tbs honey (warmed to melt)
2 oz softened butter or Earth Balance margarine
Combine all frosting ingredients and mix with hand blender or hand mixer or a whisk and some really good elbow grease.
Using a rubber spatula spread frosting over cakes and layer cakes and decorate. We like to decorate cakes with some combination of raisins (or other dried fruit) cut into small pieces, O's (warning the O's get soggy quick, but they are still fun), and whole nuts like peanuts, almonds or cashews.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi!

I got these off the web while looking for a cake for our twin girls. I tried the first one and it is pretty good! Like a banana bread muffin type thing. The girls like it too! I'll make pineapple cream cheese frosting too (crushed pineapple and cream cheese in blender). Enjoy!

Healthy First Birthday Cake Recipes - Sugar Free Applesauce and Banana Cake

8oz (2 cups) whole wheat flour
1 tbsp wheat germ
1tsp baking soda
6 medium, ripe bananas - mashed
8 fl oz (1 cup) sugar-free applesauce
2-4 fl oz (1/4 to 1/2 cup) soy milk
(I added 1 tsp cinnamon too)

Preheat the oven to 325 deg F (160 deg C).
In a bowl, combine the flour, wheat germ and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, combine the applesauce with the mashed bananas and milk.
Pour the applesauce mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Pour into a greased pan and bake for around 1 1/2 hours. The cake is ready when a sharp knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Healthy First Birthday Cake Recipes - Sugar Free Carrot Cake

8oz (2 cups) whole wheat flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
pinch salt
10 fl oz (1 1/4 cup) water
6oz (3/4 cup) raisins
6oz (3/4 cup) sultanas
1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
8oz (1 cup) carrot, grated
4 fl oz (1/2 cup) sugar-free applesauce

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F (190 deg C).
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
Pour the water into a small saucepan and add the raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon and sultanas.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins.
Put the grated carrots into a bowl, then pour in the liquid mixture. Then, add the applesauce and stir the mixture thoroughly.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.
Pour the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 45 mins to 1 hour, until a sharp knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

1 mom found this helpful

Sweet potatoe cupcakes with whipped cream frosting. Sweet, moist and fun to eat! My 18 month old gobbles them up!

This is a weight watcher recipe that my whole family loves because it is light but still sweet. 1 box angel food cake mix with 1 can (approx 16 oz) crushed pineapple. mix the 2 ingredients together (do not drain pineapple) and bake according to cake package directions. we do this in a sheet pan instead of the bundt and sometimes put cool whip on top as "frosting" very light and much more healthy. enjoy. Happy Birthday to your son.

We did carrot cake for his first few birthdays which he loved. Our recipe has carrots, pineapple, and you could cut the sugar down. I love cream cheese frosting so we did that, but I liked some of the ideas below of yogurt, or yogurt with rice cereal to thicken it, as a "frosting".

Enjoy!

angel food cake with strawberries! yum!

How about carrot cake? It does have lots of carrots in it! and is yummy too! good luck! and happy birthday to your little one!

Homemade cheesecake or custard with organic dairy products - much better than a grain based, sugary cake!

hi T.,
I don't know how healthy you want to go but my son is allergic to dairy so for birthdays he gets Angel food cake with a little whip cream. I don't give him a lot of sugar so this is a rare treat. You can also do a strawberry short cake with the angel food. Good luck.

Apple Pie or other fruit pie/cake-- You can always make one traditional cake for adults/older kids and then a healthy alternative for your son and other 1 year olds at the party. I'm sure the other moms would appreciate it too!

Try banana bread. Make a few loaves and cut into a cute shape (like duck or something). Frost with cream cheese or leave plain.

My sister made a carrot cake sweetened with applesauce for her daughter's first birthday. By making it herself, she could avoid preservatives and yucky additives. It tasted pretty good and my niece loved it! She even made it in a bunny shaped pan. :-)

I made cupcakes and used apple sauce instead of the oil. Not super healthy, but healthier.

For both my children's first birthday I made banana bread and used yogurt for frosting. They both loved it! I used the Joy of Cooking recipe and used 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour and I cut the sugar in half and I used more banana than they called for (4 bananas?). Then right before it was time for cake I mixed Stoneyfield Banilla yogurt with baby rice cereal or baby oatmeal until it got a bit thicker. Granted it's not the most beautiful looking cake but they loved it and I felt good giving it to them :) Congrats on baby's first b-day, it's so exciting!

I did banana cake with cream-cheese frosting.

for my girlies first, i made carrot cupcakes with carrot puree (got the recipe off deceptively delicious) and topped it with yogurt. for her second, last weekend i did store bought sugar-free angel food cake, with whipped strawberry cream cheese.

Its one day there is nothing wrong w/ serving cake and yummy ice cream they don't even get very much of it in their mouths mostly smeared across the face and hands and high chair. To cut down on the amount of sugar use applesauce.