Getting ready for my daughter's 1st birthday and would like to make a healthy cake. I tried this for my first two children and it was an epic fail. The cake didn't look or taste good. At least they weren't eating a cake full of sugar and frosting I guess, but it just didn't look/taste that great. I, of course, had another cake for the rest of the people at the party. However, I'd like to make something for my daughter that my other kids might want to eat as well. I'm just not having luck finding anything on the internet. Was hoping to get some advice for some of you! Thanks in advance for your help!
My thought process is that it's only 1 day...My kids all loved tasting/eating cake for the first time...Yes, it's full of sugar but they only eat a piece?
It is one day, you are giving her one slice. I would let this be a treat.
Otherwise a banana bread, carrot cake, Zucchini bread.. Make them into muffins, once they are iced they will look like cupcakes.
Just buy a birthday cake with all the sugar and frosting....stop fretting about it...it only comes once a year. You're suppossed to get treats on your birthday anyway. Forget the "healthy" for one day.
If you want to have a cake that others want to eat -get or make a normal birthday cake! It's a birthday for God's sake! There's probably nothing on the internet because having a "healthy" birthday cake is depressing and no one wants it. Your kids don't have to eat sugar every day, but a birthday is once a year. Don't be like these moms (there are two of them) in our playgroups and neighborhoods who started declining birthday invites because they didn't want their kids to think they got cupcakes every weekend. They had "healthy" birthday cakes too that everyone hated and everyone rolls their eyes about them. It's called childhood. Teach the difference in treats and special occasions and every day healthy eating. Sorry to get on a soapbox, but this is a pet peeve of mine. Balance!
I have been to numerous kid birthday parties over the years, and trust me, if other kids see the other cake you have that is not intended for your daughter, assuming that it's a traditional cake with sugar and frosting, they are going to want that one. I'd go with making a more traditional cake "healthier" by using more egg whites than eggs, half white/wheat flour, and frosting that doesn't have preservatives (you can even buy a frosting mix at Trader Joe's that is quite good)... stuff like that. I am a healthy-minded person/eater and I buy healthy foods for my kids, but honestly, on their birthdays I let it go and let them eat cake. It is their special day and it's only one day, especially their first birthday. The pics you get of the 1-year old stuffing his/her face with cake for the first time are priceless, and it only happens once. Whatever you decide, hope it works out for you.
Homemade muffins (healthy recipe of your choice: sub out applesauce for oil, etc), with a dusting of powdered sugar or a thin layer of frosting?
Let the poor child have a normal cake. Birthdays are only once a year for a reason!
What about a fruit pizza, or something along those lines?
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake?! It's delicious... Not sure how "healthy" it is, but just a thought.
One year olds don't even know they are having a birthday - there is no need to have a cake that she will eat. It would be perfectly fine to just provide food for the adults (and any older kids). We did not do a birthday party for my son until he was 4 - the first time he was even interested.
I recommend Crostata (link below), you can fill it with a natural jam home made by boiling pretty much every fruit down to a creamy consistence (add sugar) and...voilà, you have a very basic yet tasty birthday treat for kids and grown up. You could also fill the base (pasta frolla) with simple custard (just grate lemon zest in it while it boils down) and top with fresh fruit arranged in a cute pattern instead of the traditional strings of pasta frolla dough..
I've done a carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting. For the frosting I mixed equal parts of cream cheese, butter, and real maple syrup. Then added just a bit of vanilla.
angel food cake isn't quite so full of fat. Sugar? Eh well I think they make a sugar-free cake, but I'd rather give my kiddo sugar before all those artificial sweeteners. For my neices 1st bday mom made her an angel food cake with some pretty powdered-sugar-frosting drizzled on top for color. Making a fruit compote/sauce would be super-yummy too. Imagine tart and sweet plum sauce!
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healt...
I haven't tried these, but they look interesting.
Your baby will only turn one once and it is a party, so a little sugar won't hurt! THat being said, why don't you check out a natural food store and buy a cake mix from there. There is still no nutritional value but atleast you won't be exposing your child to all the additives and junk in regular mixes.
Another yummy idea is to check out the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Her recipe for yellow cake where you add canned pumkin is SO yummy!
What about making a fruit pie? We made blueberry pie for one of our kids' first birthday's and he (and everyone else) loved it. I reduced the sugar in the recipe by half (the berries were already so sweet) and it was plenty sweet. I decorated it by writing his name in blueberries on the top crust and I was delighted with the results.
If you buy a mix from a place like Whole Foods, you can avoid a lot of the preservatives. A friend of mine makes cakes using applesauce instead of oil, and egg whites instead of eggs. She makes them in a tube pan, and just frosts the top very lightly but not the sides. So everyone gets a little frosting but not a ton. If you make a butter-cream frosting from real butter and not processed margarine or store-made frostings, it shouldn't be too bad. I'm not sure, as I'm not a fabulous baker, but couldn't you use stevia natural sweetener instead of all that confectioners sugar? Or use half and half stevia/sugar, and just make a small amount to frost the top? Stick a big candle in it or put a couple of fun toys (beyond choking size) on top for decoration.
Another alternative is cupcakes - make the mini-size as she's only 1.
Try healthy versions of carrot cakes or zucchini bread and make in the mini-muffin size, then frost with a little cream cheese??
Good luck!
