Healthy/Simple Options for First Birthday Cake

I use a weight watchers receipe for muffins-which you could use for cupcakes. Take a box of chocolate cake mix and one can of pumpkin. (the small one) Mix together-it is a very thick mixture, bake at 325 for 24 minutes. The muffins are great! My 19 month old gets one occasionally, and loves them. You could use fat free cool whip with some gerber gummies if you wanted to spice it up! Good luck :)

For my older daughter's first birthday, we (OK, my Mom) made a carrot cake from scratch. She used whole wheat flour, applesauce, shredded carrots, raisins, etc. and banana cream frosting, which was just mushed bananas and cream cheese. It was great, and my dd didn't get sick at all.
For her second birthday we just had watermelon at one party and strawberry shortcake at another (made by my aunt, who made real whipped cream and used fresh berries, not nasty syrupy ones). When she turned 3 we also served strawberry shortcake.
For my second daughter's first birthday in January we served low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt with all kinds of sprinkles and let the kids make their own sundae. If you want the recipe for the carrot cake, email me and I will dig it up.
Kudos to you for caring enough about your kid to stay away from sugar loaded garbage!

Try: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
They have awesome recipes for babies and for first time birthday cakes too. You can also try Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook she has a recipe for cake with pumpkin in it.

A.

The tradition in our family is an angel food cake with real whipped cream and fresh berries. This is what my son had and he LOVED it. There is also a recipe out there for a sugar-free carrot cake that is made with pineapple juice concentrate...here is my "tweaked" version of it. Sorry, I don't remember the website I got it from.

Sugar Free Carrot Cake
Flour Mixture:
2 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
CARROT MIXTURE:
2 c. grated carrots
1 c. crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 c. crushed nuts (You could also substitute old-fashioned oats)
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1-1 1/2 c. coconut
EGG MIXTURE:
3 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/2 can frozen 100% pineapple juice concentrate (orange, apple or white grape would also be good)
Add the carrot mixture to the egg mixture, then add the flour mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-60 min in tube pan, springform or Bundt cake pan. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Sugar-free frosting
1 cup milk
8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 small box instant sugar-free pudding mix (vanilla, white chocolate, or cheesecake flavor)

Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. (Note: This is just for spreading, either as a filling or on top of the cake...it won't hold up to piping.)

You might try applesauce instead of sugar.I have eaten cake with it substituted but never made one. It is very good.

When mine turned one, I made a really small cake and iced it and put candles on it. I sat it on her high chair in front of her, lit the candles and sang to her and then helped her blow them out. I then stood back and let her do as she pleased. She played in it and made a HUGE mess. Afterwards, we stuck her in the bathtub to wash her off.
The point is..... she really didn't get any of the cake (sugar) in her. At that age, they just wanted to stick their hands in it and squeeze it and throw it on the floor. I bet she didn't have 2 bites. She wasn't use to having sugar therefore to taste all the sugar made her make a face as if it were bad.
So sometimes worrying about trying to be healthy, really does matter. They just want to tear it up... not eat it.

Hi R.. Kudos to you for keeping your baby's health in mind as you plan for this exciting day! Other than a "healthy" muffin, I don't have many ideas for a cake alternative. But I do have an ice-cream alternative: a good smoothie or protein shake. The sugars from the fruit are natural, and depending on how you make it, you can avoid dairy all together. Also, to help curb the shock, make sure she (and anyone else) eats a meal with protin and fat in it before you serve the sweets. They will slow down the insulin response. If you do end up using table sugar, use the most natural kind you can find. Generally the darker in color it is, the more natural it is. And regardless of what the marketers say, sugar substitutes are much worse for the body than the real thing, even if the "real" thing is highly processed (white). Good luck and happy birthday to your little cutie!

Why have a cake at all? Why not just have something healthy that would still be a treat for her?

i have a friend who made her dd's 1st birthday cake with breastmilk. they're vegan so dunno what the rest of the cake was made with, but i can assure you it wasn't refined sugar!
it was a gorgeous mini of the adult cake, which was white cake of some sort, whipped nondairy cream (NOT breastmilk, lol) icing, topped with fresh berries.

do NOT give your dd sugar substitutes!!!! they are neurotoxins and really really bad for developing brains. not to mention bad for adult brains, but super bad for kids. i think the one website is something like "aspartame toxicity center" and there is another one for splenda. hoo, bad stuff.

i like kari's idea and also the LLL book has great recipes. you can do a search for "1st birthday cake" or "healthy 1st birthday cake" or just search around. you'll find something.

congrats on your LO's birtday!

P.

Hi R.. I will be 100% honest with you my little one did not eat any type of sweets or candy until he was over 2 years old. I still don't give him any unless it's a special ocasion or holiday: Birthday, Eastr etc....
So i do understand. Unless your little one has some type of health issues. Ex: Diabetic
I wouldn't worry about it. However if you must make her a sugar-free cake use sugar substitutes for the actual cake and use sugar-free whip cream for the icing.

I hope this has helped.
G.

I know this sounds odd, but for my daughters 1st bday her cake was actually a meatloaf "iced" with mashed potatoes with steamed carrots blended in to make it pink. It looked like a cake basically but no sugar at all but you .can still have the full mess.

Carrot cake! Made with baby food, pretty healthy, and very tasty!! And it's definitely NOT bland :) Also, make them into cupcakes, and if it makes you feel better use splenda instead of sugar, so far haven't heard anything bad about splenda, so go for it!

Hi R.,

First birthdays are so exciting. I usually make a large birthday cake for the family to eat in celebration for the baby and a special little cake made just for the birthday baby! The :BABYCAKE: is free with the purchase of a 1/4 sheet or three layer round! Call me two days ahead and I will have it ready and delivered right to your door, FREE delivery (IN THE LOCAL AREA). If you would like to see a photo of the :BABYCAKE: E-MAIL ____@____.com
ROCKET'Z EXPRESS DELIVERY BAKERY, APEX, NC ###-###-####

Give her a cupcake. It is the perfect size and will have a lot less sugar. You can make a separate cake for the other guests or you can make a cake out of cupcakes put together and iced (they can easily be pulled apart to serve.). Good luck.

Hi R.,
My daughter just turned one and I was concerned about the same thing. I have never given her anything sugary, so I was worried about shocking her system or creating a sugar monster! I ended up making carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I went easy on the icing for her cupcake. And after she had a few little bits of it, I began to slowing (unknown to her) taking pieces of it away. She probably got about 1/2 of the cupcake. By the time all the grandparents left, it was time for bed. I was worried that the sugar would make it hard for her to sleep. But as soon as she finished her bottle and laid in bed, she was out. I've heard you could make the carrot cake with applesauce, although I just made the recipie I found from joyofbaking.com. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Check out Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious".
I have a child that will not eat fruit or vegs. She has yummy, healty recipes in her book. I have not tried any of the cake recipes, but have some others and have loved everyone. More importantly, so have my kids!
Hope this helps.

Hey R.,

I am the same way about not getting my son a "real" cake because of the sugar. My son turns one on April 20th. I am going to make an angel food cake, and put whipped cream on it (maybe mixed with some strawberry yogurt). Then on top, I'm gonna add berries; probably strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I know that my son isn't allergic to any of these, so if you do this, just beware of allergies and use something else if necessary.

P.S. - If you have the book, What To Expect the First Year, there are recipes for babies first birthday cake in it that are healthier.

My son didn't have his teeth yet, and more importantly, we didn't want to give him anything with processed sugar in it for his birthday...So, I made a banana cream pie that was sweetened with a small amount of sucanat and the bananas were ripe enough that they sweetened it enough,anyway. He loved it! By the way, we are vegetarians, so I made the pie from a tofu based recipe, and it was just wonderful.
If you really want to make a cake, though, there are healthy alternatives to regular sugar, like date sugar, turbinado, or Sucanat, or even maple sugar or syrup. I will look up some recipes and try to send at least one to you.

Congratulations on your little one's first birthday!!!
Whatever you do, PLEASE don't give her any type of artificial sweetener. Conventional wisdom aside, the jury is still out on their safety. Each one is touted as "safe & healthy" when it comes out, and later on it's found to be detrimental. Many just generally accept that all artificial sweeteners are carcinogens.

Sugar is not the enemy- as long as it's done in moderation. I would not be afraid to give her her own tiny cake and watch her have fun with it. Then keep on with your usual healthy diet. She will learn that it is a rare celebratory thing, and may not even like the sweets too much. My grandson never cared for sweets 'til he turned 5, now he likes them some. His little sister, however, was born loving them.

Don't worry that your daughter will suddenly develop a big sweet tooth, it isn't likely. And we change as adults. I recently got over the flu with a bad case of severe chills ending with a fever. Since then, I can't eat anything the least bit fatty (I feel sick from it), I have little taste for sweets, never crave ice cream, can't stand salt, etc., etc. But I could live on oranges. I think our bodies know what they need as long as we aren't taught that snacks and junk food are rewards for good behavior, etc.
Blessings to you all.

Try using whipped frosting, too; that will really cut down on the sugar.

one piece of cake isn't going to be as big of a deal as you think. i have a 2 year old daughter and am very into health and nutrition. however for special events i let her induldge. one idea for you is get a cake made with splendia instead of sugar. i think splendia is much better than any other sweetner like sweet n low. one idea is an angel food cake. also instead of frosting, use cool whip. you can even put a little jello packet into it for flavoring and color. ( don't make the jello, just mix the powder into the cool whip)

don't stress so much on the cake and enjoy the gift God has given you with your special baby!

God Bless and Protect You!

L.

give her a cupcake! They get most of it on the floor and on their faces anyway!

http://www.grizzlybird.net/2007/01/babys-1st-birthday-cak...
Tons of cute and healthy birthday cake ideas here. :)

Your daughter at 1mnth doesnt know whats going on.The party,if you have one,would be more for you not her.Congrats on her being 1mnth but geez wait to have a party when she is a yr..even then she wont understand what is going on..
S. B

We never give my son refined sugar--as a result, he loves fruits and raisins and healthier options!

Here's a sugar free banana bread recipe I came up with and used as birthday cake when my son turned 2. It's very flavorful, subtly sweet and medium moist--I'm sure you could add a bit more oil or banana to increase the moistness. For the adults at the party, you can make some cream cheese icing to add to their servings. One other thing--you could probably use cooked butternut or acorn squash instead of the banana in the recipe, but you might need to adjust the wet ingredients to get the proper moistness.

Banana Birthday Cake

3 bananas
1 cup raisins
1 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 TBSP apple cider or white vinegar
1/4 cup plus 3 TBSP sour cream (or yogurt)
1/2 tsp vanilla

2 and 1/2 cup flour (I used whole grain spelt flour, but regular all-purpose is fine)
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Whiz the bananas, raisins, and oil in a blender or food processor until very smooth. It takes my cheapo blender some time to get the raisins chopped up really well. Add the eggs one at a time and whiz after adding each one to incorporate it well.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add sour cream and vanilla and blend until smooth. Stir in nuts if you're using them.
Bake in a greased and floured pan at 350 degrees in center of oven for 40-ish minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I don't remember if this amount of batter is to fill a loaf pan or a cake pan, but if you fill your loaf pan almost half full and still have lots of batter, you can portion out what's left into muffin cups and bake muffins with the bread. Just remember muffins are usually done in 20 minutes or so!

Happy birthday to your little one!

K. Richmond
Asheville Area Music Together
###-###-####
____@____.com

Yay!!!!!!
My son is 1 today and we had his get together yesterday. My husband came up with the idea to make a sweet potato pie in the shape of a cake. All you have to do is get a breakaway cake pan. Line it up with a graham cracker crust, bottom and sides. Then place it in the freezer while you make your pie filling. You can follow any recipe you like, just omit the sugar. When you are done, pour the filling into to ready crust and bake with a sheet of aluminum under the pan, the butter from the crust might leak out. It was still sweet, but no sugar was added. We bought some whipped cream for everyone else. I was great. All the kids loved it and the adults were surprised, including me.

Good luck and God bless,

Give your child either an unfrosted cupcake or one frosted with lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. Have fun!

I am having the same issues. If you look on allrecipes.com, there are some cakes made with baby food or just look up baby's first birthday and that should bring up some recipes. I have just decided to have a cupcake cake and some ice cream........some of the baby cake recipes have nuts and I just figure.......I survived the first birthday with a regular cake so so will my little guy. I just won't give him a lot.

Home made Carrot Cake!

Both my kids' first real "sweet" on their first birthday. I used the recipe from "The Joy of cooking", I used evaporated cane juice instead of sugar & reduced the amount by maybe a third. I probably upped the amount of carrots & added flax seed meal (because that is what I tend to do)hee hee.

You control the ingredients, I have been making that recipe for YEARS - never had it fail.

Happy Caking!

There's a healthier cake recipe in the book What to Expect the First Year. If you don't have the book and want the recipe, just let me know and I'll send it. I have not personally tried it, but I'm thinking about it for my daughter's first birthday.

1st birthdays are so fun...my son just had his. Try a carrot or applesauce cake and use whipped topping instead of frosting. You could also serve fruit like grapes or stawberries on the side because those are naturally sweet and delicious.

I have two children, a boy, 3, and a little girl, 15 months. I never gave either of them sweets or other "junk" food ... and do not allow them to have sodas or hardly even any juice. But, for their first birthdays, I did get them both a little cake of their own.

My son (who prefers carbs, and isn't a big "sweet" tooth) barely touched it and looked at it like he didn't know what it is. To this day, if there are "sweet treats" at an event (party, etc.), he doesn't even care to eat them.

My daughter, on the other hand, loved her birthday cake and ate EVERY bite! That was the first time that she had cake, and we were concerned it would "shock" her system with all that sugar or make it hard for her to sleep that night. But, she did fine ... everything was fine, and the next day, we all went back to the same routine (no sweets, normal food, etc.). But, she got to enjoy her birthday cake on her 1st birthday ... special day! And, the pictures are just too cute!

Just wanted to let you know that we, too, are not a big "sweet" family when it comes to our kids, and giving our kids a cake for their birthday didn't really affect anything. Happy Birthday to your little one!