Healthy First Birthday Cake: tasty, gluten-free, and low-carb

If you’re looking for a healthy alternative for your baby’s first birthday cake, then look no further!

My second daughter’s first birthday celebration was a lot smaller than her older sister’s (mostly because of the pandemic) but I still wanted to make it very special. A few decades ago it was pretty common to center kids’ birthday parties on the adults, at least in any typical Latino culture. However, this has shifted and nowadays we truly want our kids to have the best possible memories of their birthdays, even their first one, and that means crafting things that will make each party unique.

Babies don’t need a loud party, nor lots of people to have a good time. On the contrary, they enjoy the simplest things, as everything they experience is *new*. Pretty much the most “difficult” thing to plan is the food, and I was challenged to find a healthy alternative for her first birthday cake.

When my firstborn started eating solids, I learned the importance of having a no-salt, no-sugar diet during the baby’s first two years, thanks to my pediatric nutritionist’s advice.

I tried to find a nice-looking option for a first birthday cake recipe. Many recipes claimed to be healthy, but I sadly discovered they usually included added sugars or salt. So, I decided to make my own healthy alternative, and found tasty ingredients that could provide the sweetness and rich taste we all want to find in a cake.

Sure, it won’t offer the taste or the mouthfeel of a regular cake. But remember: the cake is for baby! And even though by their first year they’ve probably had at least 6 months of solids feeding, their flavor palate is still very fresh and they genuinely experience yumminess out of the simplest of flavors. Besides, nothing better than celebrating their life than cherishing it through good nutrients. The adults enjoyed the cake as well because it’s was tasty and sweet, even if just a little. Furthermore, the frosting ended being creamy and delicious!

I enjoyed making this recipe for my baby and my closest family at home. It was relatively easy, and I think you’ll enjoy it too. And most importantly, I felt relieved to find a way to bake a healthy cake for a baby under two-years old!

Healthy Baby Birthday Cake Recipe

For the cake recipe I drew some inspiration from many different recipes that used alternative flours, although most of them had added sugars. The sugars in my recipe come from very sweet fruits like bananas and apples. Moreover, I added pitted dates to the topping, because they bring a sweet flavor punch.

The frosting is quite simple, but delicious. Instead of the typical butter and powdered sugar version, I went for a healthier alternative with coconut cream with a tiny bit of maple syrup (though you can omit it). Speaking of which, it’s very important to let your can of coconut milk chill in the fridge overnight, so that when you are ready to use it, the coconut cream has separated from the coconut milk. You’ll only need the cream for the frosting and you can use the remaining milk for cooking other dishes, like adding it to sauces.

On the top part of the cake, I used shredded coconut generously. Since this is dry and most shredded coconut comes in long flakes, I processed it a bit until I ended up with small grains, to avoid having a choking hazard. Along with the dates and the hemp seeds, the colors and textures were very inviting and they paired perfectly with its yummy smell and flavors.

Find the recipe below and let me know how it went for you. I hope you cherish your baby’s first birthday and you all have a great time with your closest ones.

Healthy First Birthday Cake

I tried this really healthy alternative to treat my little daughter for her first birthday. It's packed with natural sugars from dates, carrots, bananas, and apples. I like this healthy cake because it's sweet and tasty without any added sugar.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10 slices

Ingredients

  

Cake mix

• 1 cup of thinly grated carrots
• 2 cups of almond flour
• 2 organic free-range eggs
• 1.5 tsps of aluminum-free baking powder
• ¼ cup of homemade applesauce (steamed organic apples that were puréed)
• ⅓ cup of mashed organic banana (about 1 big organic banana)
• ¼ cup and 2 Tbsps of organic coconut oil
• 6 organic pitted dates

Coconut cream frosting

• 1 can  of coconut cream (chilled overnight)
• 1 tsp of maple syrup

Toppings

• Shredded coconut, pulverized 
• 7 dates
• 1 tbsp of hemp seeds

Instructions

 

• Let's start with the frosting. Place the coconut cream in the fridge the night before preparing your cake. Once the coconut cream is chilled and ready, add it to a bowl.
• Beat the coconut cream until it becomes fluffy and light. Then add the maple syrup.
• Beat again for another minute, so the frosting gets well mixed and sweet.
• Take the icing to the fridge while you prepare the rest of the cake. Remember to put a lid on top of the bowl, so the frosting remains smooth and clean.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F and grease a six-inch cake pan with the coconut oil and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients of almond flour, and baking powder. Mix them until you obtain an even mixture.
• In a food processor, or a blender, add the mashed banana, the applesauce, and the eggs. Blend them until smooth. Then, add the grated carrot and blend again for 10 seconds.
• Using a spat mix the dry ingredients with the wet slowly, until well blended.
• Put the mix in the greased cake pan you already prepared and take the pan to the oven.
• Bake for about 40 minutes until lightly golden or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle.
• Let the cake cool before frosting. Meanwhile, process slightly the dates.
• When the cake is ready, ice it. Then, add the dates, coconut, and hemp seeds on top.

Notes

• I avoided added salt and sugar because it isn’t recommended for babies. I wrote about it when my first born was starting to eat solids.

Keyword Baby, Birthday, Cake, gluten-free, healthy, Low Sugar, Treat

If you want to learn why it is important to avoid added sugars and salt to your baby’s meals, remember to check out my eating solids experience, guided by our doctor’s advice. You can read in the previous link and contact her directly on her website www.mafergastropedia.com, if you find fit.