Baby's 1st Birthday Cake (Healthy & Refined Sugar Free!)

Name: Baby's 1st Birthday Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 85 g Dates (dried); 75 ml Boiling water; 80 ml Vegetable oil; 2 Eggs (large); 2 Bananas (mashed); 1 Apple (grated); 85 ml Milk; 1 tsp Cinnamon; 185 g Self raising flour; 115 g Plain wholemeal flour; 1/2 tsp Baking powder; 150 g Dates (dried); 130 ml Boiling water; 140 ml Vegetable oil; 4 Eggs (large); 4 Bananas (mashed); 2 Apples (grated); 150 ml Milk; 2 tsp Cinnamon; 330 g Self raising flour; 200 g Plain wholemeal flour; 1 tsp Baking powder; 400 g Full fat cream cheese; 200 g Butter; 1 tsp Vanilla extract; 4 tbsp Agave nectar (or maple syrup); Berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) (optional); Freeze dried raspberries (optional)

14/02/2020 by thebakingexplorer 86 Comments

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This recipe for Baby's 1st Birthday Cake is free from refined sugar, and the sponge is sweetened only with fruit. The cream cheese frosting is sweetened with agave nectar, which is a natural sweetener from the agave plant. It's very much like a banana bread, and at my son's first birthday party both the kids and adults loved it! So it's officially a kid approved healthy cake!

When my little boy turned one I decided I wanted to make a healthy first birthday cake for him. He's not eaten any refined sugar since I started weaning him, and although of course he will have sugar eventually, I want to wait till he's a bit older. He's already an absolute fiend for fruit, so I feel like he's inherited my sweet tooth and will go nuts when he tries sugar!

How to make Baby's 1st Birthday Cake

Make the date puree first by soaking the dates in boiling water for 15 minutes, then blending them with a stick blender. In a mixing bowl, add the self raising flour, plain wholemeal flour, baking powder and cinnamon.

In another bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs and milk. To the flour mixture, add mashed bananas, the date puree and the oil/egg mixture.

Then add the grated apple, and divide the mixture between the tins.

Bake the 8" cakes for 40-45 minutes, then do the same for the 6" mixture and bake for 25-30 minutes.

To make the frosting, mix together the butter and cream cheese, then mix in the vanilla extract and agave nectar. Level off the cakes with a cake leveller or a knife before you stack them.

Spread the frosting onto the first layer of cake, then add the second layer and cover the whole cake in frosting. As you are stacking another cake on top, add dowels for support so the cake doesn't collapse.

Also use a cake board underneath the 6" tier for extra support. Add the 6" tier and cover it in the cream cheese frosting. To decorate the Baby's 1st Birthday Cake, placed berries all around the cake, and a 'one' sign of course!

Can this cake be made as one tier?

Yes! Check the recipe card at the end of the post, I've separated the ingredients for the 8" and 6" tier so you can easily make only one of them.

Can this cake be made gluten free?

I've not made this cake gluten free, but I'm sure it'd work well with a gluten free flour blend. You may need to add a little bit of extra moisture as gluten free flour can be drier, but this is a very moist cake anyway.

Can this cake be made vegan?

You can replace the eggs for chia or flax eggs if you need the cake to be egg free, and also use a plant milk to make it vegan.

More tips for making Baby's 1st Birthday Cake:

This cake can be frozen without the frosting for up to 3 months. Wrap it up well to prevent freezer burn.
I grated the apple to add it to the cake, you can also dice it if you prefer. I used pink lady apple as it's sweeter, but you can use any apple you like.
If you are making this into a two tier cake like I did, you'll need to insert dowels into the bottom tier, and use a cake board between the two tiers. This is essential for maintaining the structure of the cake and will stop it from collapsing.
I used agave nectar to sweeten the frosting, but you could also use maple syrup. Please do not use honey if your baby will eat this cake before they are over 1 year old, or if there will be any younger babies eating it. This is because honey should not be given to babies under the age of one, as it can cause serious illness.
I used a mixture of self raising and wholemeal flour, if you want to use all self raising then omit the baking powder. It isn't recommended that babies have too many whole grains, so I wouldn't recommended making this cake with all wholemeal flour.

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