I knew I wanted to let Connor smash up his very own little cake on his first birthday but I also knew I did not want him inhaling pure sugar. Not yet anyway. Not when he didn’t know the difference. I couldn’t validate that even if it was his birthday. So I went on a search for the most sugar free version of a cake I could possibly find and once again Ruth Yaron’s Super Baby Food book came to my rescue… I decided to make a carrot cake with mock cream cheese frosting.
To create Connor’s mini cake I decided to pick up one of these small circular molds at the closest arts & crafts store, Michaels for a few bucks.
I made the whole amount the recipe asked for but just filled this mold (above) up about 3/4 the way and then cooked the rest in a regular baking pan you would normally use. But you could also easily just cut the recipe in half and that would be enough to make 1-2 smaller, kid size molds similar to the one above.
For the carrot cake: (for reference – amount of ingredients below are based off filling a 9×13 baking pan)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour pan. In large bowl, mix ingredients in this order:
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1/2 olive oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cup grated carrots (i didn’t have a grater so I just cut them up super small)
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Bake 25-30 minutes
For Mock Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Whip until smooth in blender and chill in refrigerator immediately. When cold use as frosting. I just scooped it into a ziploc baggie, cut a hole in the corner and squeezed it through to put the frosting on.
You can always add nuts to it but I opted not since I was giving it to Connor. Of course, you know me, I picked up all natural, organic versions of those ingredients as well. I topped it with some sprinkles just to give it that birthday feel and of course a “1″ candle I picked up at Michaels too.
Easy peasy! Next all there is to do is….
ENJOY!
pssst… have you voted on top baby blogs lately? thanks for all the support!
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Thanks for posting this recipe. My little guy turns one at the end of the month, and I’ve been looking for a healthy cake recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Looks amazing! Is there no worry about giving a one year old honey? I imagine if it’s cooked it’s no big deal but I want to be sure. I think i’ll try this for my son’s first birthday this weekend…
Thanks for sharing! I’d like to second the question about honey? My daughter’s first birthday is on Thursday and this looks perfect!
hi michele! for me, i wasn’t too concerned about the honey since there are no known allergies to it in either my family or my husbands and since Connor was now a year and generally it’s safe by then. i had also tested a bit out with him a few days earlier and everything was a-ok! so i would just recommend doing a little test run with it if you have hesitation and just do what you are comfortable with. you could always switch the honey for agave or some similar sweetener that you feel better about.