This month we celebrated my daughter Harley’s first birthday. Watching her turn one has been the highlight of my life. She loves to read books, listen to music, is almost walking, still breastfeeding 6 times a day (sometimes more and still in the middle of the night) and took her first sips of organic raw green juice just recently (she loves it, of course!) I am such a different mom than I ever imagined being… To say I am attached to her is an understatement! I take her wherever I go, including business trips and can’t imagine ever leaving her.
When it was time to plan her 1st birthday, I didn’t follow the “guidelines” they suggest in parenting books. They say not to invite a lot of people, or have too many decorations, and to keep it low key, etc. I did the opposite, oops! I invited all her friends, rented out one of our favorite organic restaurants (Pure Pizza) and decorated the whole place with her favorite barn yard animals she loves to play with and sound out.
The whole birthday turned out beautifully, she loved seeing her family and friends and we had so much fun. Harley especially loved playing with the PIG balloons – her favorite part! (The balloons are still flying around our living room as I type and she wakes every morning excited to play with them).
For her cake, I decided to make Harley her own special one-of-a-kind cake with organic ingredients that I knew she liked to eat. We haven’t introduced wheat quite yet, so the base was made with organic oat flour. To make oat flour, you can simply grind any kind of oats in a spice grinder or buy it pre-packaged.
I also thought long and hard about whether or not to use “REAL” sugar for the icing on her cake, and instead of being completely obsessive and coming up with icing that didn’t have any refined sugar, I decided to go old fashioned and use powered sugar creamed together with butter and vanilla to pipe some flower like decorations onto her cake. I wasn’t planning on her eating that much of the icing but then of course I couldn’t predict what happened at the birthday party either.
At the party, after we sang Happy Birthday and blew out her candle, Harley’s grandma (my Mom!) took the white icing off of her cake and put it directly into her mouth! And of course… Harley loved it. Haha. So my daughter had her first taste of refined sugar on her birthday – Something I bet you thought would never happen! At least it was organic homemade icing, right?! Which reminds me to say – the Food Babe lifestyle isn’t about deprivation or guilt – it’s about enjoying the foods you love the healthiest way you know how while living a normal fun-filled and stress-free life!
Since, sharing this photo below earlier this week on Facebook and Instagram, a lot of you have asked me to share the recipe, so here it is! I hope your little ones love it too!
Harley’s Organic Happy Birthday Cake
- 1 cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ripe banana
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup or less
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- butter and oat flour for the pan
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1 cup organic powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter your pan and dust with oat flour. (I used a special tiered mini cake pan)
- Whisk together all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt) in a large bowl and set aside.
- Blend banana, applesauce, coconut milk, egg, vanilla and maple syrup together in a separate bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry and mix until just combined.
- Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake cool in pan for 30 mins before removing and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, cream together all ingredients until smooth.
**Please choose all organic ingredients if possible.**
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I used this tiered cake pan for the mold of her cake. Harley loves feeding me… even on her birthday!
If you know a mom or dad looking for a healthier cake for their child, please share this recipe! This recipe is great for adults too! I personally loved eating this cake with Harley and plan to make it again for my birthday coming up soon.
Xo,
Vani
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