Healthy First Birthday Cake

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Navigating a first birthday has its challenges. You want a day that is meaningful but not overwhelming. You want a cake that tastes good but is also healthy. I was stressed about getting the first birthday right by in the end I was very happy with how our party came out. We did a Wild One theme for a small party and made a healthy first birthday cake.

This healthy first birthday cake has no added sugar. It is a carrot cake sweetened with whole pineapple and raisins. It is full of good things, not only having carrots but two different types of nuts (I am all about that allergen exposure)! The frosting is also sugar-free and is incredibly simple. We truly didn’t miss the sugar at all. It isn’t your standard birthday cake but it was a cake I felt good feeding my one-year-old and he LOVED it. When he just had crumbs left we tried to take his plate and he jutted his hands out to grab it back. I was glad he liked it but surprised how much he did!

I am sharing the cake recipe below and underneath that a bit more information on how we did our Wild One theme!

Healthy BLW First Birthday Cake Recipe

1 cup raisins

2/3 water

2/3 cup light olive oil

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup almond flour

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup walnut flour or ground walnuts

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup chopped pineapple

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

How to make the healthy first birthday cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Combine raisins and water in a small pot. Bring to a gentle boil. Let cool. Chop in a food processor until small chunks to avoid choking hazard. (not necessary for older children/adults)

3. Beat eggs with oil and vanilla until light and uniform. Add raisin mixture.

4. Combine the flours, spices, salt, and baking soda. 

5. Combine egg/oil/raisin mixture with dry ingredients until uniform

6. Grate carrots.

7. Chope pineapple into small pieces.

8. Add carrots, pineapple, and shredded coconut to the rest of the mixture.

9. Divide into two 9 inch round pans that have been oiled and lined (on the bottom) with parchment

10. Put in a 350° oven, bake for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.

11. Cool before frosting (Can be wrapped and frozen)

Sugar-Free first birthday cake frosting

12 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup heavy cream or juice 

2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

How to make sugar-free first birthday cake frosting

1. Whip cream cheese with liquid (cream or juice) until spreadable consistency (if not spreadable, add a bit more liquid).

2. Spread on cake.

3. Top with coconut

4. Store in refrigerator

Notes: The cake is quite tender and frosting the healthy first birthday cake can be a bit of a challenge. Freezing it and frosting it before it thaws can make it easier to avoid excessive crumbs in the frosting. Alternatively, do a thin crumb coat, refrigerate until set then frost the rest.

Our Wild One First Birthday Party

We chose the theme Wild One for Yitzchak’s first birthday and had a lot of fun with it. On his actual birthday we kept it really small with only 5 of us there. We had a larger outdoor get-together the Sunday after his birthday. We did most of our decorations and gifts just for the smaller party on his birthday. Part of this was because the other was outside and part of it was because we were worried about him being overwhelmed with more people on the Sunday party.

Here is how we celebrated his Wild One party on his birthday!

Our first birthday activity was the Montessori birthday celebration or the Montessori birthday walk. We had a lot of fun with it and it added a lot of meaning to the party rather than it just being about cake and presents. I know I was eager to reflect on the last year and it was a great way to involve our one-year-old in that reflection. You can watch the video about it here.

After we did the Montessori birthday walk we had lunch. I made a vegetable platter in the shape of a lion which I thought was pretty cute. Then after lunch, we had our healthy first birthday cake! We planned the cake smash for the Sunday party and on his actual birthday just gave him a slice of the larger healthy first birthday cake. To decorate the first birthday cake we put a “wild one” cake topper on top and a set of Schleich animals. We were getting him the animals for his birthday anyway so it worked out nicely using them to top the cake.

As I mentioned above Yitzchak loved the cake. Even when he was done we could not take the plate away. After a bit of playing and some bubble blowing he was ready for gifts.

I wrapped his gifts in safari-themed wrapping paper. I also wrapped one gift in a Sarah’s silks animal print silk and used another silk as a ribbon on the top. I placed a couple other Schleich animals on top as well. Behind our son’s high chair I made a greenery wall (I purchased two sets) and we put up “wild one” balloons. I ended up being really glad. we decorated. I lean towards doing things simply and not decorating but the decorations truly made it feel more special which is something I needed for this big milestone. After opening gifts it was nap time.

Yitzchak wore an elephant romper from the Beaufort Bonnet Company and a wild one crown.

That’s it. That was our simple-first birthday celebration with our healthy first birthday cake! We had a really great time.