The newest blog post got me thinking about what type of cake we will have for M's first birthday cake. I think we're going to do a traditional smash cake. I'm just afraid I'll screw up one of these healthy cakes and it won't end up looking/tasting good in the end!
Will you have an unhealthy (traditional) or a healthy cake for your lo's first birthday?
100 votes
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
Unhealthy 
I think it's fine to have a treat every once in awhile. It's a special occasion!
squash / 13764 posts
I can't imagine LO will eat enough of the cake where I would feel the need to make it super healthy...I'm fine with some "unhealthy" foods in moderation
grapefruit / 4681 posts
I think ours was pretty healthy although we didn't have many options to work with. It was a quinoa cake (basically just quinoa, oil, baking powder, water), but the icing was just 10x and sweet so not healthy there. The corn in the baking powder and 10x made him sick though (we didn't know corn was an issue and were taking a chance).
For his second birthday he had a banana and quinoa muffin (banana, quinoa, oil, water) which is even healthier and he adores them!
pineapple / 12526 posts
Our smash cake was a basic boxed cake with homemade buttercream icing. She really didn't eat very much of it at all, just licked a little icing off of her hands.
At her actual birthday, we also had regular cake. I wouldn't inflict "healthy" cake on my guests. lol. A friend tried to do it at her sons birthday and it was horrendous. C only had a tiny piece anyway. I think it's fine in moderation.
coconut / 8498 posts
Totally unhealthy. I'm going to make hers, but I'm a huge fan of cheap grocery store cakes... So good!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
Healthy cake for the birthday boy/ girl. Traditional desserts for the rest of the guests.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@anbanan15: do you have a recipe for the quinoa muffins? They sound like a good "treat."
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@Bao: M's too! She's not allowed any baked goods or sugary things (even cookies) until her 1st birthday.
coconut / 8498 posts
@Bao: @mediagirl: We haven't given any sweets yet, either! Though both of the grandmothers have tried
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Unhealthy over here! Although I might do an angel food cake, which isn't too bad 
(It's what I had at my 1st bday! :D)
grapefruit / 4681 posts
@mediagirl: There is one on my blog in the form of cookies. I did the same thing, just put them in silicon liners, but basically it's 2/3 cup quinoa flour, 1 mashed banana, 1 Tbsp oil of choice (last batch I only used 2 tsp. You could skip it all together, but LO needs the fat) and a tad of water, ~1 tbsp. Mix until you get a batter like consistency. I usually scope them out with a cookie scope so they are the same size and we bake at 350 for ~15 min. Quinoa baked goods usually take a little longer to bake. Do you have a vitamix with a dry blade or clean coffee grinder? You can grind your own quinoa flour from the seeds. It's more cost effective and tastes better. If you can't find the flour you can also use quinoa flakes instead.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
I went healthy!
"Chocolate" bean cake with a coconut cream frosting. She LOVED it!
GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts
@hilsy85: I agree! Everything in moderation . . . including moderation!
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
Unhealthy because I'm sure I'll be overwhelmed with other details that I won't have time to actually make a cake! Plus, a lot of grocery stores here give you a free smash cake if you buy a birthday cake for your other guests. Works for me!
coconut / 8234 posts
Well, I had planned on healthy. I asked a friend who bakes to make the cake, a recipe from the wholesome baby foods site, but the cake ended up being unhealthy because my friend had a fiasco with the frosting and used regular Duncan Hines chocolate frosting on a healthy cake...which defeated the purpose! Haha.
And I didn't even know until LO wouldn't eat the cake, I tried to feed her some but she kept making faces and then I tasted it and WHOA, holy sugar! But, LO didn't eat it.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@mrsjazz: I agree, we went "unhealthy" but she didn't eat much of it because it was SOOOO sweet. I think she probably would have enjoyed and ate something milder but I was vain and wanted a "pretty" cake.
bananas / 9118 posts
If it was something he was having on a regular basis I'd worry about what was in it. But it was a one time deal, so I didn't bother. We only gave him a cupcake too, and he wore more frosting than anything else.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
Unhealthy. I'm not a baker and won't be baking any cake for my son's birthday!
He's had a few licks of frosting at a friend's birthday party recently. He loved it, of course.
GOLD / papaya / 10206 posts
It was gluten and dairy free, but other than that it was a traditional cake. She didn't care for it much, preferred the hummus and carrots I was snacking on. Silly girl!
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
I'm on the fence about this (even though I haven't even had LO yet). On one hand, I really don't think a little bit of unhealthy cake at 1 yo is the end of the world, at all. On the other hand-- baby doesn't know any better and if they think a healthy muffin sweetened with organic apple juice concentrate (what my sister had at her son's first bday) is a treat, then why introduce them to the wonders of sugars and butter and everything so young? But then you also seem like a spoilsport (my sister got a lot of flak for it, even though she had regular cupcakes for all the guests).
I imagine I'll go halfway-- healthier than a regular box mix, but not super healthy. And have a separate regular cake for all the guests. Meanwhile, last week I had a nonhealthy cookie before lunch 2 days in a row.
grapefruit / 4442 posts
how about both, I was thinking maybe a carrot or banana (healthy) but with cream cheese frosting (unhealthy).
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
@Rainbow Sprinkles: oh, that sounds good! Do you have a recipe? I love anything with coconut in it and wasn't sure I wanted the mess of a chocolate cake.
pomegranate / 3604 posts
I kind of want to recreate this image:
So definitely unhealthy. Mwahahaha.
eggplant / 11287 posts
@mediagirl:
sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/2012/06/lemon-coconut-cakeoh-baby.html?m=1
My mom has made it before and it is soooooo good.
grapefruit / 4554 posts
We had a regular old unhealthy cupcakes at her photoshoot/cake smash and a regular old unhealthy cake at her party.
GOLD / apricot / 315 posts
I made Owen an "unhealthy" smash cake, thinking he wouldn't really eat much of it. Ha. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of it, but once he got the idea, he did some serious damage.
I'm also fine with treats once in a while, so will probably do the same traditionally unhealthy cake for Eloise's first birthday.
nectarine / 2964 posts
@sera_87: OMG HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAA ummmmm Smurfs!!!
Ours was unhealthy. We just bought one from whole foods. It was a carrot cake with pecans on the side. LO went nuts on the pecans (and he had never had pecans before... would be bad if he had gotten an allergic reaction so I am glad he wasn't allergic :P). He only had a few bites anyway and I already got some good photos. Too much work to make the cake, be the photographer, and clean up after the shoot!
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
I'm going for traditional, I doubt she will eat enough to be bad for her, and an occaisional sweet treat is okay by me!
pomegranate / 3003 posts
Totally depends on her preferences, allergies, and dietary restrictions. I'll probably bake her something with wholesome ingredients, preferably all organic.
kiwi / 613 posts
I am all for healthy eating and always try to give my LO the healthiest options but I kind of think its going a little overboard by not letting them have a little bit of regular birthday cake on their first birthday...I mean, how much will they really eat??
apricot / 343 posts
Probably unhealthy. DD never has anything unhealthy, so on her bday it will be a littl treat
nectarine / 2217 posts
hahaha we'll aim for inbetween, but i don't mind if it turns out to be 100% unhealthy!
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