1st Birthday Cake

The other day I watched a young mother feed her 5 month old baby a (dyed) red strawberry cake with frosting. I almost fell off my chair! Knowing what I know about food allergies, especially wheat & dairy, that alone was enough to almost make me want to yell out, "Nooooooooooo!"

From a holistic doctor point of view, let me teach just a little on the subject. Even if your medical doctor says it's okay to start solid foods at 4 months you may want to take a look at the studies and organizations behind WAITING to introduce them! Delaying solid foods until a baby is at least 6 months old gives the baby greater protection from illnesses, gives their digestive system time to mature, and DECREASES the risk of food allergies! In fact, newer studies show to wait even longer until age 2 to introduce HIGHLY allergic items such as dairy, wheat, and peanuts.

And don't even get me started about the red food dye... 

Thankfully the little baby spit most of the cake back out (which should have been a good sign to the mom). Hopefully, the more knowledge people gain, the less likely they will be to make this mother's same mistake. :(

Along that line, a couple of people have asked me what I did for Audrey's 1st birthday since she was Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined-Sugar-Free. I found a great alternative that Audrey was happy with. 

I think some people let their own emotions get in the way, "But wont they miss having a normal cake?!" Remember, they're only 1 and they don't know any differently. You can still bake a cake for the rest of the family and keep your little one safe. In fact, for most of Audrey's childhood, she was happy eating, when we were eating, even if she wasn't eating what we were eating. ;) 

Overall, Audrey's cake turned out cute with 3-tiers and pink frosting (made naturally with NO food coloring!) She loved the taste too! The cake's consistency was thicker than a normal cake and the frosting was unique but it works! Maybe this recipe will help someone out there. 

PS- the cake can also be made into little mini muffins and served as a snack to your toddler. Because it contains an egg, I would wait at least until they are 1. ;) 

1st Birthday Cake

(Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free)
Created by jalene 

Cake Ingredients:

• 4 oz white rice flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 oz coconut oil
  
• 8 oz ripe bananas
• 1 egg

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch square pan or round pan with coconut oil. 
2. Blend the oil into the flour and cinnamon. Mix in the bananas and egg. Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean. Use 2 or 3 different sizes of circle cookie cutters to create a tier cake. 

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Allergy-Free Frosting

Adapted by jalene from elanaspantry.com 
(dairy free, Vegan, refined-sugar free)

Frosting Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
• pinch sea salt
• 1 & 1/4 tsp arrowroot powder
• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• (Pink coloring) squeeze drops out of a cooked beet, do not use more than 3/4 tsp 

Frosting Directions: 

1. In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk, syrup and salt, simmer for 10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a smooth paste. Pour arrowroot mixture into saucepan.
3. Whisk vigorously to combine, then bring to a boil, briefly, until shiny.
4. Remove pot from heat and very gradually blend in coconut oil with a hand blender.
5. Allow pot to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Place pot in refrigerator for 45-120 minutes, until frosting solidifies and turns white.
7. Remove from refrigerator, add the pink coloring, and blend again with a hand blender, until fluffy.
8. Spread over cake. Return to refrigerator until ready to serve.