Payton’s 1st birthday party was a success and as promised, I wanted to share with you my experience making her an all natural, no sugar smash cake!
I knew I wanted to make her a birthday cake that she would enjoy AND I would feel comfortable with her eating up! I set out to find ideas and came across this great recipe to use as a guide. I only made some small tweaks as I went along. Wanting to get as much as possible done ahead of time, I made the cake and frosting the day before, and sealed it all up separately in the refrigerator. I did wait to frost and decorate her cake until the morning of her party, but you can definitely do that the day before as well! The frosting comes out a little runny so giving it time to thicken up in the fridge is almost necessary.
Cake Ingredients
8-10 ripe bananas depending on size
1 egg
1 cup no sugar added applesauce
6 tbsp melted coconut oil
6 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoon cinnamon
Cake Directions
1. Mash your bananas in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients.
3. Add your bananas, applesauce, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla to the dry mixture.
4. Coat 2 medium baking dishes with coconut oil (I used my Pyrex glass Tupperware bowls!)
5. Spread the batter into your 2 dishes. The batter rises very little so don’t worry about filling them too high.
6. Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Turn your baking dishes over onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
8. Cut the tops off of each cake so they are smooth and fit together nicely.
For her cake frosting, I didn’t want to use sugar or artificial food coloring. Originally, I had hoped to use beet juice to make her cake red but when I started experimenting with it, I realized it was easily staining my skin. In hopes of avoiding a red-stained birthday girl, I decided to use the ground turmeric spice that I had handy in my cabinet!
Frosting Ingredients
2 cups cream cheese
1 cup no sugar added frozen apple juice concentrate
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon spice powder for natural color (adjust the amount based on the look you are going for)
Spice Suggestions for Natural Color
Yellow – Turmeric Powder
Red – Beet Powder
Orange – Paprika
Green – Spinach Powder
Frosting Directions
1. Combine softened cream cheese, apple juice concentrate and vanilla extract until creamy.
2. Stir in the spice powder until your frosting is completely colored. I did find that my yellow turmeric brightened after sitting a little while.
3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until the consistency is thicker but easy to work with.
Easy Frosting Tips I Learned Along The Way
Put a blob of frosting on your cake plate underneath your cake to keep it from sliding around.
Cut 4 strips of parchment paper and shimmy one under each side of the cake (this will keep your cake plate nice and clean while frosting).
Spoon some frosting between the layers of your cake (this will help hold the layers together).
Start with a big glob of frosting on top, then work your way to the sides and around the rest of the cake.
We did a Snow White theme for Payton’s party, and since she LOVES her berries, I decided to cover the top with red and blue berries. I also added some edible broccoli flowers from my Tower Garden to make it extra special!
Fun Idea: Keep the bumpy cake tops that you cut off, and offer a taste to any of your curious guests! Everyone we shared it with was amazed at how tasty and moist it came out, despite the absence of traditional sugary cake ingredients!
ENJOY!!!
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Shawna Martell, Natural Parenting Mami & First-Time Motherhood Contributing Columnist
“Natural Parenting Mami with Shawna Martell” is a healthy living and attachment parenting contribution. She is also the First-Time Motherhood Contributing Columnist. Shawna offers advice, tips, and resources on a range of topics including breastfeeding, babywearing, organic gardening, and other family-friendly topics through honest and reflective insight into her new journey.
Connect with Shawna as a Tower Garden Team Member: shawnamartell.towergarden.com
Twitter: @Shawna_Martell
Questions? Ask Shawna at shawna@mamiofmultiples.com
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What a great and healthy alternative for a smash cake. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You seriously gave me some courage to try this! Your baby looks like she loved the cake. I have seen some other natural recipes for smash cakes but they always sound like they might be bitter or too hard for baby to digest. Thanks for the recipe because I will be trying it out.
Did you find the turmeric spice to be too spicy or give an overpowering herbal flavor? I have only used turmeric spice only about 3x in my life (I’m not an expert cook) so I didn’t know if the combination of vanilla extract and natural juices blended with the turmeric spice? Everything looks delish & your daughter is adorable!
Oh what a great idea! I have never seen one like this before. The frosting looks amazing and easy to make! I am going to try this!