Dessert, Recipe
This first birthday cake recipe is a great first cake for baby – it’s gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free {sweetened only with pear juice}. Works great for cupcakes too, which make the perfect size for a tiny smash cake!
Tuesday my little boy turned 1. Due to an onslaught of January birthdays we’re not celebrating with a party quite yet, but we couldn’t resist a mini cupcake smashing session on the actual day of this big milestone.
Of course that means we needed a first birthday cake!
I was a little unsettled with the idea of loading my baby up with sugar just for the sake of this tradition, but I didn’t want to be that mom. You know the one. The one that refuses to give her kid sugar or anything bad for them, and then they go crazy when mom’s not looking.
Well he’s obviously a little young for the backlash part of that scenario, but I still didn’t want to make a big thing about it. I know one day of sugar isn’t going to hurt him, but I still didn’t feel good about going crazy with it, especially given his poor sleep habits and the food allergies he’s already dealing with.
You’d be surprised what comes up when you Google “sugar free” cupcake {or anything}—> a whole lot of recipes that are anything but sugar free. I found things loaded with honey, syrup, and chocolate, all labeled “sugar free”. Umm not so much. Sugar was the least of my worries anyways, given I needed to come up with a first birthday cake recipe that was also gluten free and dairy free.
So I did what I do best: got to experimenting in the kitchen to find a compromise- something that wouldn’t deprive him of the first birthday cake experience, but also wouldn’t be bad for him. I think I succeeded.
I probably could have gotten away with not sweetening these at all, but I wanted them to be family friendly- delicious for everyone. Instead of refined sugar, I used 100% fruit juice reduced to enhance the sweetness. It was the perfect bit of sweet plus a little bit of tang from the fruit. I made the first batch with apple & pear juice; the second with apple & pineapple juice, which gave the cupcakes a nice little twist, especially when paired with the coconut frosting. Feel free to experiment with other juices if you try these- I think pomegranate and orange would be delicious!
First Birthday Cake Recipe
by with a Side of Sneakers
For the Cupcakes
- 2 cups oat flour {or other flour of choice- I used gluten free oats}
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup reduced 100% fruit juice {~1 cup of juice}
- 1 flax egg {1 T flax meal + 3 T water}
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 t vanilla
For the Frosting
- 1/2 cup coconut cream {from can of full fat coconut milk}
- 1 Tbsp reduced 100% fruit juice {reserved from cupcakes}
For the Cupcakes
Bring 1 cup of 100% no sugar added fruit juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat but maintain a boil until juice reduces to a little more than 1/4 cup {it’s ok if you have extra}. Reserve 1 Tbsp for frosting.
Combine all ingredients and stir to combine. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes, or 16 smaller cupcakes.
For the Frosting
Chill a can of full fat coconut in the fridge overnight.
Once chilled, turn the can upside and open it. Scrape out the solidified coconut cream from the top of the can.
Place coconut cream in a chilled mixing bowl and whip on high until starts to turn creamy. Pour in 1 Tbsp of reduced fruit juice. Continue to whip on high until smooth and fluffy.
Frost cupcakes once cooled.
Now I can’t wait to get started on the cake for his first birthday party- it’s going to be awesome!
[Tweet “First birthday cake recipe – low-sugar, gluten-free, and baby-friendly!”]
Did you have a smash cake for your baby’s first birthday?
Click here for more Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes that won’t leave you trapped in the kitchen for hours or hunting down a million bizarre ingredients.
Breakfast
I’ve sat down to write a post 431 times in the past few days, but no words have made their way onto that ominous blank white screen.
It’s not that I have something important to say and can’t figure out the best way to say, which is what usually causes such hesitation. It’s just been one of those weeks where I can hardly believe I used to have a brain that functioned. One that processed information, formed logical thoughts, and cooperated in any sort of useful manor.
Nope, instead I have a brain that is full of mush. It takes an act of Congressional proportions to communicate coherently. The rest of me isn’t much better off. I’m worn out; lacking drive and motivation. Once I put the babe down to sleep, what remains of the fumes I was running on fizzles into thin air. I immediately draw a blank on the running list of to-do’s I had in my head. When I finally get a moment to sit down in front of my computer and type, it’s gone. My head is empty and I have no idea what I was intending to write about.
So that being said, here is my awkward segue into my recipe for gluten free pancake muffins. There are many things I’m not these days, but one of those things is not hungry. I’m always hungry. The faster I can have food ready, the better. Especially when it comes to breakfast. I wake up all rage-y and Hulk-like shouting “Feed.Me.Now!” Only no one’s listening and breakfast doesn’t magically appear. Unless I’ve already made a batch of pancakes or slow cooker oatmeal or my latest fave, pancake muffins. They’re my grown up version of my 2 ingredient baby pancakes. With many more than 2 ingredients.
Oh and these pictures are less than stellar because I refused to wait until the sun came up {and let it’s glorious natural light shine} to dig in.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 1/2 cups almond milk + 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 1/3 cup almond meal
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tbsp flax meal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice {or ground cloves or nutmeg}
- 1/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup pecan pieces
Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased or lined muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Since we’ve acknowledged my brain power is less than stellar, enter another lame transition here.
Veteran’s Day isn’t just an excuse for a three day weekend. It’s an important day of remembrance and honor to those that have served our country and fought for our freedom and the rights so many of us take forgotten. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t even know Veteran’s Day was this weekend until I heard about Shutterfly’s Thank the Troops campaign on Facebook. I think it’s kinda cool. Just wanted to pass it along. They’re making it easy for us to say thanks:
Over 1.5 million troops serve our great nation. Many of them will be overseas, in harm’s way, and away from their families over this holiday season. Our mission is simple—to send a thank you card to every American hero. To succeed we need your support. Just select a card from our 4 different designs, add a personal message (or photo) and click send. Shutterfly will print and ship your card to the troops for free.
So Happy Veteran’s Day! And happy pancake-muffin eating. 
Food thoughts
I love cinnamon rolls.
Man, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve written that on this blog, I’d probably have…a couple dollars.
But I do. And nothing makes you miss you’re favorite breakfast/snack/dinner {don’t judge} than not being able to eat one of the main ingredients. All of my favorite cinnamon roll recipes are already dairy free, but gluten free they are not.
As it turns out, the babe likely does not have a gluten allergy, but it’s so hard to pinpoint things. Every time he refluxes I worry it was something I ate. So while I don’t think gluten is the culprit {dairy & soy ARE}, I’ve been trying to keep my intake to a minimum and saving the gluten-eating for the really important things, like pumpkin beer.
I’ve been experimenting with my favorite cinnamon bun recipes and my new collection of gluten free flours. I’ve yet to find THE magic flour blend that gives that chewy doughiness I love in a cinnamon roll.
I am far from an expert on gluten free baking. Far. So this post is fairly useless. Here are some of the flours I’ve tried so far:
Gluten free all purpose baking mix {Arrowhead Mills}: Easy 1:1 sub but lacks the density of whole grains (too starchy for me)
Sorghum Flour: easy sub, lacks “chew”
Garbanzo Bean flour: provides density, but has a rather off-putting smell/after taste. Not for the faint of heart.
Gluten Free Oat Flour: one of the easiest to sub, probably because I’ve used oats/oat flour in so many recipes before.
Millet Flour: probably my favorite so far. Light but not starchy-light. I know, highly technical terms here. Holds in moisture well.
Brown Rice Flour: seems to be the standard gluten free “whole” grain.
Buckwheat Flour: great for pancakes, a little strong for lighter baked goods like cookies.
As far as starches go, I’ve been using mostly cornstarch and tapioca starch. I haven’t noticed any differences between the two, although I do prefer less starch-heavy blends than most combos call for.
I know most gluten free flour substitutes work best in combinations, but I’ve yet to stumble upon a tried and true favorite.
So there you have it. I have no idea what I’m doing. And thus my cinnamon rolls continue to suffer…
Gluten-free folks- what’s your favorite flour/combo?!
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