What kind of cake did you give dc for 1st bday?

[jyllebean]

Trying to decide what to make. Thinking about carrot cake or some sort of cupcakes. Not sure if I should try and substitute applesauce to make it healthier. What did you do?

[JTsMom]

I did a chocolate cake from scratch. I was quite careful about what he ate at that point- I made the majority of his baby food from organic food, when we did use something pre-made, it was organic, breastfed, etc. I just couldn't see the harm a few bites of chocolate cake would cause, kwim?

I certainly don't think there is anything wrong with making a healthy cake, but I don't think it's a big deal to just do a regular one either, kwim? Most things in moderation is my motto. Just my .02. No matter what you decide, I'm sure it will be a fun day, so enjoy it! :)

[rlu]

DS loves gingerbread. It has been his favorite cake since the beginning - although pumpkin spice is a close second.

[SnuggleBuggles]

It was the only year we went with a bakery cake, I have made every other cake since then. Like Lori I believe that moderation is the key. I don't stress too much about occasional junk food. :)

Beth

[LarsMal]

Both of mine got egg free/dairy free chocolate cupcakes. I made them (and the icing) from scratch and they are really really good!

I would try switching out half of the oil for applesauce. It will cut back on the fat, but not change the texture/taste too much. That's what I do when I make banana muffins.

[scoop22]

a wedding cake!! ha ha.. my sister got married ds 1st b-day.. we had a special cake made for him.. so i was a bad mommy for year number one but i made up for it!! i didn't substitute b/c ds ate very little of the cake to begin with. he isn't a cake fan. i think i did use applesauce b/c that is what i somtimes do.. have fun with the cake!

[ThreeofUs]

Egg free/dairy free/nut free, yummy, organic brownies! They were wonderful, everyone loved (and could eat!) them, and the mess was minimal.

Best of luck!

[tarabenet]

For my niece's first, SIL had special carrot cake made for her, thinking it was healthier. It was covered in and layered with the most decadent, gooey cream cheese frosting and the whole thing was squishy-sweet. I'm sure the rest of us, eating chocolate and vanilla bakery cakes, actually got less sugar and junk than the baby did! Poor baby crashed right after the cake. No doubt the excitement was part of it, but I know the sugar shock was the main culprit. I'll admit, though, that the pics of her digging into her very own cake with her bare hands are some cute little memories!

By the time the next baby came along and turned one, SIL just gave him part of the regular cake (marbled chocolate and white), and everything seemed just fine.

[kijip]

We got a big gooey Black Forest Cake for him from the bakery.

Since then, we have made cakes at home- spice or chocolate usually. I do gluten free, egg free cupcakes for his buddies that have food allergies.

I am in the moderation group here. If you do make sugarfree/healthy alternatives though let that be all you serve- not one thing for the kids and another for thw adults. We were at a party one time where the b-day kids and the other kids were turning 2 and Toby was 6 months older. The family had made the hardest little nasty hockey puck like muffins as a healthy treat for the kids in lieu of cake, but had a big old chocolate cake for the adults. When Toby was handed his, he announced that this was not b-day cake and that the real cake was on the counter (he had seen it). Oddly enough, all of the kids ate the chocolate cake instead. :) Kids will want what the adults are eating.

[MarisaSF]

We made applesauce cupcakes (muffins) with whipped cream frosting for DD's first birthday.

[kedss]

We have a favorite bakery where we always get our birthday cakes from, and we got two cakes, one chocolate mousse and one pumpkin cheesecake, as we had quite a few grownups over. :)

DS had chocolate cake, and a bit of the cheesecake, I think and had a great time. :)

[JTsMom]

Katie, I'm LOL @ the Toby story! :)

[hez]

He got a regular plain old Duncan Hines cake & frosting-- all for him to smash up (had a Costco cake for the guests). In retrospect, egg-free would have been a better idea-- turns out he has an egg allergy. He tossed his cookies (cake!) on my brother's fiance a couple hours after eating it.

[tylersmama]

I did a red velvet cake with chocolate frosting for the adults (it was monkey shaped, and my best friend thought it would be hilarious for the monkey to have bloody brains...it really was!) and yellow cake cupcakes with white frosting for the kids. DS's cupcake was yellow cake, but I decorated it like a monkey to match the big cake. The kid wouldn't touch it. Cried when I tried to get him to taste the frosting. I'm still a little bitter over that one...

[Tondi G]

Both my kids had white cake with Whipped cream frosting from the Grocery Store Bakery. I think with DS#2 we had fresh strawberries in it as well. they both ate a tiny bit and then wanter their hands cleaned! It's personal choice but I went with what WE liked and everyone said the cake was yummy!

You could make carrot cake or Banana cake... I love banana muffins with chocolate chips in them... YUM! There is always Zuchini bread muffins too!

[Tammy]

I made dd an applesauce cake with whip cream topping. I used the applesauce muffin recipe (no eggs or dairy) since she hadn't had them before. I bought a small cake pan from the cake store, baked the cake the night before and put whip cream on it the next day (party day). Then I took the little frosting tip from the cake store and put some whip cream in a ziploc baggie, cut the corner tip off the bag, (had already put the frosting tip in the bag) and decorated the cake with whip cream around the edges. It looked pretty good and she liked it too. She didn't really eat very much of it.

[bubbaray]

We're doing a grocery store cake -- white cake, white frosting. I doubt DD#2 will eat much of it. Its allllllll for me, bwahaha..... :)

[kransden]

Betty Crocker :)

[elizabethkott]

We just did yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting for everyone, including DS.
Seeing as how he was more interested in squishing it than eating it, there was no real risk of sugar shock, unless via osmosis. :)

[egoldber]

Betty Crocker here too. ;)

And Amy ate every single bite (of her piece, not the whole cake)!

[Marisa6826]

We didn't. :) It was vanilla ice cream both times around.

ETA - No, wait. I think Mia may have had some pound cake to go with.

-m

[DrSally]

I did the applesauce cake that's been posted here. It's really simple--flour, applesauce, sugar, baking soda, and butter (shortening). I did this b/c not only is it lower in sugar, but has no milk or eggs for DS. You can also make this into cupcakes.