Six Healthy Birthday Cakes

The cake is always the star of a birthday party, especially for kids!

Making a home-made cake means you can control what’s in it, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg and has the special ingredient – mum love! ♥

Check out these six fabulous ideas for healthier birthday cakes. I personally think they are yummier than the sweet, sickly rich cakes.

If you want a bigger cake, double the recipe and stack two on top of each other or bake in a large rectangular pan.

I also have some healthy icing and decoration options for you.

Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake (aka Sonia’s Chocolate Yoghurt Cake)

Easy Healthy Cake by Georgia at Well Nourished

Strawberry Cake by Tash at Fur Kids and Food.

Chocolate and Beetroot Birthday Cake by Jude Blereau at Whole Food Cooking

Gluten-Free Thyme and Lemon Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting by Kelly Gibney

Grain, dairy and refined sugar free birthday cake by Urban Poser

Fresh Fruit Watermelon Cake by Apron Strings

You might also like to try my Rich Chocolate Cake, Banana Breads, Coconut Hummingbird Cake or the Crio Bru Chocolate Fruit Cake.

Can you tell I love cake?

♥ Healthier Icing

Icing or frosting usually is a heap of icing sugar! Tasty but not so healthy! Here are some other options that still taste great but are a bit healthier.

Gooey Chocolate Icing

Raw Chocolate Glaze

Coconut Cream Whip

Paleo Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Cream cheese with honey

Fresh organic cream

Marscapone cheese mixed with pureed berries and honey to taste

Avoid food colouring if you can – that’s where all the nasty additives hide. Source some natural food colourings like Hoppers just make your own natural food colourings.

To make an easy chocolate icing, add a couple of spoons of raw cacao, Superfoods for Kidz Berry Choc Chunk powder or melted dark chocolate and mix with cream, cream cheese or whipped coconut cream.

♥ Healthier Cake Decorations

Fresh fruit is always a winner. Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes.

Hoppers make a range of natural sprinkles that are free from artificial colours and flavours

Chopped nuts

Fresh flowers

Bliss balls

Natural Confectionery Company lollies (still sugar but there is no artifical stuff)

Organic Times Gems (a healthier Smartie)

You can also decorate with non-edible items like toys (just take them off before you eat!). A couple of my kid’s favourite cakes have been a dolly varden, a cake with Bob the Builder toy and bulldozer and a cake with a Steve Irwin doll, plastic trees and a few Natural Confectionery Company crocodiles!

Sparklers are not so great as the metal flakes they give off are not safe to ingest. If you want to use birthday candles, beeswax are the safest option.

I would love to hear your ideas and tips for making a healthier birthday cake. You can upload your photos to my Facebook Page, Natural New Age Mum.

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It’s that time of year again when we all eat Christmas cake!

But have you ever had a supercharged Christmas cake?

My Crio Bru Chocolate Christmas Cake is supercharged with superfoods! Crio Bru, cacao, dark chocolate, superfood powders and goji berries – antioxidants galore. It is gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free and you can make it dairy-free really easily too.

I have been making this recipe for years, but I gave it a big overhaul this year to make it even yummier and healthier.

It’s moist, fudgy, chocolatey and even people who don’t like fruit cake, like this fruit cake!

Crio Bru Chocolate Christmas Cake

Vital Stats: Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, can be Dairy Free

Okay, so this is what you need:

1 1/2 cups organic sultanas

1 cup organic cranberries

1 cup organic currants

1 cup organic figs

1 cup organic dried apricots

1/2 cup goji berries

2 tablespoons organic cacao

2 tablespoons C-Berry Blast or Acai Berry Blend

2 1/2 cups strongly brewed Crio Bru

2 cups gluten-free self-raising flour (I used Orgran brand)

100g Green and Blacks organic cooking chocolate, roughly chopped

Wait: What is Crio Bru? Check it out here. I also did a blog post about it here.

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Brew up your Crio Bru (I left about half the grounds in). Chop the figs and apricots (use your thermomix if you have one).

Pour the Crio Bru into to the dried fruit, mix well and leave to soak overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius and line with baking paper a 20x28cm lamington tin.

Mix everything together really well. If you find the mix a little too dry, add a touch of water. It should be quite thick though.

Put into your tin and with slightly damp hands, smooth down into the corners.

Fling into the oven and cook about 60 -75 minutes. Cover half way through the cooking time to prevent the fruit from burning, if needed.

Cool down thoroughly on a wire rack. Do not attempt to sneak a juicy sultana from the top of the cake – those little suckers burn!

It will make about 25 slices and it will freeze really well. I make up a few batches and wrap them up for Christmas gifts.

The cake is quite rich and filling, so you only need a small piece.

If you would like to make it dairy-free, just omit the chocolate or use a dairy-free chocolate. It also works well with wheat SR flour too if you don’t need to watch your gluten!

Enjoy!

Do you make a Christmas cake every year? Is it a family recipe?