This recipe is the our easy, go-to, never-fail birthday cake base. We have been making it for years and everyone always loves it.

Making a birthday cake can sometimes feel daunting but trust me, this is so, so easy! My kids make it all the time themselves without any worries.

Birthday cakes are so expensive these days and the weird additives in them makes a homemade one much more appealing! You don’t have to get fancy with toppings (unless you want to!)

Just some thick cream (so you don’t have to whip it) and some strawberries is all you need.

Quick, easy and so good! Best of all, it’s made with love.

What more could you want for your birthday?

Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake

Vital Stats: nut-free, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options

Okay, so this is what you need:

3/4 cup self-raising flour (for gluten free, I use the self-raising Orgran brand)
1/2 teaspoon bi-carb soda
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/2 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
1 cup or 200g organic natural yoghurt (for dairy-free, use coconut yoghurt)
2 organic eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a round cake tin with toxin-free baking paper.

Sift together the flour, cacao and bicarb. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together.

Gently combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour batter into the cake tin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Hot tips:

This recipe is easy to double and bake in a lamington tin if you need to feed a crowd. It also freezes really well, so make it in advance if you are pressed for time.

This cake is not very sweet because that’s how we like our cakes! If you want it to be a bit sweeter, add 1/4 cup more sugar or don’t even worry if you are going to add a sweet icing.

We just usually top it with double cream (choose one without additives) and fresh fruit but if you need a healthy icing, check out these ideas.

Let me know if you make my Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake! I love hearing from you. 🙂

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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