ALLERGY FRIENDLY 1ST BIRTHDAY CAKE IDEAS!
First birthdays are such a milestone and your allergy baby deserves something special! This can get incredibly stressful when trying to find a first birthday cake recipe that is safe, especially if you haven’t had a chance to trial all foods yet. Below are some different options for 1st birthday cakes that you can try, as well as my personal tips!
Some of my own personal tips:
CAKE PANS:
These small cake pans work GREAT for a small cake. I stacked 3 high for a tall look. Just keep in mind you will need to bake these more like cupcake timing rather than cake timing so that it doesn’t overcook. Click here to purchase.
FROSTING:
If you DO want to go the traditional frosting route, I have a great allergy friendly frosting recipe that I have used for more elaborate cake decorating. Below is an example of a unicorn cake I made for a friend’s baby shower using this frosting! (I also used fondant which you can use for certain cake decorations safely since fondant is never eaten).
Click here for this allergy-friendly traditional frosting recipe.
If you are looking for more natural food colors without artificial dyes, these won’t be quite as intense as regular, but they are food based! Click here to purchase.
Other frosting options:
Trader Joes or Aldi Chocolate Hummus
Coconut cream frosting (note that the coconut creams without gums don’t seem to work as well).
CAKE RECIPES
There are so many great variations of flavors for this recipe on the website, but you’ll find the vanilla recipe linked here. This is SUCH an easy cake and very basic. I have also successfully used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour for this recipe. You can also reduce the sugar if you like! Click here for the recipe.
If you have a birthday child who is allergy to many foods, you may just want to consider a real fruit cake! These are becoming more trendy as a healthier option and pretty simple to make! If watermelon isn’t in season, consider using pineapple rings for a smaller cake. Click here for a how-to for the watermelon cake.
This recipe uses cassava and tiger nut flour if you are looking for something that avoids all the more traditional flour options. This cake is Top 12 free. Tip: although rare to have any allergy, try this recipe out beforehand if you have never used cassava or tiger nut flour, just to confirm your toddler can tolerate. Click here for the recipe.
I used this recipe for my daughter’s 1st birthday cake. I reduced the sugar so that it was a healthier option. This recipe also works great with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour. It is a more dense cake since it’s technically banana bread, but still moist and soft! I omit the walnuts for this recipe. I also used the coconut cream recipe that is listed above with the other frosting recipes. Click here for the recipe.
Did you know that the first year is the most important time to make sure the gut is in a good place for lifelong health?
Especially if your baby had(s) digestive issues, this is important! The gut microbiome is such an important part of your child’s immune system (80% of the immune system is in the gut!). To find out what kind of testing you can do to make sure that your little one shifts into their toddler years with good gut health, click HERE.