Birthday time? Hooray – you survived your first year (or another year) together!!! Congratulations!
You guys asked (and asked and asked!) for a first birthday cake – to be honest I have been putting off this recipe because baking is NOT my forte! Give me savoury food any day! So I asked my lovely friend and amazing nutritionist Jordan Pie to help me create the PERFECT first birthday cake!
Like I said – Jordan is an incredible nutritionist and always comes up with the best recipes! I HIGHLY recommend her best selling ebook Just Desserts (she has given a sneaky discount code too BOOBTOFOOD for 30% off!) for more amazing, gut friendly and healthy enough for breakfast desserts!
Baby's First Cake
GF, DF
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Small Saucepan
- 1 Baking Paper
- 1 Large Knife
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- ¾ cup cacao powder
- ¾ cup coconut sugar (or maple syrup)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup melted butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 3 TBSP coconut flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
For Chocolate Mousse Icing Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 70 grams chocolate chopped
- 250 ml whipping cream
- maple syrup to taste Optional
For Chocolate Avocado Icing Ingredients (DF option)
- 3 large or 4 medium sized ripe avocados
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ - ½ cup cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut milk
Instructions
- For the Chocolate Mousse Icing Option - add the coconut cream + chocolate into a small saucepan and heat on low until completely melted. Stir to combine. Put this in the fridge to chill while you make the cake.
- For the Chocolate Avocado Icing (DF) Option - add the avocado, cacao, vanilla, maple syrup and coconut milk to a food processor or Thermomix with the butterfly whisk attached if using. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides with a spatula and reblend. Pour into a bowl and place into the fridge to chill while you make the cake.
- Cake Instructions - preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
- Add all the cake ingredients into a food processor and blend until the ingredients are just combined.
- Pour / scoop the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and place in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Check the cake, if you insert a skewer and it doesn’t come out clean, bake for another 5-10 minutes, keep an eye on it. It’s ready when you insert a skewer and it comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely.
- For the Chocolate Mousse Icing Option - add the chilled ganache into a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy and lump free. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Then mix the whipped cream through the chocolate mix until combined. Taste and add in a touch of maple syrup if desired and gently remix. If you have a Thermomix whip the cream first, then remove it and set it aside in a bowl. Add the ganache into the Thermomix and whip on Speed 3 until creamy. Scrape down the side and reblend. Add the whipped cream back in with the ganache and mix on Speed 3 until just combined. Taste and add in a touch of maple syrup if desired and gently remix. Be careful not to overblend this, it should look like chocolate whipped cream when it’s ready.
- Assembling The Cake - use a large knife to score the entire outside edge of the cake halfway up the side. Go slowly, get down at eye-level if necessary. This is simply serving as a marker. Now carefully and evenly cut through the cake along the indentation made with the knife. Go slowly, there’s no need to rush. Carefully use the knife and your hands to lift the top layer off of the bottom layer.
- Add some of the icing on the bottom layer and spread it out evenly. Carefully place the top layer of the cake on top and finish icing the cake with the remaining icing.
- Garnish the cake with fresh or dried berries and optional chocolate shavings.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
*Maple syrup works in replace of coconut sugar (in the cake)
*Tapioca flour is NOT a good replacement for the brown rice flour (the brown rice flour really helps with the almost mud-like cake texture and I haven’t found a suitable substitute for it yet)
*I wouldn’t recommend an egg-replacement in this recipe
*The cake + frosting can both be made the day before, and you can assemble / garnish on the day or the day before just store it in the fridge
*Freezer friendly
*If you don’t have baking powder, you can make your own using 50/50 baking soda + cream of tartar (ie; this recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking powder which would be ½ tsp baking soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Do you think this can work as cupcakes? So excited to try!!
Yes I do – just decrease the cooking time by about 15 minutes and test it then!
I’m wanting to do this for a cake smash, what would you suggest using as a “fondant” type to go all over the cake? (Coloured blue icing of some form is the goal)
im not really familiar with fondant icing but for the colouring you could use blue spirulina?
Made this today and it was an absolute hit for both little and big people, thanks for another cracker recipe
oh yay thank you for your feedback!
Hi lovely where is the video of this being made please? X
Thanks for letting us know the link was missing! You’ll find it on instagram here- https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgGIwLRABiR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Hi Luka, what can I substitute the cacao powder for in the avocado icing? I’m guessing you need it to hide the colour of the avo but I don’t really want to give my one year old cacao.
Hi Laura. You could try carob powder instead, or I wonder if a freeze dried berry powder would work too? Hope that helps x
Hi Luka,
Is the Thermomix capable of making brown rice flour out of brown rice or better to buy store bought? Thanks!
Hi lovely, yes it is! Store bought is also totally fine, but if you’re up to making it, you could definitely give it a go. Make sure you cover your ears… it is very loud
What chocolate did you use for the Grenache?
Is there an alternative to almond flour for nut allergies?
Do I use coconut milk in a can or in the carton?
Hi! For nuts allergies, what could we replace the almond flour with? Thank you!!