Category Archives: Entertaining

Baby Bird’s Banana Smash Cake: A Healthier Option for a First Birthday

Posted on October 25, 2012 | 8 comments

The idea of a “smash cake” is getting more and more popular these days. It is generally a small cake given to a one-year-old at his or her party. Babies can dive into it and make a mess, while a larger cake is reserved for the rest of the party. Some parents also find this an opportunity to make baby’s cake more healthy. Since I attempted a tres leches cake for our baby’s first birthday party, I saw exactly how much sugar went into it and wanted to give her something a little healthier and developed this healthy banana smash cake.

banana smash cake: a healthy smash cake recipe for baby's first birthday

This banana smash cake will not be winning any beauty contests. If you would like to find a tutorial on decorating a gorgeous smash cake, try this one. However, I couldn’t find any decent, healthy recipes for cake for a one-year-old that looked like they tasted good. Our baby has had wheat and now whole eggs, so my main concern was reducing the sugar. Since she loves bananas, I decided to make something up, based on my banana bread and a basic banana cake. Feel free to substitute a gluten-free flour mix. You can also try using flax or chia seeds in place of the eggs.

It was also important to me to avoid any artificial dyes or coloring, as well as artificial ingredients in general. A lot of “frosting” is partially hydrogenated shortening plus sugar and food coloring. I tried whipping up a can of coconut milk, which was popular on pinterest, but frankly, it tasted like a can. I decided there was nothing wrong with a little bit of organic cream, especially since whole fat yogurt is one of her staples.




The most challenging part of making a mini cake is simply finding mini pans. Before you go out and buy something, look and see what you might have at home. I had oven safe ramekins that looked about the right size. I also had 4″ tart pans that I thought could make little “layers” for a two layer cake. After filling up the ramekin and pans, I had enough batter to fill up a pan of one dozen mini muffins. I figured Baby would be able to share the healthy treats with her baby friends. And with the mini muffins the three of us were able to sample the cake straight from the oven (it really was best warm).

banana smash cake: a healthy smash cake recipe for baby's first birthday

Baby Bird’s Banana Smash Cake Recipe

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Baby Bird's Banana Smash Cake: A Healthier Option for a First Birthday
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Recipe type: Dessert
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A healthy banana cake, low in sugar and free of artificial ingredients or coloring, ideal for a baby's first birthday.
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cup flour
  • 1½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ cup coconut oil (or butter)
  • ½ cup date sugar or sweetener of your choice
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
  • ⅓ cup kefir, baby yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar or agave (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line bottom of ramekin with a cut out circle of parchment paper. Grease pans (4" ramekin or mini tart pans plus mini muffin pan.)
  2. Sift dry ingredients (the first four ingredients) together.
  3. In a mixer, cream the oil and sugar until fluffy. (Note: coconut oil does not get as fluffy as butter.) Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light. Gently stir in the bananas, alternating with the dry ingredients and the kefir or yogurt.
  4. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Mini muffins and mini tart pans: 12 minutes. Ramekin: 35-40 minutes.
  5. Let cool completely before frosting.
  6. To make the frosting: Whip cream, vanilla and sugar in a mixer with a wire attachment until stiff peaks form. Let baby taste from the bowl.
  7. Decorate the cake rustic style or smooth out and decorate with piping. Top with a candle and baby's favorite fruit.

 

Variation: One of Baby’s friends turned one this past weekend and her mom made an adorable caterpillar cake for her Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party. The head was the baby’s smash cake and the body was cupcakes for the rest of the party.

Update: Try Baby Bird’s Pumpkin Smash Cake for a gluten-free option!


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Posted in Dessert, Entertaining, Food, Healthy Recipes, Homemade Baby Food, Recipes for the Whole Family

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Rick Bayless’ Tres Leches Cake

Posted on October 18, 2012 | 10 comments

One benefit of living in San Diego, or Tijuana Norte, is our proximity to great Mexican food. And it’s impossible to attend a few birthdays (Mexican or not) without eating the ubiquitous tres leches. Pastel de tres leches, or “three milk” cake, is usually a sponge cake drenched in 1. evaporated milk, 2. sweetened condensed milk and 3. heavy cream (or half and half). It’s moist and sweet and lighter than you would expect.

Planning our Bebe’s first birthday party, I was content keeping the menu simple and having Whole Food’s catering make sandwiches. But I wanted to try my hand at making dessert. Since her party had a strawberry theme, I wanted something with strawberries, whip cream, and cajeta, of course.

It may not be a beauty, but it turned out delicious!

Tres Leches Cake Recipe

MAKES A RICH 10-INCH CAKE, SERVING 12 TO 15

Adapted from Pastel de Tres Leches from Rick Bayless’ Mexican Kitchen (Simon & Schuster)

For the cake

  • 3/4 cup, (about 3 ounces) almond meal or ground, toasted almonds
  • 1 cup, (3 1/2 ounces) cake flour – sifted before measuring
  • 10 tablespoons, (5 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons, pure vanilla extract
  • 6 large eggs at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, sugar
  • the finely grated zest (colored rind only) of 1 orange

For the “soaking” mixture and frosting

  • 2 cups, heavy (whipping) cream [divided use]
  • 3/4 cup, evaporated milk
  • 2/3 cup, cajeta (goat-milk caramel), either store-bought or homemade (can substitute sweetened, condensed milk)
  • (optional) 1/4 cup, orange liqueur (such as triple sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier)

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 2-inch deep, 10-inch round cake pan or springform pan. Line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper, then grease the paper and flour it all – pan and paper.

In a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat, stirring and swirling until the butter is nut brown – about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, swirl to allow it to cool a little, then stir in the vanilla. Set aside until needed later.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer (you will need a heatproof bowl, preferably stainless steel), combine the eggs, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the orange zest. Select a saucepan that the mixer bowl will fit snugly into without the bottom of the bowl touching the bottom of the pan. Add to the saucepan about 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer. Set the mixer bowl over the simmering water (you’ll need to regulate the heat so the water no more than simmers), and whisk for several minutes, until the mixture in the bowl is very warm to the touch and foamy, and the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer and beat the warm egg mixture for a full 5 minutes (the mixture will be as thick as whipped cream that almost holds peaks).

Lower the speed, and now, with the mixer on the lowest speed, add the almond meal and flour a couple of spoonfuls at a time, letting one addition just disappear before adding the next. Thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of the cake batter into the butter/vanilla mixture. Then, in 2 additions, use a whisk to fold the butter mixture into the remaining cake batter.

Immediately and gently scoop this batter mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the cake feels slightly springy on top and the sides just begin to pull away from the pan, about 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack and cool completely.

TO MAKE THE “SOAKING” MIXTURE: Mix 3/4 cup of the cream with the evaporated milk and the cajeta in a small bowl. Slowly brush or spoon half of the mixture over the cake while on the cooling rack. Carefully invert your serving plate over the cake and flip the two. Remove the cooking rack from what is now the top and slowly brush or spoon on the remaining mixture. (Soaking the cake will take 10 to 15 minutes, letting each addition soak in before adding more.)

TO FROST THE CAKE: With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the remaining 1 1/4 cups of the cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the orange liqueur until very stiff. (I skipped the liqueur as I had a few friends at the party that do not drink alcohol.) Spread the whipped cream over the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I topped it with fresh strawberries.

Notes:

The cake layer can be made several days in advance, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated; it may be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months. The cake can be soaked a day ahead, but do not frost until the day you are serving.

Do not attempt to make a double recipe in a standard size mixer. I learned the hard way that the sponge really grows!

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Posted in Dessert, Entertaining, Food

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