Birthday Smash Cake for my 1 year old

Yours will be prettier if you follow my directions! ha.

Robby turned ONE! I wanted to make a gluten-free, low-sugar smash cake for him, but didn't see anything on the web I liked except this one, which I converted to american measurements with google and my imagination... heh heh.  I tried baking it at 350˚F and it was a no-go, so definitely stick to 340˚F.  It's very low sugar, and most likely paleo/primal (I think?) except for the icing.  I tried and tried to make a meringue icing that was low sugar to keep it dairy free and failed a million times... I tried honey - everyone proclaimed, "no kid would eat this!" even though mine liked it ok.  I tried coconut sugar- too heavy.  I tried powdered coconut sugar - still too heavy.  So, for my dairy-free nephew and a low-sugar/dairy-free cake for other kids who came, I made this cake with a meringue topping made of egg whites and "raw" cane sugar.  I'll post that too, in case you want to try it.  And, for Robby, I made a whipped cream topping with stevia.  The other icing was WAY too sweet for him.  He has no idea what "american sweet" is, and I hope to keep it that way as long as possible!
I was low on time, so I whipped my icing too fast and it made almost butter.  Don't do that, and yours will be prettier! If you whip it correctly, you can put it in a pastry bag and use a star tip and get all fancy.  Mine didn't care, he just wanted it In.His.Mouth.  He loved it. :)
Happy Birthday, Robby!!!

If you really need a low-sugar dairy-free icing, and your kid eats everything and thinks stevia is sweet and fat bombs are candy, you can try subbing half as much honey in the icing recipe (try to get some lighter colored honey) or try this icing with or without orange zest.

This recipe makes a 7" or 8" cake, or half for a 6" cake.  I used the whole recipe for a 5" smash cake (tall) and a short 7" cake.  When I say tall, I mean it is as tall as two layers, and short is as tall as one layer.


UPDATE: Since I wrote this post 2 days ago, I have found 2 coconut milk icing recipes.  I will try them and post!

Smash Cake

2 1/2 cups + 1 Tablespoon almond flour
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons high quality coconut oil or butter
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons honey
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 340˚F (170˚C).  Grease your cake pan(s).  Blend coconut oil/butter and honey until creamy.  Add eggs while beating, one at a time.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Pour into pan(s) and bake for 15- 20 minutes or until a toothpick is clean - it will still look wet inside the baking cracks so definitely test it.  If you are baking a half recipe or a short cake, check at 10 minutes, or better yet, just keep an eye on it.  They will rise.  This cake keeps about 5 days in the fridge.

Low Sugar Icing

1 cup whip/heavy cream
liquid or powdered stevia to taste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip cream on medium-high until soft peaks are formed.  Add vanilla and stevia.  Best to do this right before or not too long before serving.

Dairy Free Icing: Meringue: go here for tips on making meringues: important info.
If you plan on subbing here, I hope you read my notes above first

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup raw cane sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whip egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add sugar slowly while whipping, then add vanilla.  Continue whipping until shiny and stiff peaks are made when lifting the whisk.  You can whip this for up to 20 minutes, but mine looked fine for icing after about 10 minutes of super-high KitchenAid speed.  Best to do this right before or not too long before serving.


Smash Cake on left, Whole Foods cake center, Dairy Free version on right.
You can make yours prettier, I ran out of time.



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I love to hear from you! Please let me know how you changed a recipe, and how it came out. I don't do nutritional information anymore, sorry! I just provide the *free* recipes. I try to reply to comments but don't have much time these days. I hope to revamp this site eventually.... but for now I am still a working Mom and this is my hobby.
*If you would like to post the carb counts by using an online carb calculator, please go ahead* I don't provide them anymore, it's a miracle if I even get a post up these days! Thanks!

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