A fun, delicious birthday cake is something every child looks forward to, but how can you keep your child’s excitement going and keep things healthy? Satisfy your child’s sweet tooth with these surprisingly delicious and healthy birthday cake recipes.
According to Catherine Jeans, executive of The Family Nutrition Expert, it’s all about “simple swaps, tricks and easy ways to make a birthday cake, or any cake, that little bit more healthy… and the best thing is that most children will be none the wiser!” For instance, she recommends swapping sugar for sweetener such as Total Sweet, swapping white flour for a wholegrain flour, substituting half of the butter for vegetable oil, and using less icing.
“less sugar usually means calmer and more attentive children… so you might cope easier with a house full of young kids running around if they’re not having such a massive sugar spike!”
Healthy birthday cake recipes that you and your kids will love
Watermelon and fruit “Cake”
Not only is a cake made entirely of fruit the healthiest option, but it can look pretty fabulous, too. Over on My Taste we can see how to make the impressive two tired ‘cake’ out of just fruit! Use biscuit cutters to cut the fruit to certain shapes and toothpicks to pin them to the sides of the watermelon base.
Banana Cake
Key substitutions in your child’s birthday cake recipe can go a long way toward making a healthier version. Alison suggests an almost no fat banana bread which uses substitutes a lot of its sugar for apple sauce!
Low fat Chocolate Cake
Looking at this chocolaty cake, you’d never guess that it is actually low fat! With no butter or baking powder, and topped with berries and Greek yoghurt, House And Garden’s recipe is certainly a healthier alternative for an old favourite!
Classic Carrot Cake
Carrot cakes are always a popular choice, but for a healthier twist on a delicious classic, check out Angela Nilsen’s recipe.
Lemon and Blueberry Tray Bake
Tray bakes are incredibly easy to throw together if you’re looking to feed a lot of little ones! With low-fat icing and fresh berries to decorate, this a simple yet tasty recipe to try. Find the recipe on Baking Mad.
Low-Fat Chocolate and Raspberry Brownies
There’s no better way to get your kids eating fruit than by combining them with a delicious chocolaty favourite! This recipe put together by the Good Housekeeping cookery team is a ‘guilt-free’ brownie, with the same brownie flavour the kids love, but without the lashings of butter.
Chocolate Quinoa Cake
Go gluten-free with this impressive looking and tasty recipe from Liza Siegal at Yummly.
‘Epic vegan chocolate cake’
A favourite of Jamie Oliver’s vegan recipes, this gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate is also pretty guilt-free! A healthy birthday cake indeed!
Summer Fruit Swiss Roll
Not only does this Swiss roll look and taste delicious, it’s packed full of fresh fruit and a Greek yoghurt filling, making it an incredibly healthy option! See the recipe on AllRecipes
Strawberry Ice Cream Cake
Even an ice cream birthday cake can be a healthy alternative if you make it from scratch. Michelle Blackwood’s recipe is also gluten free.
Lighter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Forgo the cake all together and make birthday cookies with this recipe from Food Network. It limits the serving size and, with chocolate chips, it’s also a wonderful treat.
Strawberry Upside Down Cake
Substitute the sugar for sweetener, and some of the butter for vegetable oil, and this seasonal twist on a classic pudding is both healthy and tasty! Find the recipe at Tesco.
Butternut Squash Cake
Jenny at Mummy Mishaps uses butternut squash as her secret ingredient to provide her kids with some extra veggies while they eat a tasty treat!
Low-Fat Fruit Loaf
Not only is this yummy fruit cake low-fat, but it is incredibly cheap to prepare, and takes near to no time at all to bake! Find the recipe here at Good To Know.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
This sugar-free lemon drizzle cake at Your Healthy Living maintains its sweet syrupy texture by using the much healthier sweetening alternative: Xylitol.
Looking for more ways to make your child’s birthday party healthy? Substitute the unhealthy party snack foods with healthy alternatives: for instance swap out pizza for child nutritionist Annabel Karmel’s Bagel Snake, or swap out a jar of sweets for her Watermelon Pig. Dressing up the healthy foods in a fun way is sure to keep the children excited!
For more healthy birthday cake recipes, check out Care.com’s Pinterest board. With a few key substitutions, you can still make a birthday cake that your child will enjoy — without the sugar high!