I need a healthy cake or frosting recipe

It's my sons second birthday tomorrow ( can't believe time really flies when ur havin fun) We don't really eat cake but I was looking at the back of a frosting can and it has a crap loaad of trans fats and other nasties. Anyone have anyother suggestions for somthing small and healthful for my little mans bday much appreciated

Best Apple Cake Ever

It's packed with apples and is very tasty.  I just dust it with powdered suger, but you could whip up some cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla to make an icing.  It's a rectangular cake.

Fat-free coolwhip might make a good frosting? It doesnt melt like whipped cream (at least not unless the cake is warm). I was never a real fan of the thick sugar frostings (so the coolwhip is perfect with its light creamyness mmm)

Oh, instead of cake, a healthier thing would probably be bread pudding (i would take that over cake anyday). But, i think its more an adult taste (not as sweet) so not sure your child would like it.

This website has low cal/fat (not always high health) ideas.
http://cookingdonelight.com/blog/
You can also make those cakes out of dried fruit, mlk and SR flour, but thats more calorie packed

Those are some great ideas I really love the apple cake recipe. If I werent going to use egg beaters how many eggs = 1 1/2 cups of eggbeaters

It should say on the package.  I think 1/4 cup is one egg?

for frosting... mix one box sf ff pudding with a tub of cool whip....just powder and whip....fluffy and awesome

i think in these early years we are shaping our childs prefrences for food and thier expectations.  if you made for him a healthy fruit filled cake with no icing and presented it with a smile and candles i cant think he would even miss icing since he is only 2 and not asking for something specific.  of course my fav cake was coconut with the same icing when i was  a kid...ewww i would love a fruit tort now over that and maybe when i was a kid too if it had of been offered.

What is sf ff? Sounds like a wonderful frosting!

 

for frosting... mix one box sf ff pudding with a tub of cool whip....just powder and whip....fluffy and awesome

 

 

sf = sugar free

ff = fat free

Cool whip is just fillers and fake sweetener.

not so delicious in my opinion.

You could make a fruit torte. They're a lot of work, not necessarily low fat, but delicous and covered in fruit.

make it from scratch.  you'll know what's in there, so you can have to transfats if you want.  for an easy icing: icing sugar plus water until you get the riht consistency.  fat free.  or you can do a cream cheese icing (icing sugar and cream cheese--you can use the low fat version for less fat, but i find the fat free kind doesn't give the right consistency or taste) for a creamier version without being full of butter and such.  in fact, how about a carrot cake: replace half the butter with apple sauce (i say half because it tastes better than replacing all of it and a little fat on his birthday won't hurt).  it's got carrrots (vitamin A and fiber), walnuts (protein and healthy fats) and spices (tasty, fat free, and have lots of healthy qualities like stress relief, etc).

I love the apple cake recipe Clairlaine- it sounds so yummy.

If I wanted to use real eggs - can you tell me how many I should use for it?

 

 

if he's only 2, i guess he'll eat anything you label "birthday cake" but i don't see what's wrong with having real cake once or twice a year (or once a month).  a home-made cake with home-made frosting might be a high-calorie, high-fat product, but there's no reason for it to have transfats or HFCS.  as long as serving sizes are reasonable, it's just a treat like any other.

I guess you can just mix a box cake with a can of diet soda. I make a frosting out of fat free cream cheese, coolwhip free, and splenda and I love it. You can also make cupcakes by mixing a box of chocolate cake and 2 cups of pumpkin and that is it! They are sooo moist and you can't taste the pumpkin at all.

p.s. Check out the Hungry Girl website. It's my favorite!

^the box cake mix + various add ins does not make the cake healthier, it makes it lower in calories. The cake is still full of chemicals and sugar.

For my daughters' 2nd we made a carrot cake (with carrots, zukes, apples & parsnips). I made frosting with whipped cream cheese, whipping cream & all-fruit apple butter. I added beet juice to make it pink (her favourite color) & let her decorate it. Hit!

Thank you for your voice of reason.  I am so surprised at the number of parents who give artificial sweeteners (diet drinks, etc) to children and actually think thye are doing something good.   Can you share your recipe for your cake?  My daughter's 2nd birthday party is next weekend and this sounds delicious!  Thanks!

Hey!! I found a copy of the recipe here! http://www.recipezaar.com/Harvest-Cake-With-C ider-Cinnamon-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-344922

I got the recipe from Edible Seattle too. She made similar changes as I did, only I used yogurt instead of buttermilk. If you use pumpkin or squash it's decidedly more dense. I love it both cakelike and densey. Its so good! 

I didn't use confectioners sugar in the frosting either, originally I used applebutter. It's pretty delicious! Last time we made it we used homemade vanilla strawberry-rhubarb preserves & it was like... mindblowing. Sounds like an odd combo, but whoa. It was freakishly good. Plus, it turned the frosting an ever popular bright pink color. Win!

I've also added spices like cardamom, allspice, orange peel and lemon extract to the cake and/or the icing. It's a great cake to mix up.

I don't diss on artificial sweeteners (I have to watch my sugar intake for medical reasons & am all over the Splenda for myself). The OP was specifically looking for something healthy without chemicals for her kid.

I feed my kid pretty wholesome... she loves whole foods like cauliflower (specifically purple cauliflower), raw carrots, fruits, tofu, meat, whole grains etc. but I definitely don't keep her from any experiences either. When she's with grandparents she eats what they give her (cookies & chocolate) & her friends at school always bring snacks to share.

My daughter still doesn't "get" the difference between the stuff I make for her & the stuff she gets in the "real world." I think it's great & I hope she never learns to have "good foods" & "bad foods" & somehow intuitively developes understanding of growing food vs. treats. Wishful thinking, right?

I think I'm doing ok though. Today she was begging for kiwi with such passion you'd think it were money. On the other hand, she also asked for marshmallows for breakfast, which may or may not have had something to do with our first attempt at rice krispie treats with real HFCS rice krispies the other day. M&M's too. Wholesome, right?

For us it's all about balance. It's a delicious cake & *everyone* loves it. We've made it so many times now! Super yum! Hope you enjoy it!

Original Post by jeromecancook:

for frosting... mix one box sf ff pudding with a tub of cool whip....just powder and whip....fluffy and awesome

 

I'll second this idea. That's what I was goin to say.

Or make a strawberry short cake and use the cool whip.

My favorite pudding mix to ad is the cheesecake flavor. It reminds me of a cream cheese frosting. Great for carrot cakes and chocolate cakes.

Thanks for the recipe and the tips.  Sounds like some pretty good advice. 

Ok, I made this cake last weekend for my daughter's 2nd birthday party (in the shape of a fish) and it was delicious!  Everyone loved it, even after I told them about all of the vegees in it.  I actually can't wait to make this again.  Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

Oh that is *such* a cute idea!!! I always see fish shaped pans at Goodwill... I thought they were jello molds or something! I am totally going to get one!