First Birthday Cake

There isn’t really a recipe for this cake, it is just a “puzzle” of fruit assembled together to look like a cake. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a first birthday cake as it may work for any type of event, as a dessert or even as an edible centerpiece, but since my youngest daughter, Lucia, just had her first birthday I decided to make this for her. It was also sort of a birthday present, as it was the first time she ate fruit.

A lot of parents wait to introduce their babies to a variety of different foods, most pediatricians recommend to wait until after their first birthday to introduce babies to egg yolks, dairy or nuts.  We now know that grains aren’t babies’ ideal first food, as we once thought, also some parents want to keep their kids away from sweets as long as possible.  This allergen-free first birthday cake is ideal for the occasion. I personally kept my kids away from everything sweet including fruit, until they developed a taste for their veggies, and so far it has worked, my kids eat anything you put in front of them, from raw onions to chlorella tablets.

I remember keeping Lilah, my oldest daughter, away from eggs, grains and sweets for a long time, but when her first birthday came up I wanted to “treat” her with a real cake. Needless to say, it shocked her body and made her sick. You live, you learn! But this brings an entirely different issue to mind. Why do parents (including myself) “treat” their kids with sweets? Is it because our first food (breast-milk) is on the sweet side and we develop a sweet tooth early on? Is that where comfort eating comes from? I wonder if I could praise my kids with a giant broccoli? I really wish they came with a manual!

For other cake ideas try my Pound Cake or my Ultimate Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

One watermelon (preferably seedless)

A variety of berries and other colored fruit. I used tangerine slices and a large blackberry for the top, kiwi and pineapple for the sides and blueberries at the base.

 

Preparation:

• To make the base, cut a large round slice from the center of the watermelon about 4-5 inches wide or to desired thickness.
• Place a round plate, a bowl or a lid around the top of the watermelon slice and using a thin sharp knife cut around it to form the round base of your cake, you can also make a square cake or a multi-tiered one.
• Using a paper towel or kitchen towel gently rub the cake, to smooth down the edges.
• Cut the other fruit into desired shapes and decorate the cake with them.For the fruit on the sides use toothpick halves to secure them to the watermelon base.

 

Note: If you are giving this cake to a small child remove the tooth picks, small fruit or any other choking hazard before giving it to them.

Happy Birthday Lucy!!