Pages

Tuesday 23 April 2024

Healthy Vegan Smash Cake | Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free


A smash cake is a cute way to mark your little one's first birthday. They are smaller than your average celebration cake - perfect for those little hands to dig into. As the name suggests, the whole idea is for your baby to smash the cake and eat it freely. As a result, smash cakes are often made with baby friendly ingredients, free from refined sugar, and packed full of nutritionally dense goodness. 
This plant-based smash cake recipe is one I trialed ahead of my daughter's first birthday. As strawberries are her favourite fruit at the moment, I incorporated some strawberry puree into the cake (those strawberry and apple baby food pouches came in handy!)

To make this cake allergy friendly, simply use a different plant-based milk such as rice milk, and use a gluten-free flour blend instead of spelt flour. You can also choose to leave out the olive oil for an oil-free version, though this will affect the moistness of the cake.

You'll need a couple of four inch cake tins for this cake. The batter can make up to 4 layers. I only made 2 layers and used the rest for cupcakes. 

For the frosting, I've gone for whipped coconut cream, which is made by refrigerating a tin of full fat coconut milk overnight. The coconut fat solidifies at the top of the tin, making it easy to scoop out. You can use as is or sweeten it with a dash of natural fruit puree. 


Ingredients
(Makes four 4" layers)

Cakes:

2 cups spelt flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Pouch of apple and strawberry purée (approx. 120g)

1 cup soy milk 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 tsp mixed spice


Frosting:

1 tin coconut cream (full fat coconut milk refrigerated overnight)

1 tbsp apple strawberry puree


Decoration:

Strawberries, chopped 

Cake topper


Method


1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.


2. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until just combined.


3. Divide the batter into the cake tins. For each 4" cake tin, you'll need about two heap tablespoons of batter. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean. Once the cakes are ready, leave them to cool completely.


4. Make the coconut frosting by scooping out the solid coconut fat from a tin of refrigerated (overnight) coconut milk. Be careful not to add the water that has settled at the bottom of the tin, as you want the frosting to be as thick as possible. You can sweeten the coconut with a tablespoon of apple/strawberry puree if you wish. Whisk until nice and creamy. if not using immediately, keep refrigerated until you are ready to frost the cake.


5. Assemble the cake by filling and covering the cake layers with the whipped coconut frosting. Decorate with fresh strawberries or any chopped fruit of your choice. 




No comments:

Post a Comment