Jackson's First Birthday

Today we celebrated my son's first birthday (he actual birthday was the 3rd), and it was a big success. As we approached this day, I spent many hours worrying over what he would eat for his cake. I knew I didn't want a HFCS infested cake from the grocery store, but PCC doesn't do specialty cakes. I knew that I REALLY wanted to spoil myself and order a Whole Foods cake for us but I really want to be careful about exposing Jackson to sugar. One night I was talking with my older neighbor who was telling me about the cake that her daughter made for their kids' first birthdays. I was nervous, but I gave it a try. Here's the recipe...it was FANTASTIC and Jackson loved it.

2.5c thinly sliced carrots

2.5c apple juice concentrate
1.5c raisins
2c whole wheat flour
.5c wheat germ
2tbsp baking powder
1tbsp cinnamon
.25c vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1tbsp vanilla extract
.75c unsweetened applesauce

1. Combine carrots with 1c plus 2tbsp of juice concentrate in medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15-20 min. Puree in the food processor until smooth. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9 inch square pans with either vegetable spray or by coating thinly in butter.
3. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1.25c juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla and beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
4. Bake for 35-40 min.

Here's the cream cheese frosting...
.5 c apple juice concentrate
1lb light cream cheese
2tsp vanilla
.5c finely chopped raisins
1.5tsp unflavored gelatin (I omitted this)

I'm lazy, so I just mixed everything together at the same time. But if you going to use gelatin, blend all but 2 tbsp of the juice in a food processor. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir gelatin into the 2tbsp of leftover juice in a small saucepan and let stand one minute to soften. Heat to boiling and stir to dissolve gelatin. Beat the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese mixture until well blended. Refrigerate just until the frosting begins to set, about 30-60 minutes.

So, yes, the juice concentrate does still have sugar in it, my in brain, it's better than the processed white stuff. And everything was organic. Jackson loved this cake, as did I. Although, the Whole Foods cake was the highlight of the day :)







recipe from "Best-Odd Recipes" cookbook