Preparing Baby to Eat Cake

I love, Love, LOVE the idea of a little carrot cake! You'll always remember just WHY you decided on the carrot cake.

But I also agree with Lee P. At age O., it's all about the playing with it!

My son was (still is) persnickety about getting "dirty or sticky" so his uncle had to PLUNK his hand in the frosting!

My son had been eating some solids (i.e. toast, crackers, etc.) by the time he was one, but my experience with one year olds is they are only interested in playing in the cake. :)

you can always serve one cake for guests and make him his own cake with more natural ingredients... you know he eats carrots, so carrot cake with just a touch of icing might be a great idea. You can decorate it traditionally so it would look like a regular cake.
He will get his own cake to smoosh and devour, and everyone else can enjoy a sweeter version...

here is a great recipe for baby carrot cake...

Baby's First Birthday Cake (Carrot Cake)

(Makes 1 double-layer 9-inch square cake; adapted from "What to Expect")

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)
1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)

Vegetable Spray/Shortening
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two 9 inch square cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening.

1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a blender of food processor until smooth.
3. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.
4. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
5. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting below or sprinkle a wee bit of powdered sugar if desired.

I have twin girls who just turned ONE on March 26th! Honestly, we didn't prepare the girls to eat cake, they just ate it! LOL. At first they just sat there and looked at it... we had to put their hands into it and let them taste it off of their fingers. After that they dug in! I tried to find a recipe for a sugar-free cake but they just don't exist! or I couldn't find one anyway... don't worry, your baby won't eat too much of the cake so he will be just fine... just have fun with it!

If the puffs are wheat, you should probably be fine. You could serve some cereal and eggs between now and then if you are worried about allergies. He probably won't each much anywayl!

One of mine did not recognize the cake as food, it was more like paint!

Have a good time!
M.

Maybe make him a very moist carrot cake. Instead of using frosting, use cool whip - he can definetly eat that! and put on quite a show with it! That way if he doesn't eat the cake no one will really even notice and you'll still have great first bday pics with cool whip all over him.

Depends on what kind of cake. If it is a store bought full of C.R.A.P (confectioners sugar, refined sugar, preservatives and additives) then NO DO NOT FEED HIM CAKE. He is 1, the whole eating the cake ritual is for the guests not the birthday child. He won't even know it. Why don't you start a healthy tradition NOW with him?
Here is what I know:
~ kids are being introduced to C.R.A.P. earlier and earlier and we have an obesity crisis in our country.
~ healthy options are the choice of the parents (yes, even for birthdays!) You do not have to follow everyone else, wouldn't you be the coolest parent on the block who chose to give up the BAD birthday habits and fed your baby only goodness?

I am going to challenge you to put what is best for you baby first and forget that you "really want him to eat cake". WHY? What good is it for him?

B.
Family Wellness Coach

I didn't read all your responses but I think you should just let your baby eat cake. They do get more on them and on the floor then what they actually eat. When my daughter turned 1 my sister in law bought her cake at a bakery. It was a 2 tier cake and they gave her a small individual cake for the bday girl to eat all by herself. It was soo cute, it was decorated with the same colors and shapes as the bigger cake. This will only be the beginning of many more bday cakes to eat.

I don't think its a bad idea to maybe try out some more solid foods by that time. My daughter was eating pretty much whatever we ate for dinner mashed up by 1 year. Every kid is different, but my daughter went to town on her little birthday cake at age 1--she probably would have eaten the whole thing if we let her =) That wasn't her first time having a nibble of cake though.....I guess she is just like her mama ;) Its just cake, unless he has an allergy no worries!

I wouldn't worry about it. The cake is so soft, they are just going to mash it up and stick pieces in their mouth that you really won't have to worry about them choking on. Besides, I think they generally get more ON them than IN them! But, that's half the fun! Good luck!

All kids eat cake. No need to worry.
The worry would be that your 11mo baby has not had many foods. Starting foods at 6mo means most 11mo are eating meats, cheese, bread, pasta, fruit, veggies, etc in 3 meals and 2 snacks per day (one or both could be formula or breast milk). If you feed puffs that means you are not opposed to prepared foods, but you can also puree anything you eat. Regardless, he should have new foods every few days from 6mo until all categories have been introduced. This is healthy and allows all nutrients. He can eat all foods now except nuts, egg whites, berries, honey, choking hazards. He also can eat soft pieces of food and anything you can squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth without needing to chew (this can be from 7mo on, meats from 9mo). Introduce away and expand his diet now!!

Honestly, so little of the cake is going to be consumed - even for those kids who have a much greater exposure to solid foods. Most of the cake will end-up on the child which is the real fun of doing the 1st birthday cake anyhow.

He'll look at it, play with it, smash it around, smear it all over himself and his high chair.

We were so disappointed when our son didn't partake in the festivities for his first birthday - he was very particular, picked-up the cake delicately and put it nicely in his mouth. I think we got a smudge or two on the corners of his mouth.
Thank Goodness our daughter was just the opposite and was covered in icing from head to toe.

Don't worry about preparing for cake.

I'd focus more on offering more foods, expanding his variety of tastes and textures. And, please take into consideration that the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their guidelines on what you can feed at what age. As long as something doesn't pose a choking hazard and isn't a known family food allergen, it's OK to introduce at any age.

Not a silly ? at all. I was worried about the cake too when my daughter turned 1. We ended up buying a sheet cake for the guests & my mom made my daughter a small cake. I was worried about allergies- my daughter had not had eggs yet & I also didn't want her to have any artificial coloring with the frosting. We just googled a vegan cake recipe & it took a couple practice cakes to play with recipe & get it just right. We ended up using stage 2 baby food in it- I think it was apple/butternut squash, which made it very moist. It was a carrot cake style cake & turned out really good. My daughter loved it & I was happy knowing she was eating a cake that was safe for her.

my daughter is 10 months and i give her blueberry muffins, (i make them so i know whats in there) you could try this to get him used to the texture, its similar to cake, and also the ingredients are close.

We got my daughter a little cake from the grocery store and a regular cake for the guests. We put the small cake on her high chair and had her tear into it. She got the cake everywhere and she even got some in her mouth. She had the time of her life.

I would definitely introduce him to a couple of the ingredients in it to check for allergies, using the 3-4 day wait rule. Anything he hasn't had yet that tends to be something kids are sensitive to- the dairy, the eggs, and the applesauce if you do the carrot cake. Just to make sure. I'm not saying babies shouldn't have that stuff, just that if he hasn't had it already it is a good idea to check. Yogurt, scrambled eggs (whole, not just whites, I never bothered with only whites) and applesauce are good ways to introduce them. If you think you might have better luck with apple chunks, cutting them into small pieces, then freezing them, will make them soft for babies. Just defrost for a few hours in the fridge and they are still solid but mushy.

I'm not sure, but I am guessing that your question has more to do with textures. If that is the case, mashed sweet potatoes are similar to frosting, with milk and brown sugar in them. (Again, introduce new things one at a time.) And for the cake consistency, I would maybe do some of the gerber toddler snacks that are like crumbly cereal bars or something.

You probably wont even need to bother with that though. My son ate so much of his cake I actually had to take it away. It was hilarious. He was eating a good variety by then, but had never had anything sugary and sweet like that. We did the small cake to himself, most grocery stores will do a tiny cake in addtion to the regular sheet cake either for free or very cheap. And he just smashed away and ate handfuls of it. You can also do a cupcake, my sister did that for her son. But I really like the sound of that carrot cake, I am going to try it just for fun.