Is your little one's very first real celebration — their birthday — coming up soon? And you're wondering how to make your baby boy or girl extra happy? I'll help you out: make a real little cake :-) When my daughter Agata was turning one, I made her a cake made entirely from foods she was already allowed to eat. It's so important to know that your child won't end up with red cheeks from an allergic reaction or a tummy ache from unfamiliar food — especially on such a joyful day. Many people order custom cakes decorated with colored fondant and all kinds of colorful figurines. As we all know, the amount of food dye in those cakes is off the charts, and the taste doesn't always match the looks. Usually it's the adults who eat the cake while the pretty top just gets thrown away. In cases like that, I think it's better to buy the child a toy (or toys) they'll keep, make them a little cake, and then buy or bake a proper grown-up cake for the adults. That's just my take on it :-)
Ingredients:
- 200 g baby cottage cheese
- 100 g yogurt
- 3–5 tsp sugar (optional)
- 1/2 packet gelatin (5 g)
- 150 g baby cookies (approximately)
- Also:
- banana (or other fruits, berries)
- cake jelly glaze (optional)
- ribbon, candle
How to cook first birthday cake
To start, you'll need a small box or bowl in the right shape (I used a box with a 12 cm diameter). The cake will be small — a big one is too much for a little one to eat anyway, and a small cake looks absolutely adorable. If your box is larger or smaller, adjust the ingredient amounts accordingly. Line the box with plastic wrap. You can pour in some dried beans or something similar to help spread the wrap evenly, then remove them. Arrange a layer of cookies on the bottom.
Place the cottage cheese, yogurt, and sugar in a bowl and mix well. I used unsweetened cottage cheese and yogurt, so I added a little sugar.
Pour 50 ml of water over the gelatin and let it sit for 10 minutes (or for the time indicated on the package). Then gently heat the gelatin until fully dissolved and let it cool completely. Pour the gelatin into the mixture in a thin stream, whisking actively.
Pour the cottage cheese mixture into the box — the cookies will float to the top (that's normal). Refrigerate for 2–3 hours, until fully set.
Then carefully flip the cake onto a plate by pulling it out using the plastic wrap (the cookies will end up on the bottom).
Stand cookies around the sides to form a border and tie a ribbon around them. For a boy, you might choose a blue or light blue ribbon and a matching candle, though red works great too. I trimmed each cookie slightly so the border was a little shorter — it should only rise a couple of centimeters above the top of the cake. Arrange banana slices on top.
Prepare the cake jelly glaze according to the package instructions and brush it over the fruit. If you're using banana slices, coating them with cake jelly glaze is really strongly recommended, since bananas tend to brown quickly. If you're using other fruits, it's less essential. You can use peach slices, plum slices, blueberries, etc. — just go with whatever your little one already eats. Place a candle in the center, and you're all done!
And here's our happy little birthday girl (you can read all about how her birthday went here: Agata Turns 1!).
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