After a year of making sure your baby only eats healthy, homemade baby foods, the thought of giving him a cake loaded with sugar on his first birthday can really ‘go against the grain’ (excuse the pun!).
We do have some Healthy First Birthday Cake Recipes on our site – but another option is to make a delicious fruit pizza!
If you’ve never tried a fruit pizza before, you may be thinking “yuck” – but its surprisingly good and contains no mozzarella or pepperoni – we promise! It also looks FANTASTIC and perfectly symbolizes the close of your little one’s first year of healthy eating and the beginning of another!
To Make a Healthy Fruit Pizza You Will Need…
Dough:
5 oz (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
4 oz (1 cup) whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 oz (1/4 cup) melted butter
5 tbsp honey
1 beaten egg yolk
2 fl oz (1/4 cup) milk
Topping:
8 oz (1 cup) strawberry cream cheese
a little powdered sugar or honey (optional – we don’t add any and find the topping delicious without it, as long as the fruit is sweet)
fruit of your choice*
*You can use any fruit that your baby and his party guests would enjoy! Ideas include: sliced banana, strawberry, kiwi, grapes, peach, nectarine, whole blueberries.
Avoid fruits like apple or pear, as they tend to be a little too firm. If you use banana, serve the pizza immediately, as the banana will go brown once sliced (although you can prevent this by tossing the slices with lemon juice).
TIP: Don’t add any fruits to the pizza that your baby hasn’t already been introduced to. The last thing you want is for him to experience some kind of reaction on his birthday!
To prepare your healthy fruit pizza…
Preheat the oven to 375 F (180 deg C).
Mix the flours together in a large bowl, along with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and honey.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then add the egg yolk and milk.
Mix well and, using your hands, form into a ball.
Press the dough into a circle and place on a greased pan (use your pizza pan if you have one!).
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until a light gold colour.
Cool, then spread with the cream cheese.
Top with the sliced fruit and serve!
You can arrange the fruit however you choose – a symmetrical pattern with contrasting colours looks really eye-catching – or you can make a smiley face or even a big number 1!
TIP: If you have older children, try making smaller, individual fruit pizza bases and allowing them to top them themselves – providing not just a nutritious treat, but entertainment, too!