Do you think sugar makes kids hyper?
It’s a widely-held belief that sugar makes kids act crazy, but I’m not sure I believe it. Especially at birthday parties, with all the presents and balloons and ice cream and games… who wouldn’t get excited in such a revved-up atmosphere? And the experts are split: some swear childhood hyperactivity and sugar are linked, while others argue no solid evidence exists to back up the theory.
No matter the truth, there are still many other reasons to be wary of America’s favorite sweetener. Excess sugar consumption has been linked to gum disease and cavities, blood sugar spikes, mood swings, Diabetes, and obesity (which can lead to high cholesterol, heart disease, etc.).
One thing is certain: as a whole, we are consuming way too much sugar. According to a study conducted by Family Circle, the average teen is taking in roughly five times the AHA’s recommended daily sugar limit of 6-9 teaspoons. And eating sugar leads to craving more sugar: Penn State researchers found that the more sugar children consumed, the less they ate vegetables, fruits, and other healthy foods.
So what’s a sugar-craving, health-conscious dessert lover to do?
Have a piece of cake!
That’s what.
With a light and fluffy texture, the following healthy cake recipe can hold its own against any boxed birthday cake mix. It’s been kid-tested and approved, so you know it must be good. Yet it offers you fiber, selenium, manganese, and protein… all while tasting like real, sugary birthday cake!
The cake above is frosted with my recipe for Healthy Strawberry Frosting.
(No, I don’t think it’s bad to have a slice of processed, sugary, white-flour birthday cake every now and then. But if you can make a healthy cake that tastes just as good, why not save your empty sugar calories for something else?)
Kid-Approved Healthy Cake
Adapted from Homemade Donuts.
- 1 1/3 cups milk of choice (320g)
- 1 1/2 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar (23g)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (15g)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp veg or melted coconut oil (50g)
- 2 loosely-packed cups spelt or all-purpose flour (or Bob’s gf, plus 1 tsp xantham gum) (240g)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup xylitol or sugar of choice (140g)
- 1/8 tsp pure stevia, or 1/4 cup more sugar of choice
- jam, frosting, sprinkles or Hannah’s Homemade Sprinkles
Healthy birthday cake recipe: Preheat oven to 350 F, and line two 8-in round pans (or one 13×9) with parchment paper. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk well. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir very well. Pour wet into dry, stir until just evenly combined, pour into the pans and immediately put in the oven. Bake around 22 minutes, or until cakes have risen and no longer look undercooked. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then gently go around the sides with a knife and invert the pans onto large plates. (The frosting recipe I used is linked directly under the second photo of this post. If you use that particular recipe, I recommend frosting the cake just before serving.)
View Healthy Cake Nutrition Facts
For more specifics on the amount of sugar in this healthy white cake recipe–even if you use all sugar and none of the optional substitutes–see the nutrition facts above.
For the birthday cake photoshoot, I called my roommate at work and asked her if she knew where the matches were. Her response was a suspicious “Why are you looking for matches?”
Ever since I set a pot on fire about a year ago, she doesn’t trust me with matches. 😕
Link of the Day: 14 Homemade Larabar Recipes
Hi Katie! I can’t seem to find a way to directly message you, so I’m hoping I can get a hold of you here! 🙂
I am on a mission to create a healthy birthday cake like this- but for my daughter’s first birthday!
This cake is almost what I’m looking for, but I’m hoping to make it even more allergen friendly. As a baby, I had almost any allergy in the book, so we are being very careful when we introduce allergens to our children.
The kind of cake I’m needing has to be gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, salt-free and refined sugar-free.
I’m not sure if babies can have stevia/xylitol/etc, but I know they can’t have honey. I was thinking of using a banana for the sweetness instead of sugar.
It’s kind of a big project to tackle…I know I could come up with something, but something that tastes and looks good… that’s another thing. 😉
If you’re willing to try and figure out a good “Baby Birthday Cake” version of this recipe (or something different!), I know a lot of mamas out there would love it, and I would happily spread the recipe around when I take her “Smash the Cake” photo shoot with her healthy cake. 🙂
Thanks so much Katie! I hope you can help me!
Jessica
I can put it on my list of things to try 🙂
I always struggle to stick with my healthy eating plan when birthdays come. It’s definitely very difficult to have a birthday party without cake after all and cake is pretty unhealthy. This recipe however, makes it easy to enjoy the birthday party, cake and all. The ingredients are so much healthier than regular cake and they taste great too. So the kids don’t feel like they’re missing out and the adults don’t have to break their diet.
Do you think it would be possible to add real strawberry slivers and a small handful of gummy fish to the recipe?
My (almost) 4 year old has a very specific request for her birthday cake: a strawberry and “goldfish” cake (she loves the Pepperidge Farm goldfish and doesn’t get it but I figure I can creatively accommodate.
Thanks
I don’t see why not 🙂
Hi Katie! That looks awesome! Have you ever thought about making a healthy magic cake? It’s swarming around on pinterest right now- you make one batter and it magically separates into three layers with custard in the middle! You should look it up! 🙂
I will definitely have to look it up!
any reason why this should go in oven directly? i wanted to soak the flour for a bit in the liquid first. have just made and out in tins but popping to markets – is it going to fall apart?
I dont really see the healthy substitutes. i’m doing a school project on healthier cakes and i think for sugar or fat- applesauce is a healthier substitute instead of artificial sweetners. (which are also bad for you). but i think it would be good for you to try a applesauce and banana substitute for a cake. if you can make that taste good, you know you’re a amazing baker!
Well yes it makes them hyper, but some are more sensitive than others. My coworker cut the sugar on her two kids and they are like other persons. My boyfriend (27) still gets hyper and stress ed when he had too much sugar, sometimes he’s all figgidy and a tad obnoxious and I can tell he had nothing but sweet snacks the whole day. Sounds exagerated, I know. It’s not. I’m a whole other story. I just get colics. (Sexxy)
Yummy that recipe is sure the best. I am sure it will win me first prize.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Love xoxo
Priyanshi
OK, I just made this cake and the frosting,yesterday, for my son’s 2nd birthday at the grandparent’s house. It was a HUGE hit!!! It was even better because it resembles the type of birthday cake normally eaten here, in Denmark. I’ve never had it,being vegan and it having tons of whipped topping, so I thought it would be fun to make this because of how closely it resembles their traditional cake. They thought it tasted exactly the same. My omni in-laws had 3 servings of it!
To Lisa, the poster below- I always assumed that sugar makes a kid crazy-I know I always got hyper when I ate a bunch of sugar (or that’s what my parents told me- it could also have been the freedom I felt from being at someone else’s house-my parents were incredibly strict or from the excitement of the party). My son has had sugar on a few occasions,very rarely because I want him to grow up understanding that it is for special times, not all of the time. I keep expecting him to become super hyper as he’s already a very energetic boy, but it doesn’t seem to. He’s even had it right before a nap and slept fine, and now because he crashed from the sugar either. He just doesn’t seem to get hyper at all. Weird,but true. I’m very surprised myself. Who knows, maybe that will change. I’ll be keeping an eye on things,that’s for sure.
Hi Katie!
This was perfect…
I just made this using 1/4 cup sugar and Splenda for the rest, and I used 1.5 cups all-purpose flour and .5 cup white whole wheat flour.
I made it into a 13×9 pan size cake and it is SO delicious! I never like cake topped with jam, but my homemade raspberry jam on top of this is perfect. Because the cake isnt super sweet, putting frosting on it just overpowered the taste of the cake.
It does come out a little more dense than a boxed cake (maybe the texture is like cornbread?) but I really like that a lot because it makes you feel fuller quicker! And it’s still very soft and moist.
I. Am. In. Love. Forever. I might as well marry this cake, because I feel we will be partners for life!!!
Hoping for a chocolate version of this baby!