Baby's 1st Birthday

My baby turned one yesterday, and while we did have a small celebration, the whole thing was actually very anticlimactic for me. It's crazy to think that she is turning into such a big girl so quickly, but I've kind of been watching it happen for the past 12 months... So yeah.

♥ My adorable little angel ♥

Everyone knows how serious I am about feeding my baby, so it should come as no surprise when I tell you that I made her the healthiest version of cake that I could find. I came across THIS recipe early on in my pregnancy, and I knew that I wanted to save it and use it for K's first birthday. Even though my version looks completely different from Aimee's, I'm still happy with how it turned out.

*Aimee's recipe calls for brown rice syrup, and I used agave instead. Brown rice syrup has abnormally high levels of arsenic in it, and most stores don't even carry it because of this. I'm actually really surprised that she used it in a cake that was specifically intended for her baby.

Apple Spice and Maple Cake with Ombrè Frosting

Don't mind my pathetically small photos.
As always, just click on them to view the original size.

I used 9" cake pans instead of 8", and I forgot to add eggs to the first batch, so the layers came out quite flat and wide. It was still really yummy, though, and I'm not the only one that thought so. I had visitors that got to taste the extra layer fresh out of the oven, and they approved as well.

My frosting was a little bit different from Aimee's, which changed the texture slightly. I did use roasted beet juice for color, though. I also made homemade whipped cream to put between the layers because I'm typically not a fan of layered cakes due to the frosting overload. My spirals were slightly more defined because I used a knife instead of a spatula, and I eventually decided to smooth everything out and top the cake with strawberries that had marinated in xylitol and authentic mexican vanilla.

I never feed my baby sugar, so she was extremely suspicious about the entire ordeal. Haha!

I love her precious baby self more than anyone can imagine. She means everything to me.

Happy Birthday little sweetheart! We sure are blessed to have you in our lives. ♥ ♥ ♥