First birthday....birthday cake question!?

Question

I'm planning to make my son a b-day cake in October....is it ok to do a marble cake with some funky colored frosting? Or should I stick to the plain ol' white cake/white frosting? Homemade frosting? Store-bought ok? He hasn't experienced any real sweets yet, so I don't want to concoct something that will make him sick! Any thoughts/experiences?

Answer 1

If you are having a get-together, it might be a good idea to make two cakes--one small, fairly simple one for him to get messy with, and another one for the guests.  That way if he slobbers on the cake while attempting to blow out the candles, or grabs a chunk with his hands, it won't be a gross-out factor for anyone at the party.

Or even make him a cupcake!  I think the birthday cake mix with the colored sprinkles inside is cute and festive for little ones, with either white or chocolate icing.  

If he hasn't had many sweets yet, I would definitely keep his portion small.

Answer 2

Most grocery stores give you a smaller cake just for the Birthday boy when you order a regular sized cake for a first Birthday party.  

Answer 3

Any of those choices will be fine, as long as you don't give him a huge piece. :) You can even buy lower-sugar cake mixes, if you don't want to load him up!

Answer 4

As long as he has not shown an allergic reactions to the food you have given him already, he should be fine.  Just makes sure he doesn't shove big hunks in his mouth.  And have his bath drawn for him...LOL.

Answer 5

My son had chocolate cake w/ red (Elmo) frosting.  I figured a mess and tummy ache may be involved anyway and my son had already had his first taste of chocolate w/ no reaction.  The pictures are priceless!  I would do whatever YOU want to do.  : )  

{waiting for thumb's down, lol}

Answer 6

Marble is fine as long as he isn't allergic to choc. You can do homemade frosting I do , its easy and simple, no matter what there is going to be sugar..lol....if you do colors, just remember that colored frosting will make poops change different colors, like too much blue= bluish green poopies. Its all good, no need to be concerned at all. I would make him his very own lil cake and make another for everyone else if you are having a big get together.....That's what I was going to do for my baby's 1st b-day. But I think it will be better and more fun for you to make it homemade for his 1st birthday, its special. Good Luck!

Answer 7

I say go for it.  If anything, you could just make him a cupcake of his own, that way it isn't a big huge piece that he's digging in to!   Have fun!:)

Answer 8

Oh, he'll be fine.  Go for it, its an important day.  Let him dig in!!!

Answer 9

Go for the messy marble with coloured icing!! It won't hurt, and you will loooove how cute it is seeing him make a big mess of himself. It will be such a good memorey some day! :)

Answer 10

By the time he is 1, it will definitely be fine. If you want to make your own cake at home, you can substitute the oil with applesauce. Turns out the same and is much healthier. Either is fine though. He'll want to make a mess of it more than he will want to eat it :D

Answer 11

Get a normal cake... He won't remember any of it.

Answer 12

It's fine to make him a funky colored cake, he'll love it.

I would though, make him a small cake a month or so before his birthday to make sure he isn't allergic to chocolate, nuts, milk, etc. My daughter has a peanut allergy (we found out at 11 months) so finding a bakery cake was very hard, but I found a peanut-free chocolate frosting, white cake and she didn't want to dig into to it, a perfect lady just wanted a fork to eat her cake lol.  

Answer 13

A lot of great answers here already!  My little one just had his first birthday, and first cake, so I was just within the last few weeks thinking about the same questions.

I'll add one thing:  we've been extra-cautious with allergies with my little one because allergies run in the family.  The pediatrician said no eggs until he was 12 months old, and since most cakes do have some egg I started giving him scrambled eggs etc. a few weeks before the party to make sure that there were no problems.  If he was going to have a reaction (which he didn't) I didn't want it to be on his birthday!

Aside from allergies, as long as no one pressures him to eat something he doesn't want, he's unlikely to make himself sick.  Happy big birthday!

Answer 14

I will probably make cupcakes for Emma's birthday.  A lot simpler and funner to decorate.

Answer 15

For my son when he turns one I'm planning on doing carrot cake, or a spice cake. Not as much sugar but still very very good!

I can't wait.

Answer 16

For my kids, I had two cakes - one for the party guests.  One little one for them to dig into (not much gets in their mouth!  My daughter dug her feet in, and my son seemed to enjoy rubbing it in his hair!).  To make the little cake, I used a pot that was all metal (so the handle wouldn't melt in the oven), then put the cake mix in that - it came out the perfect size.  Have your camera ready - those pics are priceless!  One more thing - you may want to remove clothes down to the diaper before he digs in!

Answer 17

I Think A Regular Birthday Cake Would Do Nothing To Big Or Fancy. Maybe Just A Homemade Cake I Hope He Have A Good Birthday!.,

Answer 18

i love baking cakes and especially decorating them, in my past experiences my baby cousins loved the bright playful colors, you can definitely do as you please because it is just all the same, cake and frosting!! just different colors. You can buy a can of frosting and bake your own cake or even buy and ice cream cake, its basically sponge cake with ice cream! just have fun with it..it cake it will b eaten up quickly

Answer 19

Ian had homemade (very sweet) chocolate cake and homemade chocolate icing on Aaron's birthday...it didn't make him sick at all....as long as you're not giving him a huge slice I think he'll be okay...he'll wear more than he eats!!! Be prepared for clean up and make sure he's in a diaper or an outfit you don't care about if you use a crazy colored frosting!! I think he'll be fine. Like I said, Ian and the table were wearing more frosting and cake than actually made it into his mouth. I think he thought it was play time!

Answer 20

Dark/bright frosting show up better on camera (unless dark skinned in which case light shows up better).

Most babies just get it everywhere.  I made my own from scratch, but I always do.  You could use breastmilk butter to make the icing =))