Red Berries Vegan Cake with Coconut and Cashew frosting

Baby birthday cakes: I have definitely a passion for them 🙂

Homemade birthday cakes are my favorite: maybe they are not the perfectly decorated ones that you can buy at the bakery, but they taste fresh and yummy and they are made with love.

For babies I really like to use healthy organic and allergen free ingredients because I want them to enjoy the cake without any side effect. Today I want to share with you a lovely fruity vegan cake frosted with a coconut and cashew mix. I really really really liked it! Yes, I try every single baby food that I share on my post and I test it with my kids too even if they are now older. I really trust their opinion 🙂

I wanted a pink cake so I used fresh berries from the market: strawberries and raspberries. I used them in the cake batter and also in the frosting.

You can use any sweet seasonal fruit that you like. Just keep in mind that the color of the fruit will affect the color of the cake 🙂

For the shape I decided to go for a small tiny cake, round, as I had a lovely tiny cake stand that I wanted to use. You can use any cake pan that you like, a regular size one. Once the cake is baked you can decide to cut a small shape: maybe a round one using a glass.

Also, have fun with the decoration. I really like cakes decorated with fruit or even flowers. This time I didn’t place a candle but I created a 1 year cake top simply using a pink cardboard and a lollypop stick. I also think that toys are a super cute cake top idea (legos or anything that can be washed, placed on the cake and than washed again and placed back in the toy box!!)

If you like the cake but not the frosting or the opposite, I have a whole selection of posts about Baby Birthday cakes, you can simply mix and match the cake kind and the frosting that you like. Here you are the most popular:

Frozen Yogurt and Vanilla Cake

Peach Cake

Banana Apple with Cream Cheese frosting

Multilayer fruit only cake

Purple chocolate cake with sweet potato frosting

The preparation of the cake is very simple.

In a bowl add all the wet ingredients: applesauce, dates puree, coconut oil, vanilla extract, lemon juice and water. Mix and set apart. In another bigger bowl add all the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda. Mix. Slowly add the wet ingredients with a whisk. Combine well.

Clean the berries and chop them in small pieces: baby bite size. Add them to the batter and gently fold them in.

Fill the cake pans (or pan) with the cake batter and bake in preheated oven to 350F for 30 minutes. As you might use a cake pan of a different size, the toothpick rule will help you to decide if the cake is cooked. When the suggested cooking time is over, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it will come out dry, it means that the cake is ready. Otherwise keep baking for additional 5 minutes and check again and keep adding 5 minutes at the time if needed.

When the cake is ready, let it cool down completely.

Meanwhile you can prepare the frosting. Easy. Add all the ingredients in a food processor (coconut cream, coconut oil, dates puree, cashews, vanilla extract, almond extract, dash of salt, fresh raspberries) and blend up until smooth and creamy.

Few comments on the ingredients.

  1. To sweeten the cake I used a very baby friendly dates syrup made with dates only…nothing else. You can make your own date syrup or paste simply soaking dried dates in water overnight and pureeing them. If you don’t have dates syrup or dried dates, you can switch with maple syrup or with any other dried fruit puree (I really like dried figs puree too as natural sweetener).
  2. Coconut cream. I buy a can at the local asian store and place it in the refrigerator overnight. That’s how the cream separates from the water/milk and I can remove easily from the can the thick cream only. The thicker the coconut cream will be the firmer your frosting will get.
  3. Cashews. I soaked them overnight in a bowl full of water to get them soft enough to be pureed. I really like the mild cashew flavor, but if you want a more nutty flavor, switch the cashews with almonds.

Last phase: decoration.

Frost the cake with the frosting. I found it easier to frost it directly on the cake stand 🙂 Have fun with the decoration. I decided to use the same fruit I added to the cake. Some green mint leaves would have been beautiful too. A candle or any other cake top you like will make the cake even more special.

Storing: you can prepare the cake the day before, store it on the countertop in an air tight container and frost it the day of the birthday. Keep the frosting in the refrigerator. Once the cake is frosted, keep it in the refrigerator too. Happy Happy Birthday to your little one!!!!

5 from 1 vote
Red Berries Vegan Cake with Coconut and Cashew frosting
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 5 Tbsp dates puree
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup water
Dry Ingredients:
  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • dash salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
Filling:
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
Frosting:
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup dates puree
  • 1/2 cup cashews (soaked overnight)
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp pure almond extract
  • dash salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. 

  2. Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl. 

  3. Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl.

  4. Slowly add to the dry ingredients all the wet ingredients and mix everything thoroughly. 

  5. Delicately fold in the fresh fruit chopped in tiny tiny pieces.

  6. Transfer the cake batter into the cake pan. Smooth out the batter and make sure it is distributed evenly.

  7. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted down the center comes out dry. Remove from oven and let it cool down completely.

  8. For the frosting place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

  9. Frost the cake with a spatula or a small cheese knife and have fun with the decoration!! I used fresh fruit and a #1 cake top handmade with a cardboard and a lollypop stick.

 

 

14 Comments

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  • Reply
    Red Berries Vegan Cake with Coconut and Cashew frosting – MySpecialFood.com
    July 15, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    […] Baby birthday cakes: I have definitely a passion for them Homemade birthday cakes are my favorite: maybe they are not the perfectly decorated ones that you can buy at the bakery, but they taste fresh and yummy and they are made with love. For babies I really like to use healthy organic and allergen free ingredients because I want them to enjoy the cake without any side effect. Today I […] Source: Red Berries Vegan Cake with Coconut and Cashew frosting […]

  • Reply
    Lina Baboulas
    July 20, 2018 at 1:26 pm

    wow! tht looks delicious! Can I use Coconut flour instead? because we are Gluten free .

    • User Avatar
      Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      August 17, 2018 at 8:23 pm

      Hi Lina! Coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture. IF you would like to keep the same quantities I would suggest buckwheat flour or you can try a combo of coconut and rice flour. Let me know how it goes!! I’m always in for substitutions 🙂 ciao! b

  • Reply
    Sara
    August 23, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    Hello! My sister in law would like me to make your recipe for her babies first birthdays. She is asking if i can use blueberries to make the frosting blue…I’m wondering if it will work or make things more liquid. Thanks!

    • User Avatar
      Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      September 25, 2019 at 5:40 pm

      Hi Sara! blueberries (or blackberries) have the same density of raspberries, the ones I used for the pink color, so they should work greatly! Being a natural color, it will turn into a blue/purple, you will not get a bright baby blue. But it will be way better than the artificial chemical colors 🙂
      Happy Birthday to your little ones!! Ciao, b

  • Reply
    komal chag
    July 27, 2020 at 4:00 pm

    Thank you for wonderful recipe! I tried for my baby’s first birthday and it turned out amazing! I just used baking powder as additional ingredient, same measurement as baking soda. Thank you for posting this recipe!

    • User Avatar
      Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      October 19, 2020 at 8:53 pm

      Awww, I’m so happy to hear that!!! So glad the cake came out great and I hope you had a wonderful birthday…and took tons of pictures! Ciao, b

  • Reply
    Red Berries Vegan Cake with Coconut and Cashew frosting – – LeagueOfVegans.com
    November 15, 2021 at 10:35 pm

    […] Red Berries Vegan Cake with Coconut and Cashew frosting […]

  • Reply
    Madleen
    July 11, 2023 at 8:37 am

    Wieviel cm Durchmesser hat die Form die benutzt wurde?

  • Reply
    Ema Tsoref
    August 30, 2023 at 3:42 pm

    Hi olaning on making this for our baby’s first Bday next week! What can I sub the coconut cream with in the frosting? Our son isn’t a fan of it…

    • User Avatar
      Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      October 17, 2023 at 11:40 pm

      Ops, sorry for the late reply. Yes, the coconut cream can be substituted with cream cheese mixed with a bit of milk or whipped cream. How was the bday celebration? I hope you had a blast!

  • Reply
    kleanthia fella
    April 19, 2024 at 6:10 am

    Can I substitute apple sauce with banana pure? or will be different in taste or consistency?
    Thank you! 🙂

    • User Avatar
      Reply
      Barbara Lamperti
      August 14, 2024 at 5:40 pm

      Yes, it’s a good substitution. Texture will be the same, not the flavor. Banana has a stronger one. Also, banana will naturally oxidate (nothing to worry about!) and you will get a more brown color.

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