Ricotta Strawberry Cake +12M

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This is a perfect cake for a beginner: easy to prepare, moist and tasty. Strawberries and oranges give a lovely fruity flavor while the ricotta keeps the cake moist. The cake is not over sweet: I added a minimus amount of sugar (you can substitute cane sugar with maple syrup) and I let the natural sweetness of the strawberries do the rest. As the fruit has a very important role in this cake, I would suggest to try it and check the sweetness before adding to the cake.

To keep the cake simple and the process easy I didn’t prepare any frosting nor icing. Instead of powdered sugar I blended some coconut flakes and decorated the cake with it. You can either blend the coconut flakes into powder or add the coconut flakes like that. You can also decorate the top of the cake with fresh strawberries.

Let’s start preheating the oven to 400F. Prepare all the ingredients measured. Chop the strawberries in small pieces.

In a large bowl combine the eggs with the sugar. Whisk to obtain a pale yellow color.

Add the ricotta and the coconut oil. Mix.

In a separate bowl combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix.

Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet ones. You will obtain a compact batter.

Stir in the orange zest and the fresh strawberries.

Transfer the batter into a cake pan. I used 4 small spring form cake pans, 4 inches of diameter. Shake the cake pan to distribute the batter evenly. Use a teaspoon too to level the surface.

Bake the cakes in preheated oven to 400F for 30minutes. Check if the cakes are done simply inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out dry, they are ready to cool down on the countertop.

When the cakes are completely cooled down (10min), powder some coconut powder on top, or sprinkle some coconut flakes or decorate with fresh strawberries.

What kind of cake pan to use?

I divided the batter into 4 mini cakes (4 inches diameter) as I liked the idea of the birthday girl/boy having her/his own cake to enjoy 🙂

Of course if you don’t have mini cake pans you can always use a regular cake pan (9 inches diameter) and bake the cake until golden brown and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes . The final result will be the same.

What can I substitute strawberries with?

Summer just started so there are many gorgeous fruit options for this cake: peaches, apricots, mango, banana&raspberries, plums, pluots…they are all a good substitute for strawberries.

What kind of frosting can I add to this recipe?

The strawberry cake can be easily frosted with many flavors. Here below some healthy baby friendly options as an alternative to the traditional powdered sugar/cream cheese one 🙂

• Pink coconut cashew frosting
• Cream cashew frosting
• Purple sweet potato frosting
• Green Spinach Frosting
• Chocolate Avocado Frosting
• White Vanilla Tofu Frosting
• White Cream Cheese and Apple Frosting
• Cream Coconut Frosting

How to store the cake?

The cake can be stored on the countertop for up to three days. It will keep the moist 🙂

What other first birthday cake can I prepare?

There are so many options when choosing the right cake for your little one’s birthday! Fruity, chocolatey, creamy, frosting/no frosting, vanilla/spice flavor…Here some more ideas for you to consider 🙂

Vanilla Chocolate Cake

White Beans Chocolate Muffins

Zucchini Vanilla Cake

Red Berries Cake with Coconut and Cashew Frosting

Millet Apple Cake

Carrot Beet Cake with Cashew frosting

Chocolate Purple Cake with sweet potato frosting

Strawberry Pancake Cake with chocolate avocado frosting

Peach Cake

Carrot Cake with Tofu and Vanilla frosting

Banana Apple Cake with cream cheese apple sauce frosting

Frozen Yogurt and Raspberry IceCream Cake

Fruit Tiramisu

Watermelon Fruit Cake

Camomile Cake

Watermelon Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

Banana Bread for babies