Happy Birthday! This whole wheat healthy birthday cake is a low sugar birthday cake that still has all of the sprinkles and fun with fewer naughty ingredients!
Here we are again, a whole year since I last posted a birthday cake in memory of my Dad. I swear, it feels like I just wrote that post. The time GOES SO FAST! It was my Dad’s birthday yesterday. He would have been 64! I would have liked to see him as a 64 year old 🙂
Times like these, when the world is basically at a stand-still due to a widespread pandemic, I think of him and wonder what he would have thought about everything that’s going on.
Things sure are dire, guys! I’m grateful that my family is healthy so far, and we have everything we need. I’m doing my best to stay positive throughout this whole thing, but I admit that the long days of social isolation are tough.
But, since we’ve all hopefully stocked up on flour, why not bake a cake?!
What makes this a healthier cake recipe?
I like to think of this healthy birthday cake as my grown-up version of my very popular healthy smash cake, for babies. There’s a few qualities about this cake that make me feel it’s qualified for “healthy” cake status:
- it’s made with whole wheat flour
- it has zero refined sugars
- it contains no butter; only coconut oil
Note: I want to make sure you keep your expectations in check. Since we’re using whole wheat flour, the cake is bit more dense than a typical fluffy white birthday cake. It’s also not nearly as sweet. That being said, it was certainly sweet enough to have my kids begging me for more!
How do you make this healthy birthday cake?
As per usual, start by sifting together all of your dry ingredients, then whisking together your wet ingredients in a separate bowl. I generally like to keep all ingredients at room temperature prior to combining them!
For this particular recipe, I used 2 small cake pans (6″ x 3″). You can certainly make this recipe in a regular sized cake pan too! I’ll include instructions for both.
You could use a stand mixer for this recipe, but you certainly don’t have to!
When mixing the wet into the dry, mix only until there are no dry streaks left in the cake batter.
The cake needs to bake for 25-28 minutes at 350 F. You definitely don’t want to overbake this cake, or it could taste quite dry!
If you have cake strips, soak them and wrap them around the cakes to ensure a level top. I ended up just leveling off the cakes a bit with a serrated knife before frosting them.
Is the frosting also healthy?
I originally wanted to keep the frosting for this cake totally free of refined sugars too, but I tried a few different ones, and ended up with this one as my favorite. It’s made with melted white chocolate and cream cheese, and the texture is very close to buttercream! Thick, creamy and sweet, but not too cloyingly sweet. We loved it! I’ve got a couple of other options for you below if you want something totally sugar-free:
OR you could just make a straight-up honest cream cheese or buttercream frosting. Try this one from my mini chocolate cake and double it!
This cake is best enjoyed the day, or day after it’s made. It will start to dry out after a couple of days! But, since it’s healthy, you could just polish off any leftovers for breakfast, right?
Keep it in an airtight container, on the counter, for up to 3-4 days.
I hope you’re all keeping healthy, and sane during this trying time we’re all in. There’s no reason we can’t still celebrate a birthday, right!? And at least this way we can do it a little lighter.
Stay safe ❤
Sweeeeeeets. Here’s a few lighter ideas for satisfying that sweet tooth:
Print
Healthy Birthday Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Happy Birthday! This whole wheat healthy birthday cake is a low sugar birthday cake that still has all of the sprinkles and fun with fewer naughty ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (yes, tbsp)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk**
- 1/3 cup sprinkles, plus more for decorating
Frosting***
- 1 package (8oz) full-fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup plain, full-fat Greek yogurt (at least 2.5%)
- 4 oz white chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray two 6″ round cake pans**** with non-stick cooking spray, and lightly flour them. Set them aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut oil with the applesauce, followed by the eggs. Add the maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir to combine. Add half the buttermilk, stir to combine, then add the remaining dry, followed by the wet, until there are no dry streaks left in the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans (use a kitchen scale to be exact), then bake the cakes for 25-27 minutes. Check the cakes with a toothpick at 25 minutes; if the toothpick comes out wet, bake for an additional 2 minutes before checking again. If it’s clean, remove the pans from the oven. Let them cool for 10 minutes before carefully inverting the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer, combine together the cream cheese with the Greek yogurt until smooth and whipped. Melt the white chocolate, using a microwave-safe bowl, in 30 second increments, until smooth. Add the melted chocolate to the stand mixer and beat to combine. Frost the cakes immediately, using a spatula to smooth onto the cake.
Serve the cake immediately, or the next day. The cake will keep, in an airtight container, on the counter for 3-4 days.
Notes
*If you have access to white whole wheat flour, you can use this in place of the entire amount of flour (2 1/4 cups flour)
**I highly recommend using the store-bought buttermilk, full-fat. In a pinch, you can make your own by adding 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice to plain milk, and letting it sit for 10 minutes.
***For other frosting recipes, including sugar-free, see the above blog post
****You can also bake this cake in one 9″ round cake pan, and consider cutting it in half, horizontally, to make it a layer cake. Or double the recipe and bake it in 2 pans! Bake for 20-22 minutes in a 9″ pan before checking with a toothpick.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: cakes
- Method: oven bake
- Cuisine: american
Keywords: whole wheat birthday cake // healthy birthday cake // healthy birthday treats // healthier cake recipes // low sugar birthday cake
I’m looooving this one! It looks just like regular cake but I’d definitely be down for eating it for breakfast :). All the sprinkles just make it too cute! Stay safe and healthy!
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I HAVE been eating it for breakfast, haha! I think it’s totally acceptable though! Thank you Kelsie!!
Such a lovely way to remember your dad! Love that this one is on the healthier side too…however, you know I’m gonna enjoy more than one slice 😉 Plus, how fun are sprinkles?! Have a lovely weekend ahead, my friend! XO
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Sprinkles are a must for anything you want to be fun!! Thanks Dawn!!
Love foods made with wheat flour, btw and this looks so yummy and gorgeous! I would definitely want a huge slice of that! Pinning! xo
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I love the heartiness of it too, Kim! Thanks my friend. The sprinkles definitely make it!
Love a delicious and healthy cake! I mean, it’s an additional excuse (as if I needed one) to bake and eat a cake! This is gorgeous! Love the memory of your Dad, too!
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Thank you Laura. I’m happy to have any excuse to make and eat a cake, haha!
This cake looks wonderful!! I love that you made this for your beloved father! I bet he would be super proud of you Katherine!
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Thanks Christie. I definitely like to think so. Miss him!
When I made our shopping list just to make sure to have the basics at home I have bought whole wheat flour and this is absolutely perfect way to use it ! Thank you so much !
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I’m glad you have whole wheat flour on hand, it’s actually one of the things I’m running out of!! Thank you Davorka!!
While the world is adjusting to this situation (Which is of course temporarily!), it’s crucial to stay positive. Social distancing is essential, but wait – we all have a passion for cooking and technically we’re an online social (food blogger’s) network that is 100% safe. Look, I have just found a reason to be happy! And of course, they say that even during challenging days it’s important to have some indulgent food, so let’s eat this cake!
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Absolutely crucial to stay positive, Ben. I have had to stop watching the news every night because it raises my anxiety level big time!! I think you’re totally right. At least we are a few steps ahead of everyone else with this online network!! 🙂
I almost always bake with whole wheat flour, so you know I love this one! I think it’s so great that you bake a cake every year in honour of your dad. And from your IG it looks like your kids had fun getting into the baking! Love the presentation and the sprinkles in this one. Can’t wait to give it a try some time! Take care and stay safe.
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My kids definitely love helping out with the baking, especially when sweet things are involved! Thanks Leanne.
So pretty, Katherine! I am also very intrigued by the frosting, being a plain yogurt fanatic and a white chocolate fan. Absolutely need to give it a try, especially since we do have white whole wheat flour on hand. Pinned!
Thanks Milena! I tried a few different frostings and a lot of them didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped, but this one was perfect (in my opinion). Hope you get to try it out!
This will be my second year using this recipe for my birthday cake. I love it so much and so does my family! The white chocolate frosting is lovely,
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Thanks for the recipe! It is crazy times for sure and tomorrow is my 40th birthday. Obviously with everyone in self-quarantine its going to make for a VERY quiet birthday so I will be making this for myself! Be safe!
Oh Renee!! I’m so sorry you’re spending your 40th in quarantine. I hope this cake lives up to a 40th birthday expectation!! Happy birthday!!
What a lovely tribute to your Dad Katherine! I’m always up for a healthier option when it comes to enjoying my sweets. This looks totally delish. Love the added sprinkles! So fun!
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Thanks Mary Ann! I am definitely always looking to make things a bit healthier, too! I hope you had a great weekend my friend XO
I love this tradition more than I can even express to you Katherine!❤️
Whole wheat flour is an ingredient that I adore baking with and I love how pretty those cake layers look!! Definitely need to add this to my must try list!
I think you should take it up, Tasia! It’s a nice way to talk about the ones we’ve lost 🙂 Thank you so much my friend!!
This birthday cake is gorgeous, Katherine! More nutritious and SO festive! Looks and sounds so delicious!
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Thank you so much my darling Marissa!!
Hi i would really love to try this for my baby’s 1st birthday! But I dont have access to applesauce what is the best substitute for that? Can i use banana or yoghurt instead? thank you! 🧡
Hi! You could try it with yogurt, or the same amount of oil.
Hi! What is full fat free yogurt? Is that 3.25%, or maybe closer to 11%? Also, how would you describe the taste of the cake? Does it taste like vanilla, or apples? Thanks!
HI Isabelle! You can use anything that is not “low fat” if that makes sense. So a 3.25% or even an 11% would work well. And I would say the cake is sweeter like vanilla.
I would like to make this recipe for a 13×9 cake pan. Would you recommend that I double the recipe? Thanks for the help!
Yes, I would double the recipe and keep an eye on the baking time. It might require less time than in the round pans.
Do you think you could make this cake ahead of time and freeze it? And do you think it would work for cake pops?
Hi! I am going to make this cake for my sons birthday Sunday! Can I use Einkorn flour in place of all the flour you use. Thanks so much!
I made this recipe exactly as stated and, while the cake and frosting are delicious, the frosting does not look like what you have in the photo. It is quite a bit runnier and refrigerating it doesn’t seem to help. I’m wondering, did you use the same frosting recipe written here for the cake in your photo, or something different?
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I made this today for my husband’s birthday and it turned out so perfectly. I used 1/3 cup maple syrup and 1/3 cup coconut sugar, and used unsweetened vanilla almond milk with 1 1/2 tbsp of ACV in place of the buttermilk. It was so moist and fluffy and I will definitely be making this again. Thank you so much.
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