It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

...Little Bay had a birthday! And she wanted very little to do with any of it...

...as you can see from this little video clip... (pause my music playlist first so you can hear this)

For your moms who don't want to overload your kids with sugar on their big day, I use the carrot cake recipe found in the "What to Expect" book. It's all natural and healthy. I find it's so sweet that for the icing, all I do is whip some whipping cream and pour over top. It's not sweet at all and balances it all out nicely...for the kid...I would never eat it...bleck!...but they love it. We sang to Little Bay before dinner started and just gave her the cake for dinner.

Birthday Cake:

Here is my adapted/simplified version that makes one 9 in square pan:

~ 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots

~ 1 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate

~ 3/4 cups raisins

~ Vegetable Spray/Shortening

~ 1 cups whole-wheat flour

~ 1/4 cup vegetable oil

~ 2 eggs

~ 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

~ 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

~ 2 Tbsp baking powder

~ 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 9 inch square cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening. Or spray pan and coat with flour.

1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a blender of food processor until smooth.

3. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

5. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. (this is another great recipe, I just beat some cream here and poured it over)