Gluten Free Healthy Smash Cake for Baby's First Birthday!

Happy First Birthday Little Dude!!!  Thanks to Love and Life Photography for the photo and to Giggle Poo for the Anchor's Aweigh I'm 1 Today Smash Cake Bib.  It is important to me to have my baby start off healthy and I wasn't ready yet to give him the sugar filled frosting and cake yet, so I searched for some healthier alternatives.  I came across a pin on pinterest for a Healthy Smash Cake by Our Havenhill.  It looked great except I also needed it to be gluten free, so I needed to make a few changes:

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup natural no sugar added applesauce
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Baking Mix
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Frosting:

• 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) no sugar added apple juice concentrate
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

 Some people who are gluten free already have their own baking mix, however I used Arrowhead Mills All Purpose Baking Mix.  I bought it at my local grocery store. I highly suggest a baking mix over just a gluten free flour, since the gluten in regular flour is what helps hold the cake together, your gluten free flour needs a little help (like xanthan gum). 

The other major change was the original recipe said to put this in two 8" or 9" pans, however I am not sure if the batter consistency was different due to the gluten free flour, but I barely had enough to cover the bottom of one 8' pan.  I just made it all in one pan and used a circle cookie cutter to cut out two circles and placed them on top of each other.  My husband (who is not gluten free)  even loved this!  It would make a wonderful banana bread recipe as well.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mash the bananas in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix the baking mix, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together.
3. Add the mashed bananas, applesauce, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated.
4. Spray one 8″round pans with non-stick cooking spray or coat with butter and flour.
5. Spread the batter into the bottom of the pan.
6. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.
7. Cool the cakes, then use overturned smaller bowl to cut out small cake rounds.

For the frosting (if not using first birthday cupcake frosting):

1. Soften the cream cheese.
2. Whisk the cream cheese with the apple juice concentrate and vanilla extract until creamy.
3. (Best if frosted freshly since there may be browning due to lack of preservatives.)