Anyone make formed cakes health(ier)?

[cristeen]

So we have a tradition in my family that the first birthday cake is baked in a bear shaped mold. As in it looks like a teddy bear sitting on a plate - it's a good 12 inches high, I suppose. This is the cake that the baby gets to play in - the rest of the people get their own sheet cake. I've made it any number of times with a standard cake recipe, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever made something along these lines with a less traditional cake recipe? I have zero desire to feed my one-year old that much sugar, not to even mention the fact that he's never had wheat. Not sure it can be done without wheat, but I would love to hear if someone has had luck making one of these formed cakes with a less SAD cake recipe.

[Angelorum]

have you tried any coconut flour recipes? We are GF, and I've been pretty impressed by how good coconut flour recipes are compared to other GF options. I've never made cake, but I've been doing muffins and pancakes, and they come out moist, yummy, and not horribly crumbly like rice flour recipes or something. I'm planning on a coconut flour cake for my babe's first birthday next week

[Pariah]

There are a number of gluten-free cake and icing mixes in the natural foods section at mainstream grocery stores here...I can't remember brands off the top of my head. I personally like Dr. Oetker's organic cake and icing mixes if I go the boxed route...they're the healthiest I've found yet. I've used coconut oil when making the icing, too.

[Magelet]

It's just a slightly adapted SAD recipe (and still has wheat flour) but the silver palate's recipe for banana cake is delicious with palm sugar and whole wheat flour instead. And it's quite dense so I imagine it would work well. I haven't adapted the cream cheese frosting recipe yet though.

It's probably more sugar and wheat than you want to give DS, but if the gluten free recipes don't work, it might.