Itty Bitty Abby is 3!!

To continue to honor Abby's birthday I decided to make her a dinner I was sure she would like. How did I know for sure that she would like it? Because I've made it for her before. Hands down the thing I have cooked for Abby that she liked the most were the fish nuggets so I made up another batch that was sure to please! This time around I thought I would try a new side to go with them so I whipped up a batch of super simple:

Honey and Ginger Carrots
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
1-1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1. Parboil the carrots in a medium saucepan until just tender
2. Drain the water and return the carrots to the saucepan
3. Add the remaining ingredients and saute over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly and being careful not to burn. Serve!

I knew I wanted to bake a little cake for Abby and it got me thinking about those 1st birthday 'smash cakes'. I remember the mild anxiety I felt about giving my daughter this rather large, sugar laden cake (considering her size and the fact that she was still just learning how to eat solids). In the end a friend of the family made her a pseudo-healthy smash cake (along with a regular, full sugar cake for the rest of us). Anyway, since I never made one for Neko I thought I would try my hand at a slightly less devilish cake. The result was rather....muffiny. Which brought me to the question: What separates a cake from a muffin? I'm welcome any answers to this question.

Abby's (sort of healthy) Birthday Cake

Ingredients:
2-1/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. turbanino sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. applesauce
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1c. whipping cream
fresh or frozen berries
2 tsp. + 2 tsp. agave nectar.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan, 2 - 8" rounds or line a cupcake pan with liners. I did a 5" round pan and 3 trays of mini cupcakes.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the sugar.
3. Mix the honey, applesauce, eggs, milk and salt on low speed until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed for 1 minute.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For my cake it was 20 minutes and the cupcakes were 13 minutes. I think a 9x13 would take about 25-30.
5. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool on a cooling rack.
6. Using a chilled mixing bowl, beat the cream and 2 tsp agave nectar at high speed until thick enough to spread on cake.
7. Cover top and sides of cake with whipped cream.
8. In a small bowl stir the berries with 2 tsp. agave nectar. Spoon on to center of cake. Serve!