As we all know, birthdays are significant occasions for kids. These are the days when kids are the happiest and go completely crazy with excitement. However, celebrating a child’s birthday under lockdown may be challenging. We want to offer some ideas on how to make it successful.
First of all, try to remember what you loved most about special events like birthdays and holidays when you were a kid yourself and recreate that experience in a new format. You can as well test new ideas. The clue is to involve the children in the process, encouraging their artistic abilities. And the most important idea is that preparation is supposed to become part of the birthday itself.
BIRTHDAY CAKE
One of my sweetest memories is making a cake together with my mother and then licking up the remains of whipped cream. For me, it was even more enjoyable than eating the cake. Since I have opened up to the world of healthy food, I want to offer you a recipe for a delicious vegan, gluten-free cake that your birthday girl or boy will enjoy making with you. I would make the base of the cake in advance the night before so that it would cool down and be left to make the really fun part together. Children usually end up licking the bowl until every last bit is gone when we make this cake together. I believe that our giving should be shaped by our inner truth, so follow your heart and offer your kids their favorite flavors.
WET INGREDIENTS
1 2/3 cup almond
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
DRY INGREDIENTS
3 1/4 cups almond flour
1 scant cup
1/3 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
VEGAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
2 sticks vegan butter, softened
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups organic powdered sugar
coconut cream
Taste-adding options: hazelnuts and pecans to a ground thin powder /cocoa/berries...
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 180 C and lightly grease two standard 8-inch round cake pans, one 9x13-inch, or three 6-inch round pans (with coconut oil), and dust with gluten-free flour. Shake out excess and set aside.
In a liquid measuring cup, measure out almond milk and add vinegar. Let sit a few minutes. Then add applesauce and vanilla. stir to combine.
Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Then add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated and no large lumps remain. Add more almond flour if too wet or almond milk if too thick.
Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans and bake on a center rack for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges and surface appear golden brown.
Let cool 15 minutes in the cake pans. To remove from pans, run a dull knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the cakes. Then place a plate or cooling rack on top and quickly invert. Let cool completely (preferably overnight or at least 6 hours on a wire rack) before frosting.
Frost with coconut whipped cream and berries for a lighter application or frost generously with my 3-ingredient Vegan Buttercream Frosting (see below).
Store cake covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze up to 1 month.
FROSTING:
Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute. Then add vanilla and mix once more. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until a thick, spreadable frosting is formed. I found about 3 cups to be the appropriate amount per 1 full cake recipe that is if I do not add any flavor except the vanilla if you are going to add some flavor play with it because the cocoa or the nuts will do the work. If too thick, the frosting will be too hard to spread (add 1/2 tsp almond milk at a time if too thick). If too thin, the frosting will slide off the cake. If too thin, continue adding powdered sugar until you get the right texture or for those who like less sugar or different flavors like cocoa or walnut flavor, it is time to add what you want to create the flavors you like, for example, I like the nutty flavor so I grind hazelnuts and pecans to a powder and add that way I use less sugar and thicken the cream. Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let come to room temperature before frosting.
DECORATING THE HOUSE
Let the child feel that the house has become the land of their dreams,
both in design and feel. Your home can transform into a kingdom if you decorate it with curtains and lights and put lovely and sweet-smelling flowers on the floor. Kids may enjoy decorating their room using eco-friendly materials such as old papers and newspapers.
You can make together beautiful things in origami techniques: birds, ships, planes, and more...
If you like origami, check out these awesome projects; you can learn how to fold more cool origami models on Youtube. ..
here are some options...
(they could look great for the holidays' decoration too)
GREETING CARDS
One more suggestion: invite all the family to participate in the preparation of greeting cards that may be hung on the wall above the birthday child's bed.
You can use the free instant download coloring pages from our ' ilovemyatat activities ' page...
just an easy way to get less creative gays into it...
PLAN AHEAD
As parents, we should prepare ourselves in advance for the birthday, especially during a lockdown: make a to-do list, buy raw materials, gifts, and basic things. check out the Shop you may find something nice for this occasion. Here is a coupon code (code = HappyBirthday) for a birthday gift discount,
feel free to use it. You may want to prepare a plan for a home celebration and share it with broader family and friends, in case they want to cooperate and send a small gift and/or a video greeting: your child may enjoy watching specially-prepared video greetings from family members. Another option is setting an hour for a gift opening zoom meeting: we are sure Grandma and Grandpa will love to be able to see the excitement on their grandchild’s face while opening their gifts. If you get creative enough, your child will experience that special feeling of being honored and special on their special day, even if we don’t invite guests. So have fun with the kids, and give them a happy memorable day.
all the best wishes.
