This recipe is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to make a cake from scratch without spending days in the kitchen or 
having the end result look like it was decorated by a 4-year-old. Earlier this year my daughter asked me if I could “write” Happy Birthday on top of her homemade cake, and I practically laughed out loud at the thought of what that would look like. So cake-decorating skills or not…absolutely anyone can make this “tie dye” cake turn out beautifully. And don’t be afraid to switch up the colors. I used peaches and raspberries in the pictured version, but if you want it to be more “boyish” blueberries would add some great color as well.
Before we switched to “real food” I used to make birthday cakes out of a box topped with frosting from a tub mixed with food coloring from little squeeze bottles. I’ve always loved to bake, but I never used to make cakes from scratch because I didn’t have a good “go-to” recipe and I also didn’t know any better! Now that we’ve cut all highly processed food from our diets I prefer a cake made from scratch with only a few simple ingredients when it comes time for those special celebrations. No matter how much we say junk food is okay in moderation I almost never want the highly processed, factory-made, artificial version anymore. So as I mentioned in my previous whole-wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe, this cake “breaks the real food rules” a little, but I would much rather you make this for your next celebration instead of relying on Betty Crocker (or worse – your grocery store bakery)! Feel free to check out the ingredient list for those options if you don’t believe me that this is a much better choice. 
- Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour, organic pastry or white winter wheat recommended
- 1 cup all purpose white flour (or can sub whole-wheat flour), organic recommended
- ½ cup unsweetened “dark” cocoa powder
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups sugar, organic recommended
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 eggs, organic recommended
- ⅔ cup oil (I used coconut oil)
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- Butter for greasing pan(s)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans or other sized baking dish.
- In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients including flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt.
- Make a well (hole) in the middle of the dry ingredients and drop in the water, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix by hand with whisk until well blended.
- Distribute batter evenly into the two cake 9-inch pans and bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes clean. Let cool before adding frosting.
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream, organic recommended
- 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar (to taste), organic recommended
- 1 ½ recipes berry sauce with water reduced in half (subbing either frozen or fresh organic fruit for desired topping color for e.g. raspberries = bright red, peach or mango = orange, blueberries = blue, cherries = dark red)
- Squeeze bottle or spoon
- Toothpicks
- In a large bowl whip cream and sugar together using an electric mixer.
- Meanwhile prepare berry sauce(s) with desired fruit for topping. Let sauce(s) cool.
- Turn out one of the cooled cake rounds onto serving platter. Cover the top (that used to be the bottom) with whipped cream frosting. Lay second round cake layer directly on top of first frosted cake layer. Now cover the entire exposed cake with frosting including sides.
- Put berry sauce into a squeeze bottle or alternatively you can try to drizzle sauce onto cake with a spoon. I used a “ketchup-style” squeeze bottle with the tip cut off to make the opening at the top a little wider.
- Make colored circles on top of cake using berry sauce (pictured).
- Using toothpicks start in the center of the cake and drag through the sauce to the edge. Repeat until desired look is achieved.
- For best results serve within a few hours. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Related Posts: Whole-Wheat Chocolate Cookies
We had my son’s first birthday party today. For any of my older daughter’s parties, or my husband’s or any other occasion, I have always used a box mix. I would make a 9×13 pan of cake and maybe a third of it would get eaten. Today, I made your recipe here. There was barely a speck of cake left in the pan when the last guest left!! WOW, was it ever delicious! Thank you so much for sharing
Spelt is a lighter kind of whole wheat. I find it perfect for cakes,cookies,etc….
I made this cake for my son’s 1st birthday this weekend! I forgot to put in the oil, but it still turned out great! Then I remade it with the oil, and it was still good. I linked you in my blog post about the party: http://staywiththekidsmom.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html
I am confused as why would you call this real food
with all the sugar in this recipe? Sugar is not food.
I agree sugar is not “real food” which is why the post (above the recipe) says this “So as I mentioned in my previous whole-wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe, this cake “breaks the real food rules” a little, but I would much rather you make this for your next celebration instead of relying on Betty Crocker (or worse – your grocery store bakery)!”
Do you think you could mix the red berry sauce with the whipped icing to make it pink? Not sure if it would affect the cream. My daughter’s 4 year “princess and knight” birthday party is coming up and she LOVES pink. Thanks!
I tried, and the two didn’t mix together nicely. Maybe if you strain the seeds out first you’d have better luck. Let me know how it ends up turning out!
You could try using a few drops of beet juice – we use it in pancakes to make them pink with no taste of beets!
My whipped cream frosting didn’t do quiet right. it was very runny and i had a ton leftover. is there a certain way to make the heavy whipping cream thicken up? mine was running everywhere. it still tasted ok just wouldnt stay on the sides and build up between the cake layers.
thanks for your help!!
ok i see the above person had the same problem. i dont guess i whipped it long enough!! i have enough leftover to try again
Yes, you just keep whipping till it turns into whipped cream. Don’t stop until you get there (and don’t over whip it either!)
I made this cake today for my birthday. I’ve been wanting to try the recipe so this seemed like the perfect occasion. I really loved it. I didn’t use the berry sauce (just didn’t have the time for that final step) but look forward to trying it sometime. Instead I just decorated it with fresh blueberries on top of the whipped cream. It’s a delicious recipe for someone looking for a sweet treat that tastes natural and wholesome. It was decadent, but in a way you don’t feel bad about eating. I’m so grateful for your website, Lisa.
Just made this and the recipe is definitely getting saved in my cook book! Tastes very yummy and fluffy. Didn’t have time to make frosting but whipped up some of your chocolate sauce and drizzled it on the top and it was a hit!
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If mixing the berry sauce with the whip cream isn’t recommended, do you have any other ideas for making the whip cream red or pink? I am LOVING your site…very inspiring!
I bought these natural food dyes from Whole Foods (also available on amazon) that made my whipped cream pink: http://www.amazon.com/India-Tree-Natural-Decorating-Packages/dp/B001EQ5BXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328669649&sr=8-1
You could also try pomegranate or beet juice.
2 TABLEspoons of vanilla for the cake?!?!
Yep!
I love chocolate cake, but I love vanilla even more! Do you have a recipe for vanilla cake instead of chocolate?
Not at this time…but I will take note!
When you use coconut oil, do you have to liquefy it first (how?) or do you put it in as a solid?
Yes, it should be a liquid…check out this post for more info: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/
I just made this cake. My 5 year old loved helping. We haven’t even put the frosting on and he says it’s very “tasty”. I love your website. I am trying new stuff everyday. Love it!,,,, thank you so much!!!!!!
Pam
made this tonight to celebrate my daughter’s baptism. everyone LOVED it! thank you for sharing!
Happy Birthday MOM!…Instead of doing the tie-dye design I whipped a medly of frozen berries into the whipped icing. My son, who is the world’s pickiest eater had a big smile on his face when he sampled it..so far so good! I hope you enjoy mummy!
I put all my pictures on facebook…
I just read this article to my 7 year old daughter who will be celebrating her 8th birthday in less than 2 weeks. I was able to “talk her into” a homemade party. The menu is a taco bar with grass fed ground beef with homemade taco seasoning, corn shells, WW tortillas, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and lettuce. I will also make refried beans and red beans. She wants a giant chocolate chip cookie so I have to research that. LOL Thank you for the inspirational article.
Sounds like the party planning if off to a great start!
Wow, my son’s birthday party is in 3 days and I want to try this. Can I make the cake the day before? If yes, how do I store it?
I made this today and it was a big hit. I used coconut oil and would personally skip it next time because I could taste it in the cake and I’n not a huge fan of coconut. I made strawberry and blueberry sauces and everyone was very impressed with the design. This was my first attempt at making a birthday cake and I was pretty happy with myself. Thanks for sharing!
Made this with homemade strawberry preserves mixed into the whipped cream. Yummy!
I haven’t tried this cake, but I recently made homemade whipped cream with organic heavy whipping cream, maybe 1 tablespoon of local honey and a dash of cinnamon. It was SOOOO good, and no sugar!
Oh my!! Made this tonight and it is better than any boxed cake ever! My husband, who doesn’t have a big sweet tooth, commented on how good it was. This is so birthday/special event worth! We didn’t even use any frosting or topping. I have made cakes from scratch and they are usually on the dry side but not this cake, a keeper for sure!
I am fairly new to real food. I am an avid baker and am yearning for a resource with lots of baking recipes. Does anyway have a resource for BAKING? My daughter’s first birthday is next month, and I’d love to pick from some recipes to see what to make.
Thanks!
Hi Samantha. In addition to the recipes on our blog, you should check out the cookbooks on the kitchen essentials page which you can find here: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/#books. I know the Deliciously Organic cookbook has some great dessert recipes. Good luck. Jill
I am making this as a sheet cake for a home school open house tonight. I’m not into the whole foods movement, mostly, I was trying to find a cake recipe for things I already had on hand…the batter sure tastes good:)
I am making this cake, this weekend for my son’s 3rd birthday. You say to use whole-wheat flour, organic pastry or white winter wheat recommended. I currently use the King Arthur white whole wheat that you normally use. Is that what you used in this recipe? Thanks very much! I love your blog!
Hi Brittany. There is one cup of whole-wheat flour which should either be whole-wheat pastry flour or white winter wheat (I used the pastry flour) and then 1 cup of all purpose flour which I think is what you are referring to below. Hope that helps. Jill