Fruit Cakes for Children

Homemade fruit cakes are fun, tasty and healthy. They're a good way to get kids to eat different types of fruits. You can use apples, pears, peaches, and many more.

The statistics of overweight people are worrying. Childhood obesity has increased so much that it’s becoming an epidemic in many countries. One way for children to consume the recommended daily servings of fruit is to make them homemade fruit cakes that they’ll love.

Fruit cakes for children: a healthy dessert

The icings and fillings that store-bought cakes have contain lots of fat and are very sugary. A large part of industrial bakeries use harmful trans fats and palm oil to make them.

However, if you make them at home, you can control the amounts of fat and sugar you use. Below you’ll find a few recipes for homemade fruit cakes that your children will love.

Cheesecake with berries

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of vanilla cookies (crushed)
• 1/2 cup of melted butter
• 16 oz of cream cheese
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of heavy whipped cream
• Vanilla
• Red fruits: blackberries, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, etc.

Preparation:

• Crush the cookies, melt the butter, and combine everything with your hands. Then, cover the bottom of a springform mold with this mixture. It will be the base of the cake.
• Next, place the cream cheese, eggs, sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla in a bowl. Mix and sprinkle the flour through a sifter. Incorporate the cream by gently folding it in. Then, set it aside for a while.
• For the sauce, heat the sugar with 1/2 cup of water. When it’s boiling, add the fruits. Next, stir and cook until it forms a syrup.
• When you take the pie out of the oven, let it cool. Spread the cheese layer evenly and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours. 
• Glaze the cake with the red fruit sauce and serve.

Stuffed apple pie

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 3 cups of wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• Salt

Filling:

• 1 pound of apples
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla
• Anise
• Salt

Preparation:

• Firstly, mix all the ingredients for the dough. Knead it well. Once it’s fully combined, wrap it in plastic and keep it in the fridge for under an hour.
• After that time, stretch about half of the dough in a baking dish. Place some grains of large legumes on top to prevent it from inflating. Bake it at 400ºF until golden brown.
• For the filling, peel the apples, remove the seeds and cores, and cut them into pieces. Let them marinate for 2 hours in a covered bowl with the lemon, vanilla, anise, cinnamon and sugar.
• Place the marinated apples on the baked dough, but without the liquid. Roll out the remaining half of the dough. Then, cut strips to place them criss-crossed over the layer of apples.
• Bake at 400ºF for 40 minutes or until brown.

Swiss roll with kiwi and strawberries

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of wheat flour
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Chantilly cream
• Powdered sugar

Preparation:

• Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. While still beating, add the yolks and slowly sprinkle the sugar. 
• Then, sift the flour into the mixture, and slowly fold it all together. This is so that it stays light and foamy. Finally, add the lemon zest.
• Next, line a rectangular baking sheet. Pour the mixture into the pan. Put it in the oven at 350ºF for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• When it’s cool, spread the Chantilly cream on top of the cake. Then, roll it into a log, using the paper it’s on.
• Finally, put it into the refrigerator for a little while. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and cut it into thick slices.

You can substitute any of these fruits for others in these three recipes for fruit cakes. Your only limit is your creativity and imagination! What’s important to know is how nutritious and beautiful homemade desserts can be.