Since I mentioned the snacks that they eat at Hippie German School, which I mention jokingly, but are actually one of the things I think is great about the school -- that they aren't filling my son full of crap food and Kool-Aid, I thought I'd also talk about the Kindergarten birthday cake.

In preschool and Kindergarten birthdays are a big deal, though not quite like they might be other places. The birthday kid gets a present from the teachers (something like seashells, play silks, a handmade felt bag or modelling beeswax), the teachers tell a special "Rainbow Bridge" story about the kid and parents are invited to come for the last part of the school day. Also they have cake. But unlike some schools where parents have the choice of any sort of cookie/cake/cupcake, they ask us all to make the same recipe of semi-healthy cake.

Last year The Boy's preschool teachers made the cake and I found it to be rather tasteless, too unsweet and too salty. The leftovers got pitched. Knowing that I'm going to have to make the cake this year, I decided to fiddle with the recipe just enough to make a better cake, but within the same basic parameters -- adding a little more honey, a few more spices and some orange zest, the recipe came out great. It became a recipe I'll be happy to make. In fact, I thought it was so good, that I am tempted to whip up a cake just to munch on and I'm not even a huge fan of cake.

So here's it is:

Jordana's Modified Hippie German Kindergarten Cake

2 cups oat flour (grind oats to flour in food processor)
1/2 cup wheat flour (can substitute all purpose flour for a lighter cake)
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt

4 oz unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup water
1 cup honey
fresh zest from one orange

2 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Combine dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, water, honey and orange zest. Pour butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer. Add yogurt and eggs. Bake at 375 degrees in a bundt pan for 30 to 40 minutes. The Kindergarten serves the cake plain, decorated with mandarin oranges, but I made up a simple cream cheese icing with orange zest in it.