Easy Dog Cake Recipe (Dog Birthday Cake)

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The “Pupcake”!

I’ll just go ahead and confirm – Yes, this is a dog cake recipe.  I also made a video for this dog cake recipe. March 31st is a special day around here.

It’s the birthday of our most special family member, Stanley. He’s our fur baby, best friend, and favorite snuggle partner.

If you love your dog more than most human beings and you want to shower them with a healthy and special birthday treat, this dog cake recipe is for you!

 

 

Healthy Dog Cake Recipe Ingredients

I like to make every birthday for Stanley super special.  Dog lovers know, you only get so many birthdays with these special friends and every single one of them is equal to 7 human birthday.

I basically came up with this dog cake by putting together foods I knew he could eat. Oats, peanut butter, bananas and yogurt are all healthy for dogs unless your dog has a special sensitivity.

I know he has no idea it’s his birthday and that’s okay with me, because I do.  We spend the entire weekend celebrating.  He got a new collar from the Ellen line at PetSmart.  He’s looking super cute in his new neck ware.

We make it a point to stay around the house playing fetch and serving up a few extra treats.  One of those treats is the “Pupcake”.  You’ll see in the video below he gobbles it right up.

 

 

 

 

Dog Cake Recipe Substitutions

I like to make a yogurt peanut butter icing, but as you’ll see in the photos I also sometimes top these with just bananas. You could also make an icing using just a spread of peanut butter.

I like the idea of piping it on so the yogurt helps with that. Pumpkin would also work as a topping! Dogs love pumpkin and it’s very good for their digestion.

 

What kind of flour can you use in a dog birthday cake recipe?

I only recommend whole wheat or white flour. Almonds are known to be very difficult for dogs to digest and other gluten free flours contain ingredients that aren’t best for dogs.

 

My dog follows a grain free diet. How can I make a grain free dog birthday cake?

If you want to make a grain free birthday cake, I’d recommend using a ring mold to layer peanut butter, then banana slices in a circular pattern. You could still pipe on some yogurt peanut butter “frosting.”  This will give you the look of a birthday cake without any grain.

 

What kind of yogurt is safe for dogs?

I only recommend non fat plain greek yogurt. Many of the sweeteners used in yogurts aren’t safe for dogs. Additionally a higher fat content can be difficult for them to digest. The peanut butter provides a safe amount of fat in the recipe.

 

 

 

 

How to Make a Homemade Dog Cake

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This homemade dog cake needs just four simple ingredients and about ten minutes of hands-on work. Here’s how to make a dog cake from start to finish:

1. Preheat and prep your muffin tin. Set your oven to 350°F. Grease two cups of a standard muffin tin with a little coconut oil, or drop in paper liners. This recipe makes two “pupcakes”, so you only need two cups — ideal if you have one dog and don’t want extras sitting around.

2. Combine the dry ingredients. Add 1/4 cup quick cooking oats and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour to a mixing bowl. A stand mixer with the paddle attachment is easiest, but a hand mixer works fine, and so does a sturdy spoon and a little elbow grease.

3. Beat in the peanut butter. Spoon in 1/4 cup of natural creamy peanut butter and mix until the texture looks like coarse crumbs. Check your label first — peanut butter containing xylitol (sometimes listed as birch sugar) is toxic to dogs, so use a natural brand where the only ingredients are peanuts and maybe salt.

4. Add warm water to form the dough. Pour in warm water a tablespoon at a time, up to about 1/4 cup total, mixing as you go. Stop as soon as the dough pulls together into a single smooth ball. This isn’t a pourable cake batter — you’re aiming for stiff cookie dough, closer to a dog biscuit dough.

5. Divide and press into the tin. Split the dough in half and push one half into each greased muffin cup. Press down firmly with the back of a spoon so the tops are flat and there are no air pockets. This dough has no leavening, so it won’t rise or settle on its own the way regular cake batter does.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. They’re ready when they’re completely set and firm to the touch, with the texture of a dog biscuit. Since there’s no egg or baking powder in this dog cake recipe, skip the toothpick test you’d use on a human cake and judge by firmness instead.

7. Cool completely on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges, turn them out of the tin, and let them cool all the way through. If you ice them while they’re still warm, the yogurt frosting will slide right off.

8. Ice and garnish. Stir together 2 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt (no artificial sweeteners here either) with 1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter. Spoon it into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe it on, or just snip the corner off a Ziploc bag — works just as well. A knife and a simple spread is perfectly fine too. Finish with banana slices and a sprinkle of oats.

Your pup will also love my Pumpkin Pup Treats.