Everyone deserves a cake on their big day, including your dog. In fact, there is probably no one more deserving! Spoil your special pooch with a homemade dog birthday cake that's both delicious and nutritious. Our pupcake recipes use only dog-safe ingredients and are super easy to make. Plus, you can use the leftovers for days.
Irresistible Doggy-style Carrot Cake
Carrot cake isn't just a hit with humans; dogs like it too. In fact, carrots are a great snack for dogs because they're packed with beneficial nutrients like fiber, vitamin A, and beta-carotene. Make your pup their very own dog-safe carrot birthday cake that looks great and tastes even better.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 cups almond flour
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Beat the egg, then add the applesauce and yogurt.
- Fold in the shredded carrots and mix.
- Add the almond flour and incorporate.
- Add small amounts of water, if needed, to achieve a cake batter consistency.
- Pour the batter into a lightly sprayed cake pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before decorating and serving.
Peanut Butter Mini Birthday Pupcake Recipe
If your dog is a fan of peanut butter, you need to make these adorable dog-friendly cupcakes. And maybe invite some pup friends over? This easy recipe uses only four ingredients and makes about 12 pupcakes. When picking a brand of peanut butter for this cake, make sure it doesn't contain any additives, particularly xylitol, which is toxic to dogs.
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1/3 cup dog-safe peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mash the banana and stir in the peanut butter.
- Beat the egg, then add it to your banana and peanut butter mixture.
- Add wet ingredients to flour and incorporate.
- Add small amounts of water as needed to create a cake batter consistency.
- Pour batter into a lightly sprayed muffin pan, filling only 2/3 of the way in each.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before decorating, then serve!
Puptastic Pumpkin Birthday Cake Surprise
Even though pumpkin is traditionally a fall food, you can use it in a dog cake any time of year. Pumpkin is a natural source of fiber that can promote a healthy digestive tract, plus it makes this cake a great orange color.
Be sure to use only plain pumpkin puree; canned is fine if it doesn't contain any additives like sugar or spices. You can add a dash of cinnamon to the batter if you like, but do not use pumpkin pie spice because nutmeg is toxic to dogs.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup plain pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- Dash of cinnamon (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Beat the egg and mix in the pumpkin and peanut butter.
- Combine with the flour and cinnamon (if using), and mix until incorporated.
- Add small amounts of water until the mixture is a cake batter consistency.
- Pour into a lightly sprayed pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before decorating and serving.
Never use traditional icing on a dog birthday cake. Either find one specifically meant for pups or make your own by mixing equal parts tapioca with yogurt. Then add small amounts of water to create your desired consistency.
Ways to Customize Your Dog's Birthday Cake
Birthday cakes come in all shapes and sizes, just like dogs. If you're hosting a puppy birthday bash, you might want to make cupcakes rather than one larger cake. It can also be fun to decorate the cake with dog-safe icing. Use these tips to make your dog's birthday cake recipe extra special.
- Make pupcakes. Use a muffin pan to make one-serving cupcakes. This makes sharing easy at a party!
- Try fun molds. Bake the batter in a silicone candy tray, so the cakes come out in fun shapes. You can find molds that look like paw prints, bones, or anything else your dog loves.
- Create a double-layer cake. Split the recipe between two pans to create a double-layer cake. Put banana, zucchini slices, or pumpkin puree between the layers.
- Decorate with "icing." Top the cake with "icing." You can use a bit of peanut butter, applesauce, yogurt, or pumpkin puree spread over the cake to make it look like icing.
- Finish with toppings. Sprinkle the cake with toppings like crumbled bacon or dog biscuits. Get creative, but only use dog-safe foods.
- Substitute as needed. If your dog has an allergy to an ingredient or you don't have one of them on hand, you don't need to scrap the whole idea altogether. Substitutions are easy; use zucchini instead of carrots, oat flour instead of whole wheat flour, or applesauce instead of egg. The cake may be a little denser or a different color than you expected, but we promise your dog won't mind one bit.
Choose Homemade Dog Cakes Every Time
Instead of spending a fortune at a dog bakery or making your dog sick with human food, whip up a cake recipe that is healthy and dog-friendly. Just know these cakes are relatively dense and won't rise the way traditional cakes do; leavening ingredients like baking soda and baking powder can irritate a dog's stomach, so it's best to avoid them altogether. Even so, these dog birthday cakes will turn out so cute neither of you will care.
