What better way to celebrate your pup's special day than with this Mini Dog Birthday Cake?! Complete with peanut butter and cheese and over 87 five star ratings, it's sure to please!
This mini dog birthday cake is a huge hit, because dogs deserve cake on their birthday! My baby turns TWO today—like, how? I figured she deserved a dog birthday cake this year. Though my personal favorite cake is my chocolate vegan birthday cake, it's not exactly dog-friendly, so I figured I should make a separate recipe for Layla.
I'm completely biased, but Layla is simply the best. She keeps me company all day every day while I work from home, she has an adorable underbite, she increases my daily step count thanks to having to walk her, and she brings so much joy into my life.
Oh, and if your pup loves this recipe, be sure to check out my pumpkin dog cake, too, along with other dessert recipes.
Recipe features
- This recipe has 85 five star ratings and counting!
- It's made with peanut butter, pumpkin and topped with cheese -- all of your dog's favorite foods
- It's easy to make, and is shareable too
Ingredient notes
Like most dogs, Layla's a big fan of pumpkin and peanut butter, so I knew I needed to include those things. This dog birthday cake is quite similar to a human cake but with less sugar.
- all purpose flour
- coconut oil - or any kind of oil
- egg
- honey - or sub maple syrup
- canned pumpkin
- applesauce
- peanut butter
- yogurt
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir the flour and baking soda together and set aside.
Step 2: Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, and honey. Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Step 3: Bake. Divide the batter into two greased 4" cake pans, then bake the cakes for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick is clean. Wait for the cakes to come to room temperature before icing them.
Tips
Substitutions:
- Flour: This recipe calls for all purpose flour, but you could also use whole wheat flour. I haven't tried it with any sort of gluten free flour before, but again, I'm going to assume a gluten free all purpose flour would work well if your dog eats a grain-free diet.
- Oil: Coconut oil tends to be my oil of choice, but it can also be on the pricey side. Canola oil works just fine and I promise your dog won't know the difference 😉
- Yogurt: The icing for this cake is made with Greek yogurt and peanut butter. If your dog doesn't like yogurt and/or if you're worried about it upsetting their stomach (it shouldn't!), you could try using just peanut butter. It'll be stickier, but still tasty.
Questions? TONS of people have made this recipe, so be sure to read the comments for additional tips!
This dog birthday cake is one of the most popular recipes on this site, so if you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment or, even better, tag @thealmondeater on Instagram/Instagram stories--I LOVE seeing your creations, especially when dogs are involved!
More pumpkin recipes
Want even more dog cake recipes? This article from Play Bark Run has a great list of dog-friendly cake recipes.
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Mini Dog Birthday Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup honey preferably raw
- 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the icing:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Grease two 4" cake pans with a bit of coconut oil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda; set aside.
- Melt coconut oil in a saucepan over low-medium heat.
- While coconut oil is melting, whisk egg, honey, pumpkin, applesauce, peanut butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Last, stir in the melted coconut oil.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
- Pour batter evenly into the two pans, pounding them on the countertop a few times to the batter lays flat. Place the cake pans on a baking sheet and the baking sheet in the oven.
- Bake cakes for 20-30 minutes**, or until a toothpick comes out clean or mostly clean.
- Let the cakes sit in the pans for 10 minutes before running a knife along the edges and flipping them over onto a cooling rack. Wait until cakes are completely cool before icing.
for the icing:
- Stir yogurt and peanut butter together
assembly:
- Slice the tops of both cakes off (the "dome" part) and then lay the cut edges together, placing a bit of icing in between. Top the cake with additional icing. Additionally, if you want to cover the entire cake with icing (rather than just the top and middle), just double the icing ingredients.
- Top the cake with cheese to make your pup's special day that much better!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Jessie says
Made this for my dogs 2nd birthday and he loved it so much he is now refusing to eat his normal food
Erin says
hahah! that's amazing -- you're welcome and I'm sorry 🙂
James says
If you make this one day in advance, does it need to be refrigerated? I would put the icing on it the day of but wondering about the actual cake. Thanks
Erin says
Nope -- just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature.
Jacqueline H says
I have a very picky now 4 year old and she liked it. Made a few changes, very soft cooked apples in mango juice replaced applesauce. Cooked and mashed sweet potatoes replaced pumpkin as I didn't have it. Made 1/4 of the recipe in to 4 cupcakes for 20 minutes. Topped with cheddar cheese and bacon crumbles. Will definitely be using this recipe again!
Erin says
Love that all of the substitutions worked and that your dog liked the cake!
toni says
I need the measurements for this recipe please so I can make it for my frisco who is a male blind chihuahua will be 17 on 08/21/21.
Patty Luera says
Aaww! Happy birthday to your pup! We will be celebrating our girl’s 13th on 8/20/21!
Deborah says
Hi! I’m planning on making this cake for my dog’s third birthday! I wanted to see if I can substitute shredded carrots for the apple sauce? I’m trying to keep the sugar as low as possible!
Erin says
I think that should work! Let me know how it turns out in case others want to try it as well.
Lori says
So I just made this (currently in the oven) but my batter consistency was thicker than that in the video. Has anyone else had this issue and did it turnout ok? My girl is 1 today so hoping this works!
Crystal says
I made this today and the batter was also very thick. It cooked almost like a biscuit.
Jen says
This was was exactly what I was looking for, for our pups 1st birthday. This was super easy and a HUGE hit. I didn't have a 4 inch baking dish and I didn't want to make one 8 inch cake so I used my mini loaf pan (8 loaves). This recipe made 5 mini loaves. I cooked for about 20 minutes and they came out perfect! Our other dog turns 3 in July and I am definitely making for him, although this is easy enough to make any time!
Erin says
I'm so happy the cake was a hit!
Jean says
Made this for my dog's 12th birthday. Made it in a loaf pan. Turned out great! She enjoyed licking the beaters! Can't wait for her to try the finished product!
Michelle says
I used wheat flour. Added a touch of cinnamon. Used a springform pan. Turned out great. Shiva gobbled it up.
Erin Bogardis says
Hi!
I will be making your cake recipe for my dog's birthday this week and xan't wait but the reason I'm commenting is because our dogs are TWINS. My pup is identical! We have no idea what breed(s) she is though...it has always been a mystery. Do you know what breed your Layla is? Thank you for your time 🙂
Erin says
No way! We did one of those dog DNA tests and apparently she's a mix of beagle/boxer/hound/dachshund, and I also think she might have some pit in her. Definitely tag a photo of the dog cake on Instagram so I can see your pup!
Angela says
My boy turned 10 yesterday. I made this cake for him and it was so good that I got a bite too ! I put some whipped cream on my portion though.. I substituted coconut oil for olive oil ( I thought I had , but i was out) and accidentally I poured a bit of almond extract, but both are safe for dogs and my boy has an iron stomach. Although, I didn't let him eat the entire thing at once because I wanted to see how he reacted to it since it was night and I didn't want to open my window in the middle of the night. LOL. ! But he was completely fine, he got another piece this morning and will have the rest tonight , thank you. !! Wish I can post a picture. My boy is a big GS ❤
Sylvia says
Hi, would love your advice if I can use coconut flour for this? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi! I haven't tested this cake with any other flours, and coconut flour is very different than all purpose so I don't think it would work. You could try using gluten free 1:1 baking flour if you want to make this GF.
Ewa says
My dog loved IT !!! My daughter loved it too 😀. Easy to make and so much fun to see my 1 y old puppy gobble it . It did not upset his stomach at all !
Miriam Jenner says
Hi! Just a word of warning - most g/f flour mixes are NOT suitable for dogs because they contain xanthum gum, which is toxic to our furry friends!
nandeika says
is there any alternative to egg???
Erin says
Hi! You could probably sub 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 tbsp water), or I have another dog cake recipe that doesn't have eggs if you want to try it: https://thealmondeater.com/vegan-pumpkin-dog-cake-for-people-too/
ceil says
my darling grace will be 18 and really deserves her own yummy cake. i'm sure she will share with her sister, brother, and cousins! my question is, can i use one regular cake pan?
thanks
Erin says
Hi! Yes -- I believe you can use 1 8" or 9" cake pan instead. Let me know how it turns out!
Lisa says
Hi everyone!
I made with gluten free flour! Added 5 minutes to the baking time and it was perfect! Gone in a flash. Great recipe.
Erin says
Thanks for this info Lisa!