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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Mini Dog Birthday Cake

By Erin · September 1, 2016 · Updated August 11, 2020 · 203 Comments

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Mini Dog Birthday Cake | the perfect way to celebrate your pup's special day! | thealmondeater.com

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!

dog eating cake

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


cake ingredients with text overlay

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.

wet cake ingredients in a bowl

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.

cake in a cake pan

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!

dog on a chair

cake topped with cheese

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

  • Pumpkin Smoothie Bowl
  • Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
  • Vegan Pumpkin Pie

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!

dog eating cake

Mini Dog Birthday Cake

Celebrate your pup's special day with this Mini Dog Birthday Cake, complete with peanut butter AND cheese!
4.98 from 151 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup honey preferably raw
  • ¼ cup canned pumpkin
  • ¼ cup applesauce
  • ¼ cup peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the icing:

  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • ¼ 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

Yogurt: Try to buy yogurt with the least amount of sugar if possible
**Cook times vary. My oven takes forever to heat up, so the cakes took about 30 minutes, but I recommend checking yours after 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 490mg | Potassium: 351mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 2442IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!
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About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sacha says

    March 27, 2023 at 6:24 pm

    Wow.... that is too stinkin cute! Why didn't I think of that!?!? Lol awesome idea for my pups Bdays. I can guarantee by the looks of it they will be thanking you. Glad I stumbled across your site. Thank you Erin, for taking the time to share all your great recipes.
    -Sj

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 27, 2023 at 7:52 pm

      Of course!! I hope your dogs enjoy the cake 🙂

      Reply
  2. Maisie says

    January 23, 2023 at 1:55 pm

    5 stars
    My dog LOVED this there was not a single crumb left! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      January 23, 2023 at 2:09 pm

      I'm so happy your dog loved the cake!

      Reply
  3. Erika says

    January 03, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    My dog loves sweet potato, I wonder if I can sub with the pumpkin?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      January 04, 2023 at 7:26 am

      Yes that should work!

      Reply
  4. Debbie says

    January 01, 2023 at 7:06 pm

    Can the cake be made ahead and frozen until ready to use?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      January 02, 2023 at 7:48 am

      I think that should work!

      Reply
  5. Bailey says

    November 18, 2022 at 2:35 am

    Sorry just another one but can I use sunflower oil instead of the oil you have?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 18, 2022 at 8:37 am

      Hi! Yes, you'll need to use baking soda, but you can swap whole wheat flour and use sunflower oil if you prefer.

      Reply
  6. Shelly Hill says

    November 13, 2022 at 7:58 pm

    My daughter's dog loved it so much!!❤

    Reply
  7. Berta Carmo says

    August 21, 2022 at 6:20 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe for my dogs cake. Do you think freezing leftover icing will be OK? And then thawing it out when it’s needed for another cake.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 22, 2022 at 9:00 am

      Yes I think so!

      Reply
  8. Charmaine says

    July 05, 2022 at 12:59 pm

    Hi Erin,
    Vanilla essence is toxic for dogs. Confused 🙁

    Reply
    • Erin says

      July 06, 2022 at 7:55 am

      You can omit it! I make this cake for my dog 1x per year and she's fine.

      Reply
  9. Jayanti says

    June 18, 2022 at 12:05 pm

    What can i replace egg with ?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      June 21, 2022 at 7:58 am

      I'd use a flax egg! (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal mixed with 2.5 tbsp water, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or so before adding it in).

      Reply
  10. Becky Gambino says

    June 15, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    5 stars
    I made this for Erisa's birthday and all 3 dogs love it!!!!😁❤

    Reply
  11. Amanda says

    April 08, 2022 at 2:33 am

    Can I double up on the pumpkin and omit the applesauce?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      April 10, 2022 at 3:28 pm

      Yes!

      Reply
  12. Annie says

    March 25, 2022 at 11:36 pm

    If making cake night before with the yogurt/peanut butter icing, should it be refrigerated? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 26, 2022 at 8:28 am

      Yes I think that would be best

      Reply
  13. lou says

    March 23, 2022 at 11:09 am

    Is it possible to replace the canned pumpkin with mashed carrot? My dog loves carrots, but doesn't really like pumpkin. Thanks in advance

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 23, 2022 at 11:10 am

      Yes that should work!

      Reply
  14. Nancy says

    March 10, 2022 at 10:32 am

    Isn't vanilla extract toxic to dogs?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      March 10, 2022 at 11:01 am

      I've made this cake every year for my dog (she's 7) and she's fine. If you don't feel comfortable using it, simply omit it -- the cake will still turn out.

      Reply
    • Kanaka says

      November 22, 2022 at 12:34 am

      Can a person eat this

      Reply
      • Erin says

        November 22, 2022 at 7:58 am

        Technically yes, though it won't taste very good. You'd be better off making my pumpkin dog cake recipe: https://thealmondeater.com/vegan-pumpkin-dog-cake-for-people-too/

  15. Susan says

    February 16, 2022 at 11:40 pm

    5 stars
    My pups loved this cake for their 1st birthday. I made little bars and topped with yoghurt - not a crumb was left. Will be making again for their next birthday. Yummo

    Reply
    • Erin says

      February 17, 2022 at 6:47 am

      Woohooo -- glad to hear the pups enjoyed it!

      Reply
  16. Laurie Miller says

    February 07, 2022 at 7:11 pm

    Do you think I can substitute sun butter instead of peanut butter? My daughter has a peanut allergy so we don’t want our Ollie giving her kisses after he celebrates 🙂

    Reply
    • Erin says

      February 08, 2022 at 6:50 am

      Yes that will work!

      Reply
  17. Jeanette says

    February 03, 2022 at 7:02 am

    5 stars
    Made this for my pups 1 year bday. Used whole wheat flour. He sat next by while I made it waiting to help clean all the utensils. He devoured the cake. Served it with primal goat milk. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      February 04, 2022 at 7:54 am

      I'm so happy he liked the cake!

      Reply
    • Millena says

      February 20, 2022 at 9:19 pm

      I’m thinking about making this for my 1 year old puppy’s birthday, but I’m wondering if I can make it the night before and then give it to her over the next four days. She can’t play with any of her puppy friends right now, so I don’t have any other dogs to share it with. I’m really looking forward to making it!!! Thanks!!!

      Reply
      • Erin says

        February 21, 2022 at 8:23 am

        Yes that should work!

    • Sam says

      August 08, 2022 at 9:27 pm

      Is there another pan I can use if I don't have 4"?

      Reply
      • Erin says

        August 09, 2022 at 8:10 am

        One round 8" pan should work!

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