Mini Dog Birthday Cake

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Reader Rating
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

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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

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!

4.98 from 172 votes

Mini Dog Birthday Cake

Servings: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Celebrate your pup's special day with this Mini Dog Birthday Cake, complete with peanut butter AND cheese!

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Ingredients 

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp 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 tsp 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!

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?Leave a comment and star rating below!
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Welcome! I’m Erin, author of the Almond Eater.

Here, you'll find recipes for all diet types, because I believe that healthy food should be delicious without being complicated.

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4.98 from 172 votes (53 ratings without comment)

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241 Comments

  1. Paulina says:

    Hiii!
    Could I substitute coconut oil for olive oil?

    1. Erin says:

      Yes that should work!

  2. Bee says:

    Hi! Could I just double this recipe for two 6 inch pans?

    Thank you 🙂

    1. Erin says:

      Yes that should work!

  3. Brenda Thompson says:

    Happy birthday to your sweet pup, Layla! It’s heartwarming to see that you’ve gone out of your way to make her birthday special with a homemade dog-friendly cake. Your recipe with peanut butter, pumpkin, and cheese sounds delicious, and it’s great to know that it has received so many five-star ratings. It’s important to remember that our furry friends also deserve to celebrate their special day, and this cake is a great way to do that. Thank you for sharing this recipe and your love for Layla with us. Here is my blog; https://www.petdogplanet.com/

  4. Sacha says:

    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

    1. Erin says:

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

  5. Maisie says:

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

    1. Erin says:

      I’m so happy your dog loved the cake!

  6. Erika says:

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

    1. Erin says:

      Yes that should work!

  7. Debbie says:

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

    1. Erin says:

      I think that should work!

  8. Bailey says:

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

    1. Erin says:

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

  9. Shelly Hill says:

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

  10. Berta Carmo says:

    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.

    1. Erin says:

      Yes I think so!