Mini Dog Birthday Cake
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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 170+ five star ratings, it’s sure to please!
Why you (and your pup!) will love this recipe:
- This recipe has over 170 five star ratings and counting, so you know it’s a good one.
- 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 (so multiple dogs can enjoy it).
Table of Contents
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 long while I work from home and she brings me so much joy. Plus, she has an adorable underbite and she increases my daily step count thanks to all of the walks we go on.
- If your dog loves this recipe, be sure to check out this pumpkin dog cake, these dog popsicles and my popular homemade dog food recipe.
Dog Cake Ingredients
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 – This is my go-to for most of my baked goods. If you’re looking for a grain-free cake recipe, this isn’t it, sorry! I’ve only tested this using all purpose flour. With that said, I’m certain gluten free 1:1 baking flour would be an ok substitute.
Coconut oil – I like using coconut oil in my baked goods, but any kind of oil will work here (i.e. canola oil, avocado oil, etc.).
Honey – Since this is a dog cake, we want to minimize sugar. However, it does need some sugar, and I find honey or maple syrup are both good options.
Pumpkin – Canned pumpkin is what I used, but you could also use cooked and mashed sweet potatoes if you prefer.
Peanut butter – Layla loves peanut butter the most, but almond butter, cashew butter or tahini should all work just fine.
Yogurt – Plain Greek yogurt is what I suggest, as it tends to be thicker than regular yogurt and will create a better icing.
The full ingredient list with quantities can be found below in the recipe card.
How to Make a Dog Birthday Cake
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, pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine.
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.
Dog Birthday Cake FAQs
Yes, humans can eat dog cake. However, this cake recipe in particular isn’t super sweet, so it isn’t going to taste like regular cake. But, all of the ingredients are human-grade, so they’re safe for human (and dog) consumption!
Cake can be made up to 48 hours ahead of time, though I suggest waiting to add the icing until you’re ready to give it to your dog. Simple bake the cakes, wait for them to cool then wrap each cake individually in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
Questions? TONS of people have made this recipe, so be sure to read the comments for additional tips!
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
Video
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
Nutrition
We made this for my pups 1st Birthday. Her and my other 2 dogs literally scarfed it down. I added a tablespoon or so of honey to the frosting and of course they licked that off first, because who doesn’t love frosting :)! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s amazing! I’m glad they all liked it, and happy 1st birthday to your pup!
Is this a soft cake or does it get hard like a dog biscuit? My dog is very old with bad teeth. He will not be able to eat if it is hard
It’s a soft cake!
Can’t believe how tasty this was, even for humans! My pup had a birthday party with her pup-cousins this year and I made this cake and some homemade doggie ice cream. Everything was gobbled up!
I’m going to make this 4 my 3 year old boy, Opi! Can’t wait thx for the recipe!😁
Made this tonight for my boy’s first birthday! It’s tasty even for pet parents!!!
Ha yessss!!! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it 🙂 And happy belated to your pup.
Just made this tonight for my sister’s Husky-German Shepherd pup Zelda. It was her 5th birthday and we weren’t sure if she was gonna like pumpkin but she LOVED this! We had a small pumpkin on hand and roasted that to make the purée, which ended up being enough to double the recipe. Didn’t have coconut oil so I used 1/4c more applesauce and the texture was still dense and moist. Baked it in an 8-inch pan for about 35 mins and used a round cookie cutter to cut out a nice 4-inch deep cake which Zelda DEVOURED! Glad I made a double batch, we are gonna freeze the leftovers for treats! Honestly it smelled delish, like peanut butter cookies, so next time I might make a version with salt and sugar for humans to enjoy as well ☺️Thank you for the recipe!!!
I’m so glad Zelda loved it!!
Hi I want to make this for my dogs 12th birthday. Do I need the coconut oil or can I substitute for olive oil. This Recipe looks really fun and I can’t wait to make it! Thanks so much!
I haven’t tried it with olive oil but I imagine it would work just fine. Happy early birthday to your pup!
Hi there. Would this be good for cupcakes? Would that make he temperature and baking times different
Made cupcakes with the recipe today. The batter was enough for 6 cupcakes and had a little batter left over. 350 for 20 minutes was perfect. Bella enjoyed this treat for her 5th birthday!!!
Please tell me if this recipe can be doubled successfully to make a regular size one layer cake. thank you.
Hi! I think that should work out ok… it might be a tad shorter than a traditional one layer cake, but pretty close in size I’d think. Let me know how it turns out!
I am having a “sweet 16″ party for my 16 year old dog, and I want to let 3 dogs and 5 people each have a small piece of this cake. Will this recipe double nicely to make a regular size 8 to 9” one-layer cake?
thanks for your reply.
Hi there. I was just scrolling through and found this as my pups 1st birthday is coming up in December. Do you recommend giving my pup the whole thing to eat or just a slice or two for one night and then make it last for a while?
It’s really up to you… I don’t give mine the whole thing at once because she’d probably get sick, but I imagine some dogs would be just fine. Happy early birthday to your pup!
So excited to see this. My sweet girl’s 10th birthday is tomorrow! I can’t wait to see how she reacts! And you’re not alone when you tear up thinking about how your baby won’t be here forever. You just gotta love them “to the moon and back” while they’re here. Thank you for sharing!
Ahhh dogs are just the best–happy 10th birthday to your pup! I hope she loves the cake 🙂