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
I haven’t tried to bake to bake it yet, but I’ll rate it 5 stars in advance, I went through a lot of websites but this recipe seemed to inspire me the most. My dogs, Doughnut Thea and Bagel Leah are turning 2, this Saturday…. I hope my little pups love my cake. Thanks for the recipe BTW. 🙏😊😉🤗
Can I use almond flour??
Hi! I don’t think so… almond flour is VERY different from all purpose. If you’re looking to make this gluten free, I’d try gluten free 1:1 flour.
You are wonderful, surely the dog will be happy to live with the kind owner.
can u add carrots into the cake
I don’t see why not!
Okay well, first of all, your baby is adorable. Hugs to Layla from me, Tori. I know this is an older post, does that put her at about 3 1/2 now? I love the idea of a homemade mini dog birthday cake. You just gave me an idea for my girl Hanna when her birthday comes in July. She is a rescue and we are guessing about 13 this year. She is a chocolate lab so I am positive she will scarf it right up.
I am glad the effort to reduce sugar was considered, as I have been very cognizant of her weight and making sure that she stays at a weight that is healthy for her. I had considered creating a site about natural dog ice cream treats. I was going to call it Fido Freeze. It had a good ring to it.
Thank you again for the recipe. I will bookmark this for a July baking and maybe even try some other combinations to see how she will like those.
I’d love to know if anyone has reduced this recipe by half or even quarters. Would love to make cupcakes for my Labradoodle’s 2nd birthday but don’t want to make a huge batch. One or two cupcakes would be perfect.
Any advice on measurements appreciated!
This sounds so yummy for my Yorkie but if i don’t have Pumpkin what else can i use? Please Reply Thanks PS all the recipes sound yummy.
Hi! You could try using cooked, mashed sweet potato instead of pumpkin.
oh, that’s cute! thaaanks 😉
Made it for my little corgi who just turned 8 and he loved it! So did all the other dogs that came to visit 🙂 thank you!
Side note, I couldn’t find canned pumpkin at my store, they said it was only seasonal (???) so I replaced it with sweet potato and it came out great!
Yay!! Glad they all liked it and good to know that sweet potato works well.
Thank you Erin for the great recipe idea. My dogs birthday is coming up soon so it would be nice to treat her. I’m almost certain she will love it and her being a Labrador she eats everything!
Thanks for the great recipe! Its my baby’s birthday today he’s turning four. He took a few bites and was done, but he’s a very picky picky boy. Its the most he’s ever eaten out of a dog treat! I invited two of his doggie friends over (eve and Logan) and they devoured the stuff Bruno didn’t eat! Thanks again! I look forward to seeing more!