Who doesn't want to have an easy birthday cake recipe for dogs up their sleeve? This is the one recipe you need to make delicious treats for your dog. I love it because it is super versatile and has ingredients that you likely already have at home or can find easily. This recipe will make one 9-inch, single layer cake for your dog’s next party. Or use mini muffin tins and make 24 pupcakes. If you don’t feel like making the “frosting”, your dog now has muffins. See how easy that is?
This recipe does use peanut butter so if you have someone in the house that is allergic to peanuts, you can substitute any other nut butters (other than macadamia which is toxic to dogs) or use cream cheese.
Recipe
Cake
1 cup flour (see Note 1 below)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter (see Note 2 below)
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg, lightly whisked
“Frosting”
1/2 plain Greek yogurt (see Note 3 below)
1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
Gear
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9" cake pan or mini muffin tins (my personal favourite muffin tins are the ones from Wilton)
Food processor (to process the oats)
Medium mixing bowl and large mixing bowl
Piping bag with decorative tip
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9” cake pan or mini muffin tin with vegetable oil or cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the vegetable oil, peanut butter, and pumpkin puree until thoroughly combined. Add egg and mix well.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour and stir until smooth. It will be thicker than cake batter. Pour into pan. If using mini muffin tins, it’s easier to drop by teaspoonfuls. If you are going to frost the cupcakes, smooth the top before baking.
- Place in the middle rack of your oven and bake for 15-20 minutes if baking a cake or 12-15 minutes for mini muffins until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely
- To make the “frosting” mix the peanut butter and yogurt until well blended. You can smooth it over the cake or get fancy with a piping bag. I like using the piping bag on the cupcakes because it lets me practice and the dogs don’t mind if the piping is less than perfect. Store frosted treats in the fridge or leave the “frosting” in a covered container and frost as needed.
Because these treats have no preservatives and are moist, they do not have a long shelf life. If your dog doesn’t eat them all within a few days, store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: I prefer using oat flour to all purpose flour for dog treats. Since I rarely have oat flour on hand, I measure out the same amount of rolled oats and whirl them in a magic bullet or a food processor to produce flour. I like that I can control the texture of the flour and don’t have to worry about buying yet another bag of flour.
Note 2: some nut butters are sweetened with xylitol which can be toxic to dogs. I like using natural peanut butter because it contains only peanuts and oil. You don’t have to use natural peanut butter but make sure that you check the label for any artificial sweeteners.
Note 3: Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt because it has more of the whey strained out. That’s what makes it ideal for frosting your dog’s treats. It also has less sugar, is higher in protein, and contains probiotics. While large quantities of dairy products are bad for dogs, many can tolerate small amounts and yogurt is often the best form of dairy for them. If your dog has any issues with dairy, skip the frosting or use a smear of peanut butter or applesauce or more pumpkin instead. Like the peanut butter, you’ll want to check the label for any artificial sweeteners and consider a lower fat yogurt option.
Do you make treats for your dogs? Have you made these treats? I'd love to hear what your pooch thought of them below.