The easiest dog birthday cake recipe (and the cutest) for your favorite canine companion. We promise your pup will love this healthy dog cake! As always, this recipe is naturally gluten-free and has a dairy-free option.
After all, we are sort of known for our homemade dog treats around here. So let your puppy know how much you love them on their birthday (or their gotcha day for all you awesome rescue dog parents!).
Please read the entire post for tips and tricks to ensure a perfect recipe every time. And don't forget to tag @peelwithzeal on Instagram so we can admire your creation!
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It is no secret we love our dogs around here. Whether we are fostering or our own personal pups, we love to spoil these guys with cupcakes and homemade dog treats.
And I know 100% you are no different. I mean, after all, you were looking to make your dog a birthday layer cake. We love this cake because you can make it as fancy or as simple as you want. It is simply the best dog birthday cake recipe around!
Not sure this is the perfect dog cake recipe? Scroll to the bottom of our post to see all the photos our readers have submitted. We can't wait to see your baby enjoying their cake.
Why This Recipe Works
When you think of making cakes for people we want them to be light and airy. Sweet, full of flavor, and the perfect texture. Your dog is a little different.
Many dogs have sensitive stomachs and they are 100% motivated based on smell. Our recipe takes this into account. We selected flavors that are appealing to most dogs. And ingredients that shouldn't upset the most sensitive tummies.
🧾 Ingredients
The most important thing when picking a dog cake recipe is ensuring it has healthy dog-safe ingredients. Don't forget that the frosting and decorations should be dog safe as well.
- Oat Flour- We used oat flour because it is naturally gluten-free and easy to make at home from rolled oats if you don't want to buy oat flour. If you are concerned about cross-contamination with gluten make sure the oats are certified gluten-free.
- Baking Powder- Just a little bit of a leavening agent to give the cake a bit of a rise.
- Applesauce- Apples are great for dogs so we used unsweetened applesauce to moisten this cake. Definitely check your label for no added sugar. You can also substitute canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree.
- Banana- Again another healthy fruit for your dog. This cake recipe calls for one mashed banana. Ripe bananas are easier to mash but any banana will do.
- Peanut Butter- You will need peanut butter for both the cake and the frosting. We are working on a peanut-free dog birthday cake recipe but haven't found the right mix yet. In the meantime, do not substitute almond butter. Almond butter may cause intestinal distress in your dog, so I don't think it is worth the risk.
- Egg- Just one egg is enough to hold the cake together.
- Coconut Oil- Another simple ingredient to hold the cake together and moisten it with a little fat. You could also substitute high-quality vegetable oil. Either way, oils help give your dog a shiny coat.
- Greek Yogurt- The yogurt is great for dogs because it has healthy fats and is loaded with probiotics. While you can substitute heavy cream that has been whipped the yogurt holds up better in the fridge. Most dogs can tolerate dairy just fine. If your dog is lactose intolerant you can substitute another mashed banana or pumpkin puree. It will be harder to decorate the cake beyond a typical frosting (i.e. pretty designs).
- Dry Dog Biscuits- These are just for decoration for your doggie layer cake and are optional. But if we are going to the trouble of baking our dog a birthday cake we should make it cute, right?
How to Make Oat Flour
The rolled oat to oat flour ratio is 1:1 meaning one cup of rolled oats will yield approximately 1 cup of oat flour. For this recipe, you will need 1 ⅓ cups of oats.
Place oats in a food processor (or a blender) and pulse the oats until they are ground into a powder-like consistency. This process should take about 60 to 90 seconds. Stop and stir to ensure that all the oats have been finely ground.
Now we are ready to bake this puppy cake!
⏲️ How to Make a Dog Cake
It may be tempting to buy a dog cake but I promise this dog cake recipe is easy and more affordable.
Baking a cake for a puppy pawty is pretty much just like baking any other cake. Smooth the batter, bake until done, let it cool, and decorate. Easy peasy!
Step 1-Prepare the Baking Pan
Start with preheating your oven to 350 F degrees. Brush your round cake pan with a little bit of coconut oil to prevent the cake from sticking. If you want to make pupcakes (i.e. dog cupcakes) check out this post for a pupcake recipe.
Step 2- Make the Batter
If you got your food processor out to make the oat flour you can make the dog cake batter directly in the food processor (why dirty another bowl?). Otherwise, you need a large mixing bowl and a spatula.
Combine all the ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth. When making in a bowl you can do this by hand, no mixer is necessary.
Step 3- Bake the Doggie Cake
Pour into a baking tin and evenly smooth out the cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rest your cake until completely cool.
Can you tell in the pictures I did not let the cake cool completely? I got impatient and the cake crumbled a bit. Be patient!
Step 4-Make the Dog-Safe Frosting
While the cake is baking, mix together the frosting ingredients until thoroughly combined. Keep in fridge until you are ready to use.
Step 5- Assemble and Decorate
I cut the cake into quarters to make a single slice. But you can decorate it as a single layer, make it into cupcakes, or make a layer cake.
Frost each layer or the entire outside of the cake.
You can decorate the outside however you like. You can add a few dried dog biscuits, dog safe sprinkles, bacon crumbles, or pipe-out decorations.
See the photos from our readers for inspiration.
How Much Birthday Cake Can My Dog Eat?
There are really two questions here. First how much should you feed your dog based on their weight? And second, should you put the entire cake in front of them?
For our 22 pound dog, Fritz, we fed him ¼ of the cake in place of his dinner. Fritz absolutely loves this cake!
For safety, you need to decide if you can put the entire birthday cake in front of your dog. Yes, it makes for super cute pictures but if your dog has ever shown any type of resource guarding or food aggression it is best to serve only what you are comfortable with your dog eating at one time.
🎂 Reader's Photos
See below for some of our reader photos from the last few years. We clearly have some talented bakers here.
We hope your pup enjoys their birthday cake and please share your pictures with us! You can email us or tag us on Instagram or use the hashtag #peelwithzeal to show us your creations.
Also check out a few smaller dog treats, our crispy dog breath mints and frozen blueberry treats are very popular!
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📖 Recipe
Dog Birthday Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Dog Cake Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups oat flour see post for how to make oat flour from oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened
- ¼ cup peanut butter, all natural
- 1 banana, very ripe, mashed
- 1 egg, beaten
- ⅛ cup coconut oil, melted plus more for pan
Dog Frosting
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- ¼ cup peanut butter, all natural
- dog biscuits for decoration
Instructions
Baking the Dog Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Brush melted coconut oil in an 8-inch pan to prevent sticking.⅛ cup coconut oil, melted
- In a medium mixing bowl stir together all cake ingredients until batter is smooth. Pour batter into the greased pan and smooth out.1⅓ cups oat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened, ¼ cup peanut butter, all natural, 1 banana, very ripe, mashed, 1 egg, beaten, ⅛ cup coconut oil, melted
- Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. rest for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack. Allow the cake to completely cool before frosting.
Frosting the Dog Cake
- While the cake is baking, combine yogurt and peanut butter in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Keep in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Once cooled, you can frost the top of the cake as is or cut the cake into 4 even triangles to make a layer cake "slice". Frost in between each layer and on top.½ cup greek yogurt, ¼ cup peanut butter, all natural
- Decorate with your pup's favorite dog biscuits.dog biscuits
Video
Notes
- The cake will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator, covered.
- Feed your dog a portion of the cake that is proportional to their size
- We love dogs! Send us a photo of your puppy pawty to [email protected] or tag un Instagram!
Nutrition
Check out our Dog Birthday Cake Recipe web story!
Lauren says
Made for my dog's birthday and he absolutely loved this cake. It made for cute photos too.
Pallavi says
My dog is allergic to peanut butter. What can I use as a substitute for peanut butter?
Jen says
Oh no the poor pooch. We are working on a peanut-free dog cake. In the meantime, you can substitute sunflower seed butter. Most grocery chains carry it. Traders Joes too.
Diane says
Sun Butter or Wow Butter are good substitutes! My daughter is alergic to peanut butter and none of our dogs can have on their breath bc of this. We bought these 2 substitute items and they taste like on & she can be around us & the dogs can have it now too!
Jen says
Sunflower butters are a great option!
Mojave says
The dogs, & people, loved this cake, & it's so easy to put altogether in the food processor . Thanks!
Jen says
Gland it was a hit!
Anna says
Thank you for posting this recipe. I wanted to do something special for my 13 year old puppy. He loved the cake. Thanks again!
Jen says
So happy to hear. Waggle waggle.
Jess says
What can I use in place of applesauce? Or can I leave it out? Thanks!
Jen says
Any mashed or pureed vegetable will work such as pureed sweet potatoes, bananas, canned pumpkin etc.
Sandy says
My cake did not rise. It turned out like a hard disc. What did I do wrong?
Jen says
Two things...
1) your baking powder might be stale. It loses efficacy as it sits.
2)even with fresh baking powder the cake will be heavier and denser than a cake for humans. Between the oat flour and the fact that we aren't creaming butter or adding whipped egg whites, it isn't meant to be light and airy.
So in reality- you probably didn't do anything wrong!
Veronica says
My dog is allergic to oats. 🙁 what other flour would you suggest for her?
Jen says
You can use regular flour or a GF blend.
Karli Plummer says
Can I use wheat flour?
Jen says
Yes. If your dog can tolerate it is totally fine.