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    Home » Recipes » Homemade Dog Treats

    Published: May 5, 2020 · Modified: Nov 18, 2021 by Jen Wooster

    Easy Dog Birthday Cake

    3.1K shares
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    decorated dog cake
    dog birthday cakes made by readers
    overhead shot of dog birthday cake
    dog eating a borthay cake
    more dog birthday cake examples
    dog cake recipe for pinterest

    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 furry friend know how much you love them on their birthday (or their gotcha day for all you awesome rescue dog parents!) by baking them this special treat.

    overhead shot of dog birthday cake

    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!

    This post may include affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    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 doggie 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. I have to say it is my favorite thing about this recipe- all the cute photos!

    Jump to:
    • Why This Recipe Works
    • 🧾 Ingredients
    • ⏲️ How to Make a Dog Cake
    • How Much Birthday Cake Can My Dog Eat?
    • 🎂 Reader's Photos
    • 💬Frequently Asked Questions
    • 📖 Recipe
    • ⭐Reviews

    dog eating a borthay 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. But your best friend 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.

    When making a cake for your pup's birthday we wanted to make it easy. This recipe doesn't use multiple cake pans to make a layer cake. Fewer dishes mean you can spend more time with your dog on their special day.

    🧾 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. For the recipe you will need the following simple ingredients:

    ingredients for our dog birthday cake portioned out
    • 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. And make sure your peanut butter is free of any artificial sweeteners.
    • 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!

    finished oat flour in food processor bowl

    ⏲️ 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 party 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.

    brushing cake pan with oil

    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. No need to mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. When making in a bowl you can do this by hand, no mixer is necessary.

    dog cake batter in mixing bowl

    Step 3- Bake

    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.

    cooling dog cake on rack

    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 the fridge until you are ready to use.

    dog safe frosting mixed in a bowl

    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.

    cutting dog cake into layers

    Frost each layer or the entire outside of the cake.

    dog cake with frosted layers

    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.

    decorated dog cake

    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.

    dog birthday cakes made by readers
    more dog birthday cake examples

    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!

    💬Frequently Asked Questions

    Can you make this cake in advance?

    Yes, if you are planning a birthday party for your dog and want to make the cake in advance you can. Simple make according to the recipe. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

    If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave us a rating or a comment. It helps other wonderful people connect with our food.

    📖 Recipe

    dog birthday cake on a cake stand

    Dog Birthday Cake

    Recipe Created By: Jen Wooster
    The best dog birthday cake recipe, made with natural ingredients including banana, peanut butter, and oats. Dogs and dog owners agree; this is the best dog cake recipe!
    5 from 44 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Dog Treat
    Cuisine Dog Treat
    Servings 1 cake (servings depend on dog's weight)
    Calories 1920 kcal

    Equipment

    • 8x8 baking pan
    • Large mixing bowl

    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 with no added sugar
    • 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 with no added sugar
    • 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
    • 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, ¼ cup peanut butter,, 1 banana, very ripe, 1 egg, ⅛ cup coconut oil
    • 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
    • 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

    Calories: 1920kcal | Carbs: 176g | Protein: 73g | Fat: 112g | Fiber: 23g
    Keyword cake, Dog Birthday, dog birthday cake, dog cake, gotcha day, gotcha day cake, Pupcake, puppy, treats
    Tried this recipe?Tag us @peelwithzeal so we can see your creation!

    Check out our Dog Birthday Cake Recipe web story!

    Next Recipe

    • Dehydrated Dog Treats
    • Dog "Breath Mint" Treats
    • 10 Best Frozen Dog Treat Recipes
    • Blueberry Frozen Dog Treats
    3.1K shares
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. D says

      November 25, 2022 at 10:50 am

      Can these be frozen please?

      Reply
      • Jen Wooster says

        November 25, 2022 at 11:01 am

        5 stars
        The base cake can be wrapped and frozen. Do not freeze after putting the frosting on.

        Reply
    2. Kathlyn says

      October 05, 2022 at 11:07 am

      So just regular oat flour from the grocery store is grain free? Cause online it says oats contains grains. I’m so confused.

      Reply
      • Jen Wooster says

        October 06, 2022 at 1:03 pm

        The recipe says gluten free not grain free. Oats are a grain. If you are looking for a grain free dog treat try one of our dog popsicle recipes.

        Reply
    3. Karen says

      March 22, 2022 at 10:10 pm

      5 stars
      Made a yummy birthday cake for Monty dog’s 2nd birthday! Shared with humans and a tiny bit for our 13-year-old Malti-poo too. Substituted coconut cream for the coconut oil in the cake - it turned out perfectly! And for the frosting we used coconut cream (non-dairy option instead of Greek yogurt) whipped with peanut butter. Thank you for the recipe 🦮🐩🐶

      Reply
      • Jen Wooster says

        March 23, 2022 at 9:03 am

        5 stars
        Glad it was a hit!

        Reply
    4. Karli Plummer says

      November 27, 2021 at 3:25 pm

      5 stars
      Can I use wheat flour?

      Reply
      • Jen says

        November 28, 2021 at 11:22 am

        5 stars
        Yes. If your dog can tolerate it is totally fine.

        Reply
    5. Veronica says

      June 23, 2021 at 12:23 am

      My dog is allergic to oats. 🙁 what other flour would you suggest for her?

      Reply
      • Jen says

        June 25, 2021 at 8:45 am

        5 stars
        You can use regular flour or a GF blend.

        Reply
    6. Sandy says

      June 05, 2021 at 1:56 pm

      My cake did not rise. It turned out like a hard disc. What did I do wrong?

      Reply
      • Jen says

        June 07, 2021 at 4:25 pm

        5 stars
        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!

        Reply
    7. Jess says

      March 29, 2021 at 2:51 am

      What can I use in place of applesauce? Or can I leave it out? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jen says

        April 01, 2021 at 6:43 am

        5 stars
        Any mashed or pureed vegetable will work such as pureed sweet potatoes, bananas, canned pumpkin etc.

        Reply
    8. Anna says

      September 30, 2020 at 9:39 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you for posting this recipe. I wanted to do something special for my 13 year old puppy. He loved the cake. Thanks again!

      Reply
      • Jen says

        October 12, 2020 at 9:09 pm

        5 stars
        So happy to hear. Waggle waggle.

        Reply
    9. Mojave says

      July 06, 2020 at 10:49 am

      5 stars
      The dogs, & people, loved this cake, & it's so easy to put altogether in the food processor . Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jen says

        July 06, 2020 at 11:54 am

        5 stars
        Gland it was a hit!

        Reply
    10. Pallavi says

      June 18, 2020 at 3:32 pm

      5 stars
      My dog is allergic to peanut butter. What can I use as a substitute for peanut butter?

      Reply
      • Jen says

        June 18, 2020 at 5:55 pm

        5 stars
        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.

        Reply
      • Diane says

        October 29, 2021 at 1:11 pm

        5 stars
        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!

        Reply
        • Jen says

          October 30, 2021 at 11:59 am

          5 stars
          Sunflower butters are a great option!

          Reply
      • Dawn says

        February 17, 2022 at 6:44 pm

        5 stars
        What would be cooking instructions for cupcakes.

        Reply
        • Jen Wooster says

          February 20, 2022 at 11:46 am

          5 stars
          Similar to this. 350 F degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. https://www.peelwithzeal.com/pumpkin-pupcakes-peanut-butter-frosting/

          Reply
    11. Lauren says

      June 08, 2020 at 8:49 am

      5 stars
      Made for my dog's birthday and he absolutely loved this cake. It made for cute photos too.

      Reply

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    Welcome Friends!

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    My name is Jen and I am the recipe developer, writer, and photographer around here. Since being diagnosed with celiac disease over 10 years ago I have been slowly curating a recipe box full of gluten-free goodness. I adore vegetables, crave chocolate, and I am always up for an adventure.

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