A dog cake recipe to celebrate Dozer’s birthday!! A layer cake frosted with fluffy “buttercream” ….. but it’s made with wholesome pooch friendly ingredients!
Aren’t you just dying to know how I made that frosting?? ?
Dog cake for Dozer’s birthday!
“That frosting tastes a bit odd,” grumbled the husband of Dozer’s boarder. Can you just imagine the pleasure she got out of telling him he’d just eaten a DOG cake???
“Serves him right for helping himself to anything that looks tasty” she smirked when she told me. I was laughing so hard at the vision, I actually snorted.
Who can blame him?? The whole point of creating this cake was to make it look like a real birthday cake piled high with fluffy buttercream frosting – but with dog friendly ingredients.
So it tastes nothing like what it looks like – it’s a total spin out!!
OK OK I know you’re busting to know how I made the cake look so “real” so I won’t keep you in suspense any longer! Here’s the rundown:
- Healthy dog sponge cake – it’s like a very healthy carrot cake, very low fat, sugar free
- Fluffy whipped potato “frosting” – looks just like buttercream, but it’s pooch friendly! While we humans wouldn’t put potato frosting on a cake, our pooches won’t complain!?
? Healthy dog sponge cake?
This is a healthy dog friendly version of carrot cake. It’s a moist sponge that’s very simple to make – dump and mix job – and all the ingredients are either good for dogs, or fine for dogs to eat in moderation. I’ve provided some nutrition commentary on each ingredient in the recipe below.
(PS I hope you didn’t miss that I said this is a moist sponge. Just because it’s a dog cake, doesn’t mean we should let our standards slip! ?)
? Dog friendly fluffy frosting ?
Made with fluffy whipped mashed potato! OK, so it’s not something you’d put on a cake for humans – but this is for dogs remember!
I wanted a frosting that was dog friendly that looked just like vanilla buttercream so I could use it for sandwiching layers, frosting and piping. Most dog cake frosting recipes I found use yogurt and peanut butter which is too soft and also, too much of either of those ingredients is not good for dogs.
Solution: whipped mashed potato!! ? I got the idea from Meatloaf Cupcakes that I shared years ago where I piped on mashed potato swirls.
I use yogurt to give it a creamy soft “buttercream frosting” consistency because yogurt has probiotics in it which is good for dogs. But water works just as well!
Look how well it works as frosting for the cake! It’s looks almost impossibly similar to real buttercream frosting!
?Dozer’s birthday party!?
A cake this good (and big ?) is made to be shared. And what better way to share it than at an impromptu birthday party down at the beach??
It was, as one might expect, total chaos, and my vision of an adorable photo of all the dogs wearing party hats sitting patiently behind the cake just didn’t happen. (That was total wishful thinking on my part ?)
Hats were swiped off within seconds of putting them on – hence why you only see photos of 1 dog at a time wearing a hat ?, the swarm of wet, sandy golden retrievers around the cake was such a hazard at one point I actually had to pick the cake up and run away!
As for the birthday boy, the cheeky bugger tried to get stuck into the cake before it was even served!!
But suffice to say, it was his idea of a perfect birthday. Beach, all his best mates, a big fat cake. What more can a dog ask for??
Actually, the only thing different between this day and every other day in Dozer’s life was the presence of cake. ?
Happy birthday Dozer! ?? Another year older, though not wiser. But I wouldn’t change a thing about you – I love you just the way you are! ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Shooting with Dozer IN the video was somewhat of a challenge…… if he had his way, he’d have eaten the batter raw!! ?
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Dog cake recipe - with dog friendly fluffy frosting!
Ingredients
Dog birthday cake:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup (120g) peanut butter (spread or pure)
- 1/4 cup (65ml) oil (canola, vegetable)
- 2/3 cup (165ml) milk (or water)
- 1/3 cup (100g) honey or maple syrup (or apple sauce or skip it)
- 2 1/2 cups shredded carrot (2 large)
- 2 cups (300g) whole wheat / wholemeal flour (or white flour)
- 2.5 tsp baking soda
Dog Friendly Fluffy Frosting (Whipped Potato Yogurt):
- 600 - 700g / 1.2 - 1.4lb potatoes , peeled, cut into chunks
- 3/4 - 1 cup yogurt (plain unsweetened) or water
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (160C fan).
- Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm/8" cake pans.
- Whisk together eggs, peanut butter, oil, honey and milk (little peanut butter lumps ok).
- Stir in carrots. Then add flour and baking soda, stir until just combined (over mixing = hard cake = sad birthday pooch).
- Divide batter between the cake pans, spread and smooth surface.
- Bake 25 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool on racks. Frost per below.
Doggie Fluffy Frosting:
- Boil, steam or microwave potato until very soft.
- Whip potato and yoghurt with an electric beater until fluffy and smooth as possible (won't go 100% smooth) - about 1 1/2 minutes on medium speed (speed 5).
- Use water as needed to loosen frosting to soft spreadable consistency (like human buttercream frosting!). Use while warm (it "sets" when it cools).
Frost:
- Spread 1/4 frosting on one cake.
- Top with other cake. Frost tops and sides with remaining frosting, reserving some to pipe decorations if desired (3/4 cup frosting).
Recipe Notes:
- Eggs - good source of protein for dogs
- Peanut butter - "treat" element, dogs are mad for peanut butter! Gives the cake an irresistible peanut butter smell, 2.5 tsp per slice
- Oil - very small amount used, about 1/2 tsp per slice
- Milk - if you're concerned about your dog consuming dairy, sub with water. Works out at 1.5 tsp per serve, and also remember it's cooked!
- Honey - For a touch of sweetness, 3/4 tsp per slice. Can skip if you want.
- Carrot - carrot is good for dogs! I hide a lot of carrot in Dozer's meals. Aso makes the sponge moist. Can sub with zucchini or sweet potato.
- Wholewheat / wholemeal flour - just like with humans, carbs are fine to consume in moderation!
- Baking soda - to make the sponge rise.
- Potato - Same as flour, cooked potato is fine to consume in moderation! It's a better, healthier option than slathering the cake with a peanut butter yogurt frosting which seems to be the default for dog cake recipes. Too much yogurt or peanut butter is not good for our pooches (whether commercial sweetened spread or even pure unsweetened peanut butter, it's very high in fat. Some yogurt is good for dogs but not vast quantities)
- Yogurt - probiotics in yogurt is good for dogs digestive system, just like with humans! If your dog is sensitive to dairy, just use water.
I made this for Coco’s 1st birthday, sadly she couldn’t have her friends round as we are in lockdown BUT she loved it anyway 🥳
I’m so glad it was a hit – Happy Birthday Coco! N x
I’m planning to bake this for my dog’s birthday this Sunday! Are there any substitutes that I can use for peanut butter? Sadly my pup is allergic to it
I’m planning to bake this for my dog for his birthday this Sunday! Are there any substitutes that I can use for peanut butter? Sadly my pup is allergic to it
Hi I was wondering if the potato with yoghurt frosting can be frozen ahead of time?
Also will there be any issue keeping it out of the fridge if the party is outside for a few hours considering it has dairy in it?
thank you
Thank you for this wonderful recipe..Will be baking it very soon for doxies 3rd party! i know what you mean trying to get pooch pictures–NO CO-OPERATION from they they just want to play and have fun! Why not after all it is their day!!!
Thanks again
Y