A dog cake recipe to celebrate Dozer’s birthday!! A 2 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?? 😜
(Looking for Pupcakes? Here it is!)
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!😂 Don’t fall for pretty looking cakes piled high with cream cheese or other high fat or high dairy frosting. Bad for dogs!
🐾 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
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Dog cake recipe – with dog friendly fluffy frosting!
Ingredients
Dog birthday cake:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (spread or pure)
- 1/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable)
- 2/3 cup milk (or water)
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (or apple sauce or skip it)
- 2 1/2 cups shredded carrot (2 large)
- 2 cups whole wheat / wholemeal flour (or white flour)
- 2 1/2 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.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Just because this whole post is for Dozer, that’s no excuse to break tradition by excluding the Life of Dozer section!!!
So here he is, starring in his first recipe video. Shooting with Dozer IN the video was somewhat of a challenge…… if he had his way, he’d have eaten the batter raw!! 😂
Can totally feel the lovely chaos at the beach haha! Any suggestions on natural food coloring to add to the frosting? Would commercial food color be safe?
Hi my Dodd birthday in 2 weeks time she ll 3 years old as with her sister, she a golden retriever doddle and my baby, love to make this cake , haven’t given her peanut butter before is there anything else to use instead thanks 👍❤️
I’m thinking of switching the potato for sweet potato In the frosting and would rather not use flour as my dog typically has allergies or sensitive skin, anyone use a flour alternative to get the bulk of the cake?
Made the cake for my 10 year old pup – great hot thank you.
My Doberman and her fursister loved this cake!! Recipe was perfect easy. I used applesauce instead of honey like you suggested. thank ypu!
I made this as cupcakes for Ms Kali, my senior puppy Pug, turning 9. She was beyond excited to eat cake! It really was delicious, moist inside and everything I hoped it would be. (I omitted the frosting and just added a dollop of Greek yoghurt on top) Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much did posting this recipe! Our beagle pup, Maggie loved it and it looked fantastic in pictures!
Hi! This recipe looks good! But can I sub wholemeal flour with almond flour?
No sorry Ariana, it will change the texture completely! N x
Hi, in the UK here! Can you confirm whether its wholemeal self raising or plain? cant seem to find just wholemeal flour 🙂
Hi NGI
CAN YOU TELL ME HOW LONG THIS CAKE WOULD LAST FROM DAY OF BAKING TILL LAST DAY MY DOG COULD EAT THANKYOU
Hello! I want to try this recipe but are you able to dye the frosting with regular food coloring?
Darn, I should have looked into this before hand, I am using berries for the colouring. Much more work this way 🙁
Sure can Alexia!! N x
I love to follow Dozer. We sadly lost our beautiful Oscar a few months ago but Dozer is so much like him that it cheers me up!
I made this today for my Luna’s birthday and she loved it and so did her brother! I did cut the recipe in half because I have Chis and I didn’t want to give them too much or for it to go to waste. I ended up using 2 – 4” pans and the layers were pretty thick. I stacked them and the cake looked super cute!
I do want to know if the leftovers should be refrigerated.
Can I freeze to give on later dates? If yes, how long do you think it could last?
Going to make soon for my babies birthday!!
Hi Sophie, I’m just not sure how well the frosting would freeze, it may split upon thawing! N x
I made this recipe for my dog’s
first birthday and she LOVED it! Thank you so much Nagi
That’s terrific!! Happy Birthday, give her a big belly rub from me! N x
I made this for Yoshi´s birthday and he lOVED it. So did his brothers and sisters. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Thank you for your dog birthday cake. I baked it for my little one and she loved it. I halved the recipe as my dog is only small and i used sweet potato instead od potato for the frosting. Most dogs in my neighborhood had a slice. Every single on of them devoured the cake. Definitely a recipe to pass on. Dozer is just gorgeous. Stay save and take care.
Hi! I was wondering what the shelf life of this cake would be if kept in the refrigerator?
You should probably store it in the fridge because it has raw ingredients and probably wouldn’t want your dog to eat moldy cake
Have a great day! Hope this helps
Hi Nagi! It’s my lab’s birthday on Sunday and I want to make the cake the day before. Should I store it in the fridge or just keep it out? Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. My birthday boy loved it!! Actually my two dogs ate them not one time but two and If I would have allow it they would probably ate it all at once. He loved his birthday cake !! I was a bit doubtful if he would have like it since he’s such a picky eater….
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. My birthday boy loved it!! Actually my two dogs ate them not one time but two and If I would have allow it they would probably ate it all at once. He loved his birthday cake !! I was a bit doubtful if he would have like it since he’s such a picky eater but I was amazed how much they loved it.