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Well, a birthday just isn’t a birthday without cake! And, yes, dogs need to celebrate their birthdays with cake, too! Instead of a bakery-made cake, why not whip up an easy DIY dog birthday cake?
Whipping up a DIY dog birthday cake is exactly what I did for Bella and Edward this year. Furthermore, my husband and I sang Happy Birthday to them; and we all donned party hats and glasses.
Bella’s birthday is September 2, 2009, but her “gotcha” month is November. Edward, on the other hand, is a rescue baby with an unknown birthday. However, he joined our family at 2-years-old in October 2013.
Therefore, a Fall birthday celebration any time between September and November is tradition around our house. Today happened to be “any time” and a DIY dog birthday cake was made for celebrating.
Bella and Edward are big fans of sweet potatoes and apples. So, I knew I needed to include those two ingredients. This DIY dog birthday cake has a texture very similar to human cake.
As a result, you can eat it, too! However, it will taste pretty bland without the sugar. Nevertheless, it will taste plenty sweet to your dog. Furthermore, I had a very ripe banana that I decided to incorporate into the recipe. Plus, oat flour is my new favorite flour to use in my dog treat recipes.
So, I knew the ingredients I wanted to use in my DIY dog birthday cake recipe. However, I was at a complete loss for the frosting. Then, I came across Michelle Johnson’s cheddar cheese glaze at the Dog Treat Kitchen.
Bella and Edward absolutely love cheddar cheese, so I knew this frosting should be added to their cake. Y’all, it is the perfect frosting for this DIY dog birthday cake!
Oat Flour in a DIY Dog Birthday Cake
I mentioned above that oat flour is my new favorite flour to use in my dog treat recipes. Why? Well, mainly because it is easy on most dog’s digestive systems. That’s always a huge plus!
Are you wondering what oat flour really is? Simply put, it is finely ground oats. Seriously, and it is a nutritious, gluten-free, high carbohydrate, low sugar flour. That’s why it’s easy on most dog’s digestive systems.
Oat flour is an excellent source of the following:
- essential antioxidants (some that are unique to oats)
- vitamins and minerals including Vitamins B1, B6, Copper, Folate, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Niacin, Phosphorus, Selenium, and Zinc
Another reason oat flour is my new favorite flour is because it retains moisture. Therefore, it is a great choice to use in a DIY dog birthday cake. I literally felt like I was cutting a slice of super moist cake for myself.
Let’s Make a DIY Dog Birthday Cake
You will need the following ingredients:
- Ceylon cinnamon
- oat flour
- baking powder
- water
- unsweetened applesauce
- sweet potato purée
- banana
- coconut oil
- egg
Before Baking the Cake Directions:
So, before I even prepared the cake, I made homemade applesauce. I like to make my own applesauce, because it puts out a good, fall scent throughout the house. Plus, it is super easy to make and yummy!
Firstly, peel and cube two small apples and place in a small crockpot. Then, add water and cinnamon. Next, cook on high for approximately two hours. After the apples have cooked, mash them with a potato masher. Set this aside.
While the applesauce is cooking, bake a medium sweet potato at 425 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. After the sweet potato has cooked, spoon the inside out into a small bowl. Then, mash them with a potato masher. (It will be lumpy.)
Now, of course you do not have to do the above to make this DIY dog birthday cake. You can simply buy a jar of unsweetened applesauce and a can of sweet potato.
So, here are a few things to note if you take the store bought route.
First, you will need to add the cinnamon to the oat flour and baking powder. Second, leave out the water. Third, make sure the applesauce you purchase is unsweetened. Fourth, make sure the can of sweet potato is purée, which does not have any added sugar.
Cake Baking Directions:
Firstly, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two 4-inch round spring-form pans.
Next, combine the dry cake ingredients in a small bowl by stirring together. Then, in another mixing bowl, whisk together all of the wet cake ingredients until combined.
After that, add small amounts of the dry mixture into the wet mixture, whisking well between each addition.
Lastly, divide the mixture evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You can poke a toothpick in the center to test if the cake is ready. You will know it is ready when the toothpick comes out clean. Furthermore, not all ovens bake the same, so plan to start checking at 18 minutes.
Allow to cool in the pans for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, release the spring form and let the cakes rest on a wire rack to completely cool.
Let’s Make Frosting for a DIY Dog Birthday Cake
You will need the following ingredients:
- milk
- flour
- cheddar cheese
Cheddar Cheese Glaze Directions:
Firstly, stir together the milk and flour in a microwave safe bowl. You can see from my photo that I did not follow directions. Oops! However, it still worked.
Secondly, microwave the mixture on high for one minute. Not all microwaves cook the same. Therefore, you may need more or less time to warm the milk.
Thirdly, stir in the cheese until melted and smooth. Then, spread the glaze onto the cooled dog cake.
I need to mention that I doubled this glaze recipe to cover both cakes. I actually made it twice, so the melted cheese would not harden before I could spread it all. I wanted the assembled cake to appear as if it were covered with frosting.
If you do not want to cover the entire cake, then the recipe as is will work. You would just use it as a drizzle.
Putting the Cake and Frosting Together
Firstly, line the two cakes up side-by-side. Then, shave off the dome part of both with a long serrated knife.
Next, place the first layer of cake on either a stand, serving tray, or plate. Use a spatula to spread the first batch of cheese glaze onto the cake. Spread it in a thin, even layer across the top of the cake and around the side.
Then, place the second layer of cake on top of the first layer. Again, use a spatula to spread the second batch of cheese glaze onto the cake. Be sure to blend the two together evenly.
Lastly, top with shredded cheese and you have a cake fit for a fur king or queen! Let the birthday celebration begin!
To Sum Up
So, whether you do one bigger cake or a layered cake, your dog will thank you! He or she will love and devour this DIY dog birthday cake. Bella and Edward did!
However, they neither one really cared if we sang Happy Birthday to them or not. And, pretty sure they neither one enjoyed wearing a party hat or party glasses. But, this dog mom sure had fun! Not to mention, I have the best husband ever! What a great sport to pose with our fur babies for a photo op!
This DIY dog birthday cake isn’t just for celebrating your dog’s birthday. It’s so easy to make and could be used for celebrating any special event in your dog’s life. After all, if you are like me, your dog is truly part of your family.
Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday? We would love to hear how in the comments below.
If your dog loves sweet potatoes like mine do, then give the following recipes a try.
If you want to save this recipe post to Pinterest, you can use one of the following images.
Sweet Potato Birthday Pupper Cake
Ingredients
Cake Dry Ingredients
- 2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon (note 1)
- 1 cup oat flour
- 2¼ tsp baking powder
Cake Wet Ingredients
- 1 TBSP water (note 2)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce (note 3)
- ½ cup mashed sweet potatoes (note 4)
- ¼ cup mashed banana
- ⅛ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 egg
Cheddar Cheese Glaze Ingredients
- 6 TBSP milk
- 2 tsp flour
- ½ cup white cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
Cake Baking Instructions
- Peel and cube two small apples and place in a small crockpot. Then, add water and cinnamon. Cook on high for approximately two hours.
- After the apples have cooked, mash with a potato masher.
- Bake a medium sweet potato at 425 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.
- After the sweet potato has cooked, spoon the inside out into a small bowl. Then, mash with a potato masher. (It will be lumpy.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two 4-inch round spring-form pans.
- Combine dry cake ingredients in a small bowl by stirring together.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together all wet cake ingredients until combined.
- Add small amounts of dry mixture into wet mixture, whisking well between each addition.
- Divide mixture evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Or, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Not all ovens bake the same, so plan to start checking at 18 minutes.
- Allow to cool in the pans 5 to 10 minutes before releasing the spring form and letting the cakes rest on a wire rack to completely cool.
Cheddar Cheese Glaze Instructions
- Stir together the milk and flour in a microwave safe bowl.
- Microwave on high for one minute. Not all microwaves cook the same. You may need more or less time to warm the milk.
- Stir in the cheese until melted and smooth.
- Spread the glaze onto the cooled dog cake.
- Store unused glaze in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Layered Cake Assembly Instructions
- Line the two cakes up side-by-side and level each by shaving off the dome part with a long serrated knife.
- Place the first layer on a cake stand/serving tray/plate. Using a spatula, spread one full recipe of cheese glaze in a thin, even layer across the top of the cake and around the side.
- Place the second layer on top of the first. Using a spatula, spread another full recipe of cheese glaze in a thin, even layer across the top of the cake and around the side, blending the two together.
- Top with shredded cheese.
Notes
- You will put cinnamon on top of the apples in the crock pot if you choose to make the applesauce. If you buy unsweetened applesauce, then mix the cinnamon with the oat flour and baking powder.
- You will put the water in the crock pot to cook the apples. If you do not make the applesauce, then leave this ingredient out.
- If you choose to not make the applesauce, then make sure the applesauce you purchase is unsweetened.
- Baking a medium sweet potato should give you a ½ cup. You can use canned sweet potato, but make sure it is purée and does not have any added sugar.
I’m grateful for the blog post. Really looking forward to reading more. Fantastic.
Thank you Robert! Hope your dog loves the birthday cake you make! Tell your dog hi for me!