This quick and easy Dog Cake Recipe is perfect for celebrating your pup’s birthday or spoiling them, just because!
My friends asked me how I planned to spoil my dogs for National Spoil Your Dog Day, and of course the answer included baking. Like any special day, I think we should celebrate with cake. A puppy approved dog cake!
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I think it’s safe to say my furry friend is thrilled. Then again I have a cocker spaniel, so he basically lives, eats, breathes and sleeps for food. I’m sure I’m not the only one with a food motivated pup!
Dog Cake Recipe
This dog cake is packed full of great ingredients, including peanut butter, applesauce and pumpkin. It comes together and bakes up just like any other cake, but is perfect for your pets. The optional frosting is made from peanut butter and yogurt.
I’m often asked if humans can eat this cake as well, and the answer is YES! However, unlike a traditional cake, it lacks sugar, so just know it won’t be as sweet as your pet is.
Since first sharing this easy dog safe cake recipe years ago, thousands of pet parents just like you have made it. You can even see some of the great recreations that readers have made over on Instagram by checking out the #spoileddogcake hashtag! I’m so happy that so many of you have made, and loved, this recipe.
Decorating Your Cake
When I made my cake, I topped it with some store bought dog bones. Because they are minis, which makes them almost like dog cake sprinkles in my book!
That said, you can bake up some dog cookies, pumpkin dog treats, homemade dog treats or peanut butter dog treats to garnish this cake with.
No matter what you top it with, I’m sure your dog will love this homemade dog cake recipe. This recipe makes a single layer, but as you can see I doubled the recipe to make a layer cake.
The frosting is optional, but I really never think of frosting as optional (it’s my favorite part of the cake!) so I recommend it. While you can absolutely share this cake with your dogs, it’s lacking sugar so it won’t be sweet – just so you know.
If your furry friend loves this puppy cake recipe, make sure to check out my Pupcake Dog Cupcakes and Doggy Donuts as well!
Dog Cake Recipe
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see and share a picture of your pup enjoying it! You can email me or tag me on social @lovefromtheoven!
Spoiled Dog Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (Do NOT use a peanut butter with Xylitol (also called birch sugar) as it's dangerous to dogs. Check ingredients!)
- 1/2 cup applesauce (go with plain, unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (make sure you use pure pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 egg
Frosting
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- Instructions
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl mix together vegetable oil, peanut butter, applesauce and pumpkin puree. Once combined, mix in egg and mix until combined.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- Pour mixture into an 8" round pan (a square pan can also be used) that has been greased with oil.
- Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack prior to removing from pan.
- After cooling, add frosting if desired.
Frosting
- Mix Greek yogurt and peanut butter until well combined. Spread over cake. If not serving immediately, store in refrigerator.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
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While this dog cake recipe is SUPER easy, I know that sometimes a cake mix is what we all reach for. Well guess what, I found some awesome cake mixes for dogs. Check these mixes out! They even have grain free options.
If your dog has allergies, as so many of them do, and you need a grain-free dog birthday cake, head over to Table For Two for her Grain-Free Dog Birthday Cake.
Big Bear’s Wife has some Cheesy Tomato Basil Dog Treats. Those sound good enough for me to try!
Brown Eyed Baker has some Frozen Peanut Butter-Yogurt Dog Treats that are sure to be a summer hit.
Tidy Mom has some Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits that you can cut into any shape you like.
We don’t want to leave our other four legged friends out of the fun! All Roads Lead To The Kitchen has some Homemade Chicken & Cranberry Cat Treats for your feline friends.
If you have a new puppy on the way, I’ve got a great list of new puppy items to help you out!
I hope you find a way to spoil your dogs for #SpoilYourDogDay and maybe have a chance to whip up this delicious cake or try my dog bone recipe. Your furry friends will thank you, I promise!
And remember, Bounty has you covered for cleaning up all those messes that our beloved pets always seem to make. With Bounty, the #QuickerPickerUpper, spills, accidents and other pet messes are no problem.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Bounty. All opinions however are mine and mine alone. This post contains affiliate links.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
I made this cake for my Doggies birthday and he loved it. Thank you for posting this recipe. ❤
You are so welcome!
Is this also safe for cats?
Hi Isabella, I’m afraid we don’t have any cats so I’m not really familiar with what is and is not safe for cats. I would probably just check each individual ingredient and see. Good luck!
Can you use gluten free flour in this cake? Thanks, looks wonderful!! Dona
Dona, I haven’t tried and do not typically use GF flours, so I can’t speak to how the results would be.
this looks great is the recipe suppostedto be thick
Hi Christi,
I just tried this recipe for my new puppy’s 1st birthday. Her name is Gemma, and today is her birthday! This was so much fun to make, and surprisingly tasty. Can’t wait to see how she likes it! Thanks you for the recipe!
Hi, I can’t get hold of pumpkin any suggestions as to what I could use instead?
Thanks Emma
Hi Emma, I’ve only made this cake with pumpkin so I’m afraid I don’t have a substitute to suggest.
Baby food (pumpkin)
Canned Sweet potatoe might be a good substitute canned sweet potato might be a good alternative since it has similar texture and pups love it.
I made it with mashed banana instead of both the applesauce AND pumpkin. Added a bit of water too. Our dog loved it but so did my husband. 🙂 It was fantastic, I’d totally make it for a person!
Hi, I want to make this cake for my dog for her first birthday this Saturday, but I’m finding online that baking soda can be deadly to dogs. Have you heard about this? What could I use instead of baking soda? Is it only harmful if they eat baking soda uncooked?
Thanks for any help or suggestions you may offer.
I researched ingredients quite a bit prior to writing this recipe and didn’t come across, that so I did some searching. What I found is that in large amounts (like the entire container) can be dangerous. You need to go with what you are comfortable with though.
Can i use this to make cupcakes? Would I need to switch the time?
Hi Rae, I’m sure you could but I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure on the bake time.
Could I substitute wheat flour for the regular flour?
Hi Ashley, I haven’t tried so I can’t speak to the results. I usually use white whole wheat flour as I find it does well as a substitute. Sometimes swapping straight for whole wheat can lead to a dry finished product.
Just made this for my dog Max’s 6th birthday. Came out perfectly and even the 3 other neighborhood dogs in our culdsac enjoyed it!