Make your favorite furry friend a birthday edible pumpkin dog cake for their special day! This birthday cake for dogs and humans is made with simple ingredients. They are safe and delicious for you and your dog.
When my sweet dog Pumpkin turned two, I wanted to make something fun to celebrate how much he means to us. So I baked up this pumpkin dog birthday cake for his birthday.
This pumpkin dog cake is made with pumpkin puree, peanut butter, applesauce and yogurt. It makes for the perfect birthday cake that you and your dog can enjoy. Maybe it’s a millennial thing to make your dog a birthday cake. But when you’re as in love with your dog as we are with Pumpkin, making a dog birthday cake doesn’t seem that crazy, does it?!
Pumpkin is the first dog I’ve ever had. So I didn’t really know the type of unconditional love, joy and sweetness you get from a dog until the day we brought him home. Since then he has filled our lives with so much happiness, love and cavalier personality. He’s full of snuggly sweetness, always curious about everything around him, and knows how to get what he wants with those big brown eyes!
I could truly go on and on about all the sweet little moments. And I know you must feel the same way if you’re looking for a cake to make for your dog’s birthday. Having a dog is truly the best!
Pumpkin Birthday Cake for Dogs and Humans
This pumpkin dog birthday cake for dogs and humans is perfect to make for you and your pooch. It’s made with dog and human safe ingredients, not overly complicated to make, and easy to decorate with dog treats or peanut butter yogurt frosting.
This cake is flavored with pumpkin puree which is good for us and good for dogs. It gets its subtle sweetness from the unsweetened applesauce. This is a healthier way to add sweetness and moisture to baked goods for dogs and humans.
It tastes like a fall spiced cake that you and your dog can enjoy anytime of the year!
Dog Birthday Cake Recipe
This dog birthday cake recipe is made especially for your dog but one that you can also eat! It would be fun to make for dog birthday party, puppy play date or when you want something you and your furry best friend can both enjoy.
My dog loved licking the frosting off this cake. And now it’s become tradition that I make it for him to celebrate his birthday in January.
Can You Give a Dog Birthday Cake?
Traditional birthday could be made with ingredients that are not safe for dogs, especially chocolate. Chocolate birthday cake would be a huge no for dogs as chocolate can be harmful to dogs.
Traditional vanilla or yellow cake may also contain ingredients that are not the best for dogs. So I recommend making this recipe for your dog instead!
You and Your Dog will Love This Recipe Because:
- It’s easy to make (takes less than 1 hour).
- It’s made with simple ingredients that are all dog safe.
- It’s made with pumpkin puree which is a truly a superfood for dogs.
- It’s totally edible for humans, so you can also eat it!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Dog Cake
- Pumpkin Puree — be sure it’s pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix.
- Oat Flour — if you can’t find oat flour at the store, simply blend old-fashioned oats in a blender until they are the consistency of flour.
- Unsweetened Creamy Peanut Butter — it’s best to choose unsweetened versions for dogs.
- Plain Greek Yogurt — I used siggi’s, which I like because it’s low in sugar and doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols which are not good for dogs.
- Eggs
- Unsweetened Applesauce — this will help give the cake a subtle sweetness and a moist texture.
- Cinnamon — cinnamon is safe for dogs to eat.
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
equipment / utensils:
- mixing bowls
- 2 6-inch cake pans
- whisk
- knife or cake leveler
Is Yogurt Good For Dogs?
Yogurt is generally safe for dogs to eat. Some yogurts do contain a lot of added sugar and artificial sweeteners. These aren’t good for dogs, so you want to make sure you’re giving them lower in sugar yogurt that doesn’t contains artificial sugars or sugar alcohols.
I recommend a lower in sugar plain yogurt for this dog birthday cake recipe.
I’m not a vet or dog food specialist. So check with your vet before giving it to your dog if you have any hesitation.
Is Peanut Butter Good for Dogs?
Peanut butter is generally safe for dogs to eat. As a dog owner, I’m sure you’ve seen peanut butter in many different dogs treats. When you’re buying it to give to your dog, make sure you are choosing peanut butter that doesn’t have a lot of added sugars and no artificial sweeteners. These aren’t good for dogs (and not really humans either!). That is the kind I recommend using in this pumpkin dog birthday cake recipe.
While peanut butter is safe for dogs to eat, it is higher in fat and calories. This might not be the best for all dogs on a regular basis. Chat with your vet about what a safe amount would be to give your dog on a regular basis.
Is Pumpkin Puree Good for Dogs?
Yes, pumpkin puree is good for dogs! Not only is it a fall superfood for humans, it’s great for dogs too!
Health Benefits of Pumpkin Puree for Dogs
Pumpkin puree is safe for dogs to eat and good for their digestion when they are having issues like constipation or diarrhea because it contains fiber. Depending on the size of your dog, 2 tsp – 1 tbsp is a safe amount to give them to help with tummy troubles.
When buying pumpkin puree at the store for this dog birthday cake (or any other recipe on my site!) make sure its pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix. Pumpkin pie mix is mixed with sugar and other ingredients.
You just want 100% pure pumpkin and it can be the same can that you would buy at the grocery store for yourself. No need to buy special pumpkin puree from pet stores since they’re probably more expensive.
Pumpkin Dog Cake (For Humans Too!)
Equipment
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 Whisk
- 2 6-in cake pans
- 1 knife or cake leveler
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup creamy unsweetened peanut butter
Peanut Butter Yogurt Frosting
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
- dog treats for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 6-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set a side.
- Gently whisk together the pumpkin, applesauce, eggs and peanut butter until well combined. Add in the flour ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.
- Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Use a cake leveler or knife to cut the top off of one of the cakes. Spread a thin layer of yogurt on top of that layer and place the other layer on top.
- In a small bowl with a spoon mix the rest of the yogurt and the peanut butter.
- Use a small spatula to frost a thin layer of it around the entire cake. Garnish with extra peanut butter or dog treats. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treat Recipe
If you like this dog cake recipe, be sure to check out this baked pumpkin peanut butter dog treat recipe. It’s easy to make for your dog for healthy homemade dog treats.
And if you’re not already a part of the community on Instagram, I’d love for you to follow me @onceuponapumpkin!
Pumpkin Recipes (for humans!) You’re Sure to Love:
- Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies (GF & DF)
- Frozen Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (GF & DF)
- Pumpkin S’mores Cookies (GF & DF)
- Starbucks Copycat Pumpkin Bread (GF & DF)
Pin this dog cake for later!
I made one of these today for my Corgi for his 12th birthday, and he LOVED it. I didn’t have applesauce, so I used extra pumpkin in its place and it worked well. I also added some blueberries to the frosting. Thank you so much for the recipe. It was very simple and the smile on his face made me so happy.
So glad he liked it! Happy birthday to him! Great ideas with the blueberries in the frosting!