This Sweet and Salty Dog Birthday Cake is the perfect cake to celebrate your best furry friend’s birthday. Made with pumpkin, peanut butter, applesauce, and bacon!
If you think celebrating a dog’s birthday is ridiculous, then I’m sorry. We could never be friends.
Is that too harsh? It’s just how I feel. In my heart.
But I know that you don’t think that way, since you’re here reading this post on how to make a dog birthday cake. So we can definitely be friends.
We would probably be very good friends, too, you and I.
I love animals so dearly, and one animal in particular. Cocoa, my sweet, derpy, funny, loud-mouthed Corgi is my best friend. She’s my first and only dog, and she’s so amazing.
For Cocoa’s 6th birthday, I made her this Sweet and Salty Dog Birthday Cake. Her eyes lit up and she was in disbelief that she could actually eat it. But she loved it.
In honor of Cocoa’s 6th birthday, I’d love to tell you six things about her.
- Cocoa is seriously smart. She was very easy to train and she knows the following tricks: sit, stay, jump, high five, low five, handshake, spin, speak, BANG! (play dead), and down. She’s also pretty incredible at catching treats.
- Cocoa’s favorite food, without a doubt, is cheese. No matter what room in the house she’s in, she knows the sound of cheese being opened or taken out of the refrigerator, and she will come into said kitchen.
- Cocoa absolutely loves to hike, go on long walks, explore, and adventure. She may have short little stubby legs, but the girl can walk. She always surprises me by how steep she can climb, the size of rocks she can get over, and how fast she can run.
- Cocoa is what we lovingly refer to as “The Fun Police.” Anytime someone runs, walks too quickly, or is too loud, she gets mad. As a herding dog, she hates when people leave the pack, but I’m also pretty sure she hates when people are having too much fun, too.
- Cocoa didn’t get into too much trouble as a puppy, except this one time she ate the paint off the wall. Yup. I came home from work one day and Cocoa had eaten the paint off the wall. There was about a 3-foot circle of the wall paint chipped off. That was a fun vet visit to explain.
- Cocoa knows a ton of words. She understands walk, vet, groomer, mom, dad, car, bone, cheese, Starbucks (haha). And she understands when you’re talking about her, especially if you’re making fun of her. This one time my dad was imitating how she walked when she had to poop, and she jumped up and bit him in the butt. (Just a little nibble, I think it was her warning.) And it was hilarious.
So I can only celebrate a dog this special and hilarious with a very special dog birthday cake.
Hence, this Sweet and Salty version. I dig sweet and salty things (like cheesecake), and Cocoa digs anything with bacon (who doesn’t? …Well, vegans, I guess.)
This cake is made with pumpkin, applesauce, bacon fat (!), peanut butter, and a touch of honey. It’s frosted in an easy frosting made with peanut butter and plain Greek yogurt. And, of course, topped with bacon.
I totally had a piece (had to try my work, y’know?), and if I was a dog, I would freakin’ love it. I know this because I kind of loved it as a human, too.
And Cocoa went nuts for it, so that’s all that matters. This Sweet and Salty Dog Birthday Cake is for you, my little stubby munchkin, and for all the other dogs out there with amazing dog parents willing to bake them a cake. They deserve it.
I hope that you make this Sweet & Salty Dog Birthday Cake for your furry buddy! What’s your dogs favorite treat/food? Let me know in the comments below. Pictures of said dog sent to my mailbox are always more than welcome, too. 😉
And here’s a few things you may need for this recipe…
Spread The Love NAKED Organic Peanut Butter // Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Raw Honey // Farmers Market Organic Pumpkin Puree // musselman’s Natural Unsweetened Apple Sauce // Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached White Flour
This post contains affiliate links, and are always products I highly recommend, love, & use in my own kitchen.
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Sweet and Salty Dog Birthday Cake
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 15 servings 1x
Description
This Sweet and Salty Dog Birthday Cake is the perfect cake to celebrate your best furry friend’s birthday. Made with pumpkin, peanut butter, applesauce, and bacon!
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (with only peanuts as an ingredient, like this brand)*
- 1/2 cup pure unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons organic raw honey
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons bacon fat
- 1 cup organic unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the Frosting/Topping:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt**
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 4–5 slices of thick applewood-smoked bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8″ round baking pan and line with parchment paper.
- Pan fry the thick slices of bacon until crisp. Set the bacon aside and reserve the bacon fat.
- In a large bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons of bacon fat with the peanut butter, pumpkin puree, applesauce, and honey until combined. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the flour and baking soda until the batter is well combined, but do not over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the top of the cake springs back when touched and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Make the frosting by stirring the yogurt and peanut butter together until smooth.
- When the cake is completely cool, slice the cake in half through the middle. Fill the cake with half the frosting, and top with the rest. Decorate the cake with the cooked bacon. Enjoy!
Notes
*It’s very important to find a natural peanut butter with only peanuts in the ingredients, like the one linked above. Xylitol, a common ingredient in peanut butters, is very toxic for dogs. Other common ingredients, like palm oil and added sugar, aren’t so great either.
**It’s important to use plain Greek yogurt here, as regular yogurt will make the frosting too runny.
This makes a large cake, perfect for sharing with your doggie’s friends! If you have leftovers, you can crumble up the cake and make bite-sized cake balls. The cake balls can be kept in the freezer and defrosted as needed for treats.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 184
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 177mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 31mg
Made it? What’d ya think?! Tag us on social media to show us your Sweet and Salty Dog Birthday Cake!
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Thank you so much for telling your story above he recipe. I quite enjoyed reading it. I have two puppies. One is 21 turning 22, and the other is nine years old. I want to do something very special for my older puppy. He’s been around for a really long time, and deserve something special. I came across this recipe, and I can’t wait to make it! ❤️
22, wow! I hope your pup loves it, Melanie! <3
This cake was a huge hit for my best friend’s first birthday! The other dogs at the party finished their bowls, and then my dog licked theirs all clean! I used two small heart shaped pans instead of an 8″round. Cooked 25 minutes, and it came out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
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So glad the pups enjoyed it, Christa! 🙂
I baked this for my dog’s birthday today, and it was a huge hit!
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Can you make this into cupcakes.
Absolutely! Many make this recipe into “pupcakes” successfully! 🙂
My pup loved it it’s her birthday the favorite part was the bacon lots of bacon . It was easy to make you don’t have to be a pro baker to make this cake it’s super simple and the dogs love it . Plus humans can eat it to . I give 5 stars
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So glad you and the pups enjoyed it, Rylee! 🙂
I just got all of the ingredients for Tank’s (my dogs) birthday cake this Friday ❤️ Super excited to try this recipe!!
My dog is turning 1 on saturday and i am going to make this for him!
As a fellow corgi mom of 2, I love hearing about corgis. They are truly the best dogs. And I can’t wait to try this recipe for their birthdays!
Today we celebrated our 1 year Gotcha Day, with our rescue. We also have a mastiff. It turned out wonderful. They loved it so much. …I think my husband was jealous haha. It was a perfect cake for such a special day for our rescue Django. And oldest son Zeus.
Thank you!
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Thank you! So, so happy to hear your rescue enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Yea that is so cute we got a rescue pup to I love to here that others are joining the rescue community. ☺️
Hi,
Is this enough for the two layer cake shown or do I need to double it in order to make two 8″ rounds?
Hi Leland,
Thanks for reaching out! The recipe makes one 8″ cake which is sliced in half through the middle and filled.
I have a French bulldog and his allergic to eggs, do you have a recipe without eggs?, his tuning one
Hi Vanessa,
I think you could try using a flax egg, which is safe for dogs.
To make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water. That is one “egg.”
Mix together and refrigerate 20 minutes to firm. Let me know how it goes!
I just found this recipe and I’m definitely going to make it for my Babygirl! She’s a husky and the best dog in the whole world. She LOVES bacon so this is the cake she’ll get for her first birthday! I may add some bacon on top cuz her big brother also loves bacon and I’m sure she’ll share. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
You’re very welcome!! Tag me in photos if you share any. 🙂 I hope that your Husky enjoys her birthday cake!
I made this for my 2 bassets birthday party and they both LOVED it!!
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Yay! So happy to hear that Aly! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
My old boy loooooved this cake! My partner and i thought it was alright too haha! Will definitely make this again.
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hahaha! Awesome, Jade! Thanks so much for making this cake for your boy! 🙂
I just used this recipe to make cupcakes for my dog’s birthday party. She LOVES them, and I’m sure all the dogs at her party will too 🙂
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Ahhh pictures Molly, pictures!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeweQC8Aiz4/
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haha! It is AWESOME! Made for our OG (Original Golden)’s 13th birthday. She loved it (and so did I ?). Thanks for such a great pup recipe. Our five month old golden loved it too.
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lol oh my gosh Mari send me a photo or tag me in Instagram! I would LOVE to see OG and little G enjoying their cake, lol! #CrazyDogLady So glad you guys enjoyed the recipe!!! xo
yummy, when I see this recipe and I can’t wait for this . my kid love this.
Lol! The look on his face!! So cute. Did you light candles too? What a fun post!
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I always wanted to have a Puppy but my family does not support that thought 🙁 Enjoyed reading about Cocoa! Happy Birthday to her. cake definitely looks great!
HAHAH…I am not a dog owner, but this is a cool idea. Making homemade treats for pets is such a great idea. I did make dog biscuits one (when we did have dogs in the past). As a cat owner….I like to make them things too.
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I don’t know about dogs but my son would eat that! Looks a great cake
This is awesome. Are we allowed to take some ourselves? how about we go bite for bite? Total fun.