A Birthday Cake You Won't Like...

Dear Pet People,

I just baked a birthday cake for my dog - now that's something I didn't think I would ever say!  Harry, my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel turns 8 tomorrow and we feel like celebrating; which means we need a cake.

Surprisingly, there are a lot of recipes all over the internet for dog birthday cakes, but none of them perfectly meet Harry's dietary restrictions.  He's on a low-protein, wheat-free, lower-fat, sugar-free, preservative-free diet.  Basically, he can't have any of the good stuff.  

I channeled my inner Julia Child and came up with a "birthday cake" recipe for my doggy birthday boy.  The cake's in the oven right now and it actually smells pretty good - but I still don't think I'm going to try it!  I have a feeling Harry will love his birthday cake- but then, he's eaten ivory soap before, so there's that.

Here's the recipe I put together to make a dog birthday cake:

Harry's Doggy Birthday Cake

Harry's Birthday Cake Recipe

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Lightly grease an 8 inch round cake pan.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of barley flour
• 1 cup of canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tblspns of oil
• pinch of cinnamon 

Directions

• Lightly beat the eggs and add in the oil, pumpkin and applesauce.
• Mix well.
• Slowly add the barley flour and cinnamon and stir well. 
• Pour the batter into the cake pan.
• Bake for about 30 minutes.

Note: This cake will not rise since I haven't included baking powder or baking soda in the recipe.  I have read conflicting information about whether baking soda and baking powder are safe for dogs, so I erred on the side of caution and left them out.

Topping

• Once the cake is completely cool, frost with whipped low-fat plain cream cheese (thinned with a bit of milk or water if necessary).
• I used crumbled dog treats and blueberries for decoration.

Harry will just get a small piece of his birthday cake for dessert - we don't want any upset tummies! 

Enjoy your pets, and Happy Birthday, Harry!

Yvonne
www.petbling.ca