Wish and Woof Cake

A birthday cake for our little furry Princess Mia!

Thanks to Corona and lockdowns the world over, it seems like everyone's getting a pet to keep themselves sane these days. I didn't join the pet train, but I've been lucky enough to dog-sit this little cutie for a friend for the past few months and she's won all of our hearts, including my husband, who is 'not a dog lover'. The little puppy just turned one and as a baker, I couldn't help but bake her a dog-friendly, celebratory birthday cake- after all, dogs are our best friends and deserve the best!

After some online searches and reading, I came across the Spoiled Dog Cake recipe from lovefromtheoven.com. The recipe is easy, fast, and uses fresh, dog-safe, healthy ingredients, including peanut butter, applesauce and pumpkin. It comes together just like any other cake and is perfect for your pets. The optional frosting is made from peanut butter and yogurt and I used some bone-shaped dog treats as an extra decoration. To be honest, baking the cake was easier than getting Mia to pose with it as she was too eager to dive in- don't get me started on making her wear the party hat!

This cake is safe for human consumption too, but unlike a traditional cake, it lacks sugar and won’t be as sweet as you're used to. The leftovers keep like a normal cake and can be used to treat them a little everyday.

Notes

• I made this cake to yield two, 6" sized cakes. You can also use an 8" cake pan or square pan.

• This recipe can easily be halved.

• Feel free to use store-bought apple sauce and pumpkin puree- I have made both from scratch.

Heres a short video on how to make this dog friendly cake https://youtu.be/nWygbfX4Qys

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Wish and Woof cake

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup plain all-purpose flour

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1 cup applesauce or 4 red apples peeled, cored, stewed and pureed

• 1 cup pumpkin puree or a small piece of pumpkin peeled, chopped, stewed and pureed

• 2 eggs

For the frosting:

• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour and baking soda.

3. In a separate bowl mix together the vegetable oil, peanut butter, applesauce and pumpkin puree. Once combined, mix in eggs until combined.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until combined.

5. Pour mixture into two 6" round pans (a square pan can also be used) that has been greased with oil.

6. 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.

7. Allow to cool on a wire rack prior to removing from pan. After cooling, add frosting and decorations if desired.