It’s no secret that dogs love to share “people food”, and what’s more fun than sharing a celebratory cake with your best bud? But the ingredients in cake aren’t always that good for dogs. Most human cakes are made with flour and sugar, neither of which is great for a pup. And cakes with chocolate are right out– they’re extremely dangerous for dogs!

So what’s the solution? A dog cake! Cakes made especially for dogs that feature ingredients that are good for them are a great way to celebrate your pup’s big day… or any day! Today, we are featuring some of the best peanut butter dog cake recipes for your fluffy bestie. 

Why Use Peanut Butter?

There are all kinds of dog cake recipes out there, but cakes made with peanut butter are perennial pup pleasers! Dogs love peanut butter for its rich, salty-sweet taste. Peanut butter is a great source of protein and healthy fats. However, not all peanut butter is good for dogs. 

You need to look closely at the label when you’re shopping for a dog cake recipe. Peanut butter made with pure ground peanuts, without any added salt or sugar, is the best for your dog. Peanut butter cake recipes tend to emphasize the importance of natural peanut butter– we’ll be reminding you, too!

It’s also extremely important that the peanut butter you choose doesn’t have xylitol, which is toxic to dogs. 

1. Peanut Butter Pupcakes

Image Source: Crazy for Crust

How cute are these peanut butter pupcakes? These bite-sized treats are full of peanut buttery goodness and are just the right size. Dogs will love the creamy frosting, and you’ll love how simple they are to make!

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons oil (olive oil or coconut oil are good to use for dogs)
• 1 medium banana, mashed
•  2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting

• 2 ounces cream cheese OR 1/2 medium banana, mashed
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray, or use a dog-friendly oil like olive oil or coconut oil. You can also use liners if you want.
2. Stir peanut butter, oil, banana, and honey until evenly mixed. 
3. Stir in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until combined. 
4. Evenly distribute between the cavities of your muffin pan. 
5. Bake 10-20 minutes, until browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
6. Cool completely before frosting.
7. To make banana frosting, stir mashed banana and peanut butter together. 
8. To make cream cheese frosting: stir peanut butter and cream cheese. 
9. Frost your cupcakes and serve!

Notes

This recipe makes 3 regular-sized cupcakes, which are great for a big dog without any eating issues. For a little dog, make mini cupcakes! 

2. Peanut Butter & Honey Loaf

Image Source: The Cozy Cook

Few things go together as well as peanut butter and honey! This tasty loaf cake has a secret ingredient that adds fiber and additional nutrients– carrots! This is an easy and fun recipe for kids to help out with.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 large egg
• ½ cup all-natural peanut butter
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting

• ½ cup of plain mashed potatoes 
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

OR

• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and honey or maple syrup
3. Stir in the carrots.
4. Gradually add the flour and baking soda until well combined.
5. Pour into a small greased baking pan, like a mini loaf pan or mini bundt pan.
6. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
7. Turn onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
8. You can serve as is, or you can make the frosting.
9. Mix ½ cup of plain Greek yogurt with either ½ cup of mashed potatoes or ¼ cup of peanut butter to make the frosting. 

Notes

This is a dense, rich cake, so don’t feed it to your dog all at once! 

3. Peanut Butter & Banana Pupcakes

Image Source: Modern Dog Magazine

This classy little cake can be made into individual cupcakes or in a bigger cake pan for a large cake to share! The whipped frosting has a great texture that dogs love.

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups quick oats
• ½ cup all-natural peanut butter
• ¼ cup coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 mashed banana 
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp honey

Frosting

• 2 cups smooth natural peanut butter
• 1-2 tbsps water

Instructions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Line your muffin tins with cupcake liners or oil your cake pan.
3. In a medium bowl, mash banana and add peanut butter, oil, applesauce, honey, and egg. Mix until smooth.
4. In another bowl, combine oats, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. Gradually add the combined wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until well combined.
6. Spoon into cupcake cups or pan until 2/3 full.
7. Bake cupcakes for 18 minutes, and cakes for 28 minutes.
8. While cupcakes bake, make frosting. Using an electric mixer, whip peanut butter until soft. Slowly add water until you have a frosting-like consistency.
9. Once cakes cool, spread or pipe on frosting.

Notes

You can also decorate the top with crushed dried salmon skins, sliced bananas, or your pup’s favorite treats.

Rocky Kanaka

Rocky Kanaka is an entrepreneur, pet rescue advocate and dog dad to a rescue boxer named Flip, a blind Cane Corso called Kobe, and a terrier mix named Zoey. He's also a pet chef and owner of The Dog Bakery, which specializes in dog birthday cakes and fresh baked dog treats. His three dogs can't get enough of the dog cakes and treats!

Lorna Ladd

Lorna Paxton Ladd is a passionate dog lover and enthusiast of The Dog Bakery. She loves spoiling her 3 rescue dogs with dog cakes and jerky. A 15 year veteran in the pet industry, her aim is to educate pet parents on the best recipes, products, tips and tricks to optimize the human/canine bond. Her favorite product at The Dog Bakery are the customizable dog birthday cakes.