Celebrating your dog’s birthday or gotcha day (also known as adoption anniversary, especially for rescue dogs) can be such a fun way to honor your beloved furry family member. If your dog has a sensitive stomach or is on a limited diet, it can be tricky finding a DIY dog birthday cake recipe that your dog can have.
It’s often best to use a recipe that only has a handful of ingredients so that you aren’t overwhelming your dog’s sensitive digestive tract. Whether you are specifically looking for a dog cake recipe for sensitive stomachs or just looking for an easy DIY dog cake recipe, we’ve got covered!
DIY Dog Birthday Cake Recipe for Sensitive Stomachs
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yields: 1 small cake
Servings: 2 – 4
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 cup cassava flour (see note)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (see note)
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup nonfat yogurt (see note)
Optional Frosting Ingredients:
- Whip cream for a simple and easy frosting (see note)
- Pumpkin puree + yogurt (see note)
Recipe Utensils Needed:
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Silicone spatula
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- 1-liter rectangular baking dish or small round cake pan (6 inch)
DIY Dog Birthday Cake Recipe Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cassava flour and baking soda. Mix until combined.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, add the pumpkin puree, apple sauce, 2 eggs, yogurt, and oil.
- Using a whisk, mix the wet ingredients together until well combined.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go.
- Lightly grease the baking dish or cake pan that you’re using to bake the cake in. You can grease it with whatever oil you used in the recipe.
- Add the batter to the baking dish, smoothly it evenly on the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked through and a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake or the cake might be dry.
- Set the cake aside to cool.
- Once cool, frost the cake with the frosting of your choosing.
After the cake is frosted, it’s best to serve it immediately.
Feed a moderate amount of the cake to your dog, the serving will depend on your dog’s weight. If there is leftover cake and you want to store it, put it in an airtight container. Finish serving it within a day or two.
Recipe Notes:
- For this dog cake recipe for sensitive stomachs, we chose to use grain-free flour. Cassava flour is well-tolerated and gentle on the digestive tract. Depending on your dog’s dietary needs or food allergies, other flours can be used in its place. We will talk more about flour alternatives in the article below.
- For the oil, you can use whichever oil you know your dog will tolerate. Coconut oil and sunflower oil are safe choices.
- Nonfat yogurt, A2 yogurt, or any non-dairy dog safe yogurts can be used in this recipe. If you want to omit the yogurt ingredient entirely, you can substitute for a bit of water. Do not add ¼ cup of water. Add the water in slow increments until the batter is wet but not runny.
- For the frosting, there are a variety of options depending on your dog’s dietary needs. Please see below as we will go into more detail about the options for frosting.
- Instead of using a cake pan, you could also pour the batter into a lined muffin tin to make cupcakes.
This DIY dog birthday cake recipe will be a hit with your dog!
For this recipe, we chose to use only a few ingredients that typically are safe for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Some dog birthday cake recipes contain spices and other ingredients that may not be well tolerated by some dogs.
Pumpkin, apple, and nonfat or A2 yogurt (in moderation) are usually safe for dogs with a more sensitive digestive tract. Grain-free flour like cassava flour is also a great choice for a dog cake recipe for sensitive stomachs.
Safe flours for dogs with sensitive stomachs
Besides cassava flour, there are several other flour options that could work in a birthday cake recipe for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
You may already have a type of flour in mind that you know your dog does well with. If that’s the case, you can use it in this recipe instead of the cassava flour. Most dogs with sensitive stomachs tend to tolerate gluten-free and grain-free flours better than wheat, barley, and spelt flour.
Other flour options:
- Coconut flour
- Potato flour
- Lentil flour
- Buckwheat flour
- Amaranth flour
- Chickpea flour
- Almond flour
- Oat flour
Frosting options for this DIY dog birthday cake recipe
For the frosting, we used whip cream. If your dog doesn’t do well with whip cream or you aren’t sure if it’s okay for your dog, you can use a different frosting.
Applesauce, pumpkin puree (mixed with yogurt or by itself), bananas, a drizzle of honey, low fat yogurt, bananas, and peanut butter are other safe options for frosting. But speak with your vet before introducing new foods into your dog’s diet!
You can also decorate the cake with some fruit that your dog loves like blueberries, sliced strawberries, and sliced apples. Shredded coconut can also make a fun and tasty cake topping.
Basically, choose something that your dog loves and that you know doesn’t bother their stomach. Your pup will love however you choose to decorate their cake and it will be a memorable part of their special day.
Don’t forget to take photos!
In our experience
This DIY dog birthday cake recipe for a sensitive stomach is also a great choice because it does not have any added sugar. A regular birthday cake has too much fat and sugar for any dog, sensitive tummy or not. The goal is to not have you searching for home remedies for diarrhea right after you bake this cake for your puppo.
When making a DIY dog birthday cake recipe, be sure not to add any actual sugar. For example, there is already natural sugar in this recipe from applesauce and pumpkin. And, that’s enough sweetness to make a tasty treat for your pup’s special day!
