Peanut Butter Honey Carrot Cake for Dogs

Reading my other 'ibles you'll see my pooches are very important to me, that means we celebrate their birthdays as we would any other family member. As they get older, we enjoy giving them special treatment on their birthdays and holidays too. I've learned a lot about dog food and feeding them a healthy diet with high quality food because I need them to be as healthy as they can be, as long as possible.

Making homemade treats is a way I can control the ingredients they eat, and treats like this birthday cake are full of a little healthy, a little sweet, making for a perfect treat. My dogs only need to hear the words "peanut butter" to know they're going to like it! I can attest this cake is tasty because I've tried it, not as sweet as most humans usually like, but surprisingly good. 

This cake is very easy to make, kids can definitely help. You can make it in the size appropriate for your dog, my under 16 lbs. girls share a mini muffin or two at treat time, and we cut the cake into mini muffin sized pieces. If you are having a doggy party, you can make all mini muffins. Regular-sized muffins for would be good for bigger pooches, or one 8-inch cake.  At the end of the 'ible I give ideas for frosting too. 

Our dogs do more for us then we could possibly do for them, bake them a delicious treat for their birthday, or any other day you want to make them feel special, enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from this site: http://www.dog-treat-recipe-exchange.com/dog-birthday-cake-recipes

You'll need:
For the paw shape I used this silicone baker: http://shop.safemadepet.com/products/flexi-bowl-small/ you can substitute a 6-inch cake pan, plus a mini muffin tin for the paw pads. If you simply want to make one round cake, use an 8-inch cake pan. 

1 cup white or whole wheat flour (If your dogs have wheat allergies, use gluten free flour, I used 1/2 cup white whole wheat and 1/2 cup oat flour, see below) 
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots (about 3 medium) 
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg

You can make your own oat flour using my other 'ible: https://www.instructables.com/id/Oatmeal-bath-for-dogs/

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (I also preheated a baking sheet to bake on, since I had two baking pans it made for easy turning and removal.) Spray baking pan(s) with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, stir the flour(s), baking soda, and cinnamon until combined. In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, oil, vanilla, honey, and the egg, whisk until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined. Stir in the carrots until mixed throughout and no pockets of flour remain in the batter.

Transfer to greased baking pan(s) and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Rotate the baking sheet front to back halfway through baking. The mini muffins only take 15-18 minutes, the 6-inch cake took around 30 minutes. Times will vary depending on your oven, so keep an eye on it. 

Let cool in baking pan(s) for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack and cool completely. 

Decorate as you please, though my dogs have no problem eating it plain. Some frosting options are: low fat cottage cheese blended until smooth in a food processor or blender, or, whipped reduced or no fat cream cheese, spread over the cake and topped with some shredded carrots. I don't think any dog would mind peanut butter, or a drizzle of honey, spread on top either. 
I chose to use a writing icing tube, it was a minimal amount that I felt comfortable with my dogs eating.

We are not ashamed to say we have dog birthday parties, I will never ever be able to repay the gift my dogs have giving me just by being here, I can only hope to do right by them by giving them a good, fun life, keeping them as healthy as possible along the way.  

Leftover cake can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator up to five days, or can be frozen for longer storage.