Another birthday another doggy birthday cake! This year I went with a pumpkin cake because I know my dogs enjoy the flavor, and since the cake contains a good amount of honey, another flavor they love, the cake stayed nice and moist several days.

This pumpkin cake was incredibly easy to make, if you've got kids around, they can certainly help bake their dog a cake, and since these are made with ingredients used in baking all the time, you can try the results too. You won't find them as sweet as you're used too, but I bet your doggy won't mind the difference, they'll just feel extra loved you baked them a yummy dessert for their special day!

I adapted this recipe from The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook (Revised Edition) by The Bubba Rose Biscuit Company, I can't recommend this cookbook, or this company, enough for spoiling our four-legged friends. There are over 100 recipes for cookies, treats, cakes, etc. in savory and sweet flavors, with variations for allergy prone pooches, and great advice on ingredients, the majority of recipes very easy to make. It was hard for me to even narrow down what cake to make Car-Li, I had so many great recipes to choose from! We'll definitely be making lots of homemade treats this year thanks to this cookbook.

I've spoken in my other Instructables about how much my dogs mean to me, Car-Li had some serious health troubles last year that make celebrating her birthday extra special. Bay-Li is known as my "sous chef" and can spend hours in the kitchen by my side. I hope they know how much we love them in return, and celebrating their birthdays is a fun way for the whole family to dote on the dogs in our lives for a day!

Recipe made one 6-inch cake, plus 24 mini muffins

Adapted from Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook (Revised Edition): Over 100 Tail-Wagging Treats byThe Bubba Rose Biscuit Company

Step 1: Gather Ingredients

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 (or two) for the paw pads. You can also use regular-sized muffin tins if your pooch is bigger. If you want to make one cake, use a 9-inch round cake pan, or 9x9 square pan.

For the cake:

2 c. oat flour (You can make your own here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Oatmeal-bath-for-dogs/)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

3/4 c. honey

1/4 c. oil (I used sunflower, if your dog has allergies you might want to skip the corn oil; coconut, or olive oil, are other good choices.)

15 oz. can pumpkin (or fresh pureed pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Step 2: Prepare Filling

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 F.

Spray muffin tins and cake pan with nonstick spray (I used the coconut oil pictured).

Mix oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl until combined.

Add honey, oil, and pumpkin to bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if using hand beaters, or even a whisk), beat on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mix until incorporated. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until no streaks of flour remain.

Spoon batter halfway up cake pan, and halfway up cavities of mini muffin tins. Gently tap the pans on the counter a few times to settle the batter.

Step 3: Bake, Cool, Decorate, and Enjoy

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This will be different amounts of times depending on the size of pans used. The mini muffins took about 11-13 minutes, while the 6-inch pan took 23-27 minutes in my oven (I use convection bake).

Remove pans from oven to cooling racks. Let the mini muffins cool about 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. The cake can remain in the pan about 10 minutes before removing it from the pan to the cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Since it's a fairly small amount of sugar per bite, I don't mind using store-bought decorating icing tubes to decorate the cake. You can top them with a frosting of your choice: dogs love peanut butter; low fat cream cheese, cottage cheese, or low fat yogurt mixed with a bit of honey. I left most of the mini muffins plain and my dogs had no problems gobbling them up that way either!

I hope your pooches enjoy this tasty treat soon!

Store leftovers, in a covered container, in the refrigerator up to five days, unfrosted muffins also freeze well.