October 20^th was my “puppy” Nero’s birthday!!! I realize most people will think I’m silly (or crazy…), to each his own. Last year I made a (giant) cake specifically designed for dogs. We just let him have at it and he ate so much of it we could tell by the time he gave up that he had eaten too much… So this year I made “Pupcakes”! I got the idea from a YouTube daily vlog I enjoy called “SACCONEJOLYs”, but the recipe I made up myself.

Ingredients for the cake:

• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 medium carrots finely chopped
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup dry oats

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 small cans of wet dog food (slightly smaller than a can of tuna)
• 1 Tablespoon honey

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Line a cupcake tin with 6 cupcake liners
• Combine the egg, peanut butter, oil, honey and carrots in a large bowl
• In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and oats
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture, mixing until all ingredients are fully incorporated
• Divide the mixture among the prepared cupcake liners
• Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean and the tops are golden brown
• Let cool completely before frosting
• Have fun with decorating! Don’t expect a lot of appreciation for your creativity from your pooch though. I decorated the pupcakes with bone shaped dog cookies and the leaves from the carrots. I hadn’t planned on using the carrot greens but he kept eating the ones I accidentally dropped on the floor while chopping the carrots and brilliance struck! After all what is more perfect than Roman looking pupcakes for a dog named Nero!

It’s hard to believe it has already been three years and that my baby is so huge! He is still as cute as ever and we are so happy to have him as a part of our family!