We’re celebrating Humphrey’s birthday with a doggone delicious lamb cake. This special celebration dog-friendly cake is made with layers of lamb meatloaf topped with mashed potato frosting. Lambcake! Here’s the layered lamb birthday cake recipe and DIY details.
Mmmm...Meat!
Lamb is one of our dogs’ meaty favourites. The boys don’t have it very often, which make the scent and flavour of a lamb cake even more special. Lamb is readily available here in New Zealand, but you can easily swap it for any lean ground meat that suits you and your dog. Using a meatloaf style recipe instead of a conventional pupcake makes this cake more of an indulgent birthday dinner snack or meaty treat than a dessert. Much to the joy and delight of my meat-loving salivating sous-chefs. This extra special lamb cake was made for Humphrey’s 4th birthday. You can paw your way over to his birthday post for more party photos and details on his other tasty celebration treats.
Layered Lamb Meatloaf Dog Birthday Cake Recipe
Dog Birthday Cake with Lamb Meatloaf and Mashed Potato Frosting
This tasty lamb dog birthday cake recipe fits two mini-springform pans (affiliate link), as pictured. You can use it in different pans, make meaty muffins, or roll it into meatballs, if you prefer. I find that lamb is often still quite juicy even when lean, but the oats and flax in this recipe soak up that moisture during baking. The end result is a nice dense meatloaf cake, sort of like a hamburger patty in consistency. Doggone delicious! Layering and frosting the cake are optional, but excellent for creating a special party look.
Cake Ingredients:
Cake:
- Approximately 400g lean ground lamb (or other meat of your preference)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 egg
- 1-2 tbsp ground flax or LSA (optional)
- Sprinkle of finely grated cheese (optional)
Optional Frosting and Decorations:
- Cooled cooked mashed potato
- Water to adjust the consistency of the potato if/as needed
- Dog-friendly edible decorations or garnish
Making the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 180C (or local equivalent) and gather together your baking ingredients and materials. Lightly oil your pan(s).
- Combine the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Press the meat mixture firmly into your prepared pan. If you’re baking two cakes, try to flatten the tops when you’re patting for easier layering. There’s no need to leave expansion room in the pan since these dense meat cakes will not rise during baking.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes (time will depend on size), until the cake is cooked through. Remove from the oven, cool slightly, and then refrigerate to cool thoroughly.
Decorating the Cake (Optional):
- When the cake has thoroughly cooled, then remove from the pan.
- If you’re using two cakes, construct your layer cake, applying mashed potato frosting between each layer.
- Frost the exterior with additional mashed potato, garnish (optional) to decorate, and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Serve in moderation. Pampered pooches might enjoy their slice warmed slightly for extra scent and flavour. Cue the drool, pawty animals!
Dog-Friendly Cake Making Tips and Tricks
- See our comprehensive post on homemade birthday and special occasion dog cakes for additional information on types of cakes, decorating ideas, storage, and more.
- Cakes can be baked into other shapes and sizes. Remember to adjust your cooking times and/or temperatures accordingly.
- Meatloaf cakes can be made in advance stored (refrigerated short term, frozen longer term) and then decorated for the party. Leftovers can be cut into bite-sized snacks and refrigerated or frozen.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- This lamb dog birthday cake recipe can be made with other ground meats instead to suit your preferences and dog’s tastes.
- Not in the mood to mash? Instant mashed potato makes a very quick and easy option for frosting meaty cakes. It has a nice smooth consistency and can be easily adjusted to be thinner (additional liquid) or thicker (additional flakes).
- Garnish is, of course, optional. I used a few cranberries here as I happened to be baking some human muffins with them at the time. Cranberries are dog safe in moderation, bright, easy, and the boys quite likes them. But they’re not to every dog’s taste. Other ideas include grated cheese, crumbled cooked bacon, dog jerky, or even ready-made treats or kibble. Feel like sprinkles? Tinted panko or oats can be used as a dog-friendly rainbow sprinkle substitute.
- See our intro post on making birthday and special occasion dog cakes for different frosting and decorating ideas, or browse through the other DIY dog cakes and pupcakes for ideas.
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use our internal search tools to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
