Dalmatian DIY is celebrating its 10 anniversary! Humphrey and his furfriends enjoyed a special dog-friendly tuna cake to mark the milestone. Join us as we celebrate the past decade of creating and sharing Dalmatian DIY, and then sniff your way into our dog treat kitchen for the throwback-inspired tasty tuna casserole cake recipe for dogs.
Celebrating 10 Years of Dalmatian DIY
A lot has changed since Dalmatian DIY was created way back in 2015. We’ve seen a huge evolution in technology, social media, and many of the tools that support creating and operating a website, and the costs of keeping things up and running. Thank you so very much to everyone who follows, reads, supports, or shares our posts. You’re what sustains Dalmatian DIY and makes it all possible.
A lot has changed with our Dalmatian DIY furfamily team, too. Thank you for sharing the decade with Oli, Humphrey, Tiger, and their doggone crazy blogging Momma. You’ve laughed with us, cried with us, shared your pets with us on social media, and perhaps sampled some treat ideas or creative projects. Inspirational senior spotty Oli’s legacy lives on in Humphrey and Dalmatian DIY. Humphrey has grown from a young puppy into a senior spotty himself alongside the blog over the course of the last ten years.
You can share an anniversary message or a memory with us on our Facebook or Instagram posts. Or send a celebratory pat to Humphrey – we promise to pass along all of your pats, scratches, and belly rubs! And, as always, you are welcome to explore the free archives of dog-friendly DIYs, recipes, and other posts for pet-lovers that we’ve created and continue to create at Dalmatian DIY.
Throwback Tuna Casserole Cake Inspiration
The very first “cake” that I can remember making for a dog was prepared for Oli, years before we started Dalmatian DIY. As shared in our pet chef intro on homemade cakes for dogs, these weren’t really cakes as such. They were more of a special casserole dish-style birthday dinner. I went digging was back through our photo files, and found old photo of a young Oli eagerly awaiting his birthday feast. If memory serves me correctly, this one was made with oats, carrots, and tuna – the inspiration for this recipe.
Tuna Be or Not Tuna Be?
Paws for Purine Precautions
Although our dogs love all things fishy, but some common varieties, like tuna or salmon, are moderate to high on the purine scale. These are rare special inclusions in their purine-moderated Dalmatian diets. For anyone on a strict purine management plan or special diet, we suggest sniffing around for treats with lower-purine ingredients instead.
Tuna Tips
Different types of dog-friendly fish have different nutrient profiles, but most are rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Tuna is considered safe for most dogs in moderation, but be careful with your product selection. Tinned tuna should be from a reputable source (whether for people or pups) and be aware of the potential mercury risks for some species. For pups, look for a tuna product packed in water without any added salt. If you’re using it in a treat recipe (or just sharing a little taste while you prepare your own meal), the portion sizes will be small. You can also freeze portions in small quantities for defrosting and sharing over time.
Subs and Swaps
In this fabulously fishy recipe, tinned salmon or sardines make easy swaps, but be aware that those are also moderate-to-high purine foods. Not into fish? We have lots of other recipes and ideas in our archives for making dog-friendly cakes.
Quick and Easy Tuna Cake Recipe for Dogs
Homemade Tasty Tuna Casserole Cake for Dogs
The recipe below fits two mini-springform pans (affiliate link), but can be made in different pans or as a batch of mini-muffins, if you prefer. I split the mixture and baked both. It’s also easy to reduce by half for a single springform pan or a small batch of pupcakes. This is a thick muffin-like batter with limited rise, and it makes a dense moist cake or tasty little pupcakes.
The simple recipe uses easy, inexpensive, everyday ingredients. We’re using a food processor during prep, and the processed ingredients combine to create a cakier batter than a direct meatloaf-style mixture. I used my mini food processor (affiliate link) rather than setting up (and cleaning up…) my full-sized food processor. And since we’re mixing the ingredients into a batter, there’s no need to wash up between whizzing the different ingredients, either. Quick and easy!
Ingredients:
1 + 1/4 cup wholegrain oats
2 tbsp baking powder (optional for rise)
2 carrots
Large tin of plain water-packed tuna (mine was 185g)
2 eggs
Sprinkle of grated cheese (optional for garnish)
Making the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 160C (or local equivalent) and gather together your baking ingredients and materials.
- Lightly oil your pan(s).
- Measure the wholegrain oats, place in the food processor, and whizz them into a coarse crumb.
- Transfer the oats to your mixing bowl.
- Add the baking powder (optional, but this is what will give your cake rise and an airier texture than a dense meatloaf). Mix the baking powder through the oats.
- Wash the carrots and trim, if/as needed.
- To get a smoother puree for the batter, use cooked or par-cooked carrots. I chopped mine (carrot lover Humphrey on quality control) and microwaved them for a couple of minutes to soften them up before processing.
- Put the prepared carrot in the food processer, whizz into a puree, and transfer to the mixing boat with the oats.
- Transfer the undrained tuna to the food processor, checking for any bones that you’d like to remove.
- Process the tuna chunks and liquid into a puree, and transfer to the mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs.
- Mix the ingredients until just combined, as you would a muffin batter. Don’t over mix.
- Spoon into prepared mini springform pan(s) or alternative baking pans of your preference. Smooth lightly to even the surface of the thick batter, if/as needed before baking.
- Add a sprinkle of grated cheese to the top of the cake batter (optional).
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes, less if you’re making mini muffins. Baking time will depend on pan shape/size/material. I pulled the mini muffins out of the oven at around 20min and left the cake to continue baking.
- Remove from oven. Allow the cakes to cool slightly before loosening and/or removing the spring-form rings to cool completely. For muffins, cool until firm and safe for handling, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serving and Storage
Although our Tuna Casserole Cake has a cake-like appearance and texture, it’s still a fish-based treat. If you’re not celebrating and serving shortly after baking, you’ll want to keep your cakes refrigerated for food safety. And in a well-sealed container to try and contain the smell. Haha! The dogs loved it, me not so much. The weather was very stormy, so opening up the house during baking wasn’t an option either. Although stinky tuna prep and baking was an excellent storm distraction for the dogs!
Dog-Friendly Cake Making Tips and Tricks
- See our pet chef post on homemade dog cakes for additional info on types of cakes, decorating ideas, storage, and more.
- Cakes can be baked into other shapes and sizes, as noted in the examples above for the mini tuna cake vs. pupcakes. Remember to adjust your cooking times and/or temperatures accordingly.
- If baking in advance, cooled cake can be wrapped short term or frozen for longer storage. You can also freeze leftover pieces. For this cake, I sliced the cake, set the pieces sidewise on the cutting board, froze them firm, then transferred them into container. Pre-freezing is my go-to method anything that might otherwise stick together during the freezing stage.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- As noted, as a caution for our Dal pals, many fish including salmon and tuna, are higher purine proteins. Moderation is extra important. If you have a known issue with stones, then you might want to pass on the fishes, no matter how delicious. See our post on the Dalmatian diet and purine problems for more information and handy links.
- Oli’s original tuna casserole had grated carrot, Humphrey loves carrot, and carrot puree is a great baking ingredient. It adds a lovely golden colour to this cake, too. You can switch the carrot puree for a similar quantity of other prepared dog-friendly vegetables to suit your pup’s preferences. Colour will vary and consistency may be affected, so tweak the recipe if/as needed.
- Having an extra special party? Our cake was served as-baked, but you can check out our post on making birthday and special occasion dog cakes for frosting and decorating ideas, or browse through the other DIY dog cakes and pupcakes.
- Humphrey had his anniversary slice plain, with a gelatin gummy dog treat on the side as pictured above. When his furfriends joined him the next day, as some of you might have seen in our stories, they each had a celebratory slice plated with a small dollop of Greek yogurt, sliced carrot, and a sprig of fresh parsley. Because you know I’m over the top about these things, haha!
Celebratory Smiles for Miles
Thank you all again for being part of Dalmatian DIY. Thanks for reading our blog and for being part of our social community. And an extra special thanks for all the love and kindness you’ve shared with our pets throughout the past 10 years and as we paw our way into the future. We appreciate all of our furfriends and their families, near and far. Cheers to a decade of Dalmatian DIY!
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our archives. You can use categories and tags to find other recipes or use our internal search 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.
