My wonderful friend Angela has the most adorable yorkie named Cherry and this week is her birthday, so we had to make her something special. She is tiny, so I wanted to be sure that her treat was size appropriate and these miniature “pup”-cakes are the perfect size for a sweet little girl like Cherry…
In addition to making them small, I wanted to make them healthy too! When you are making your own dog treats, it is so simple to add protein, antioxidants, vitamins and anti-inflammatory properties into them. Today’s treats have fresh blueberries, egg, bananas and ground cinnamon in them, which all include a variety of health benefits for our four legged friends.
Let’s get started…
In a large bowl, combine 1 large banana that has been mashed smooth with 1 cup of flour (wheat, oat or all purpose), 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Once the ingredients are combined, fold in about 1/3 cup of fresh blueberries.
Lightly grease a mini cupcake tin and add about a heaping tablespoon of batter into each cup. This should just about fill the cavity, which is what you want. These cupcakes won’t puff up much, so there is no need to under fill the tins.
Bake these little cupcakes in a 350 degree oven for 8-9 minutes or until they feel set to a light touch. Transfer them onto a cooling rack or cutting board to cool before serving or frosting.
If you are serving these adorable little treats for a special occasion, you should probably whip up some dog friendly frosting to dress them up with…
In a small bowl, cream together 4 ounces of organic room temperature cream cheese with a tablespoon of plain greek yogurt and a splash of heavy cream until you have a nice, fluffy frosting consistency. You can use a butter knife to smooth some frosting over your “pup”-cakes or you can transfer the frosting into a piping bag and add your frosting in a fancy bakery style swirl that your dog won’t even notice, but you will find adorable.
The good news is that your dog will love them either way…
Add your frosting and press a miniature bone or blueberry into the swirl and they are ready to present to your furry friend…
These adorable little “pup”-cakes are full of healthy ingredients for your canine bestie and they will love the soft textures and little pops of fresh blueberry flavors. Whether you are baking these up for your dogs special day or just want to give them a treat for being the best dog ever, they are going to absolutely love these sweet little blueberry “pup”-cakes…
Blueberry "Pup"-cakes
Ingredients
Blueberry "Pup"-cakes
- 1 large banana, mashed smooth
- 1 cup of flour (wheat, oat or all purpose)
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup of fresh blueberries
Frosting
- 4 ounces of organic cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt
- 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream (for thinning)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Combine the ingredients and scoop a heaping tablespoon of batter into a greased mini cupcake tin
- Bake for 8-9 minutes or until they feel set
- Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting
- To make the frosting, beat 4 ounces of room temperature with 1 tablespoon of greek yogurt and enough heavy cream to develop a creamy texture (2-3 tablespoons)
- Frost the cupcakes and garnish with tiny bones (optional)
