almond butter

Words that sparked a revolution.

If the people of France had just realized that Marie Antoinette was really trying to calm down her hungry Pug, we’d have an entirely different history book.

I’ ve been toying with the idea of making birthday cakes for dogs, and how to do it so that they’re healthy. My friends at Just Happy Hounds (www.justhappyhounds.com) got excited about the notion, and sent me a recipe.

My birthday is around the corner, and my family very generously gave me a stand mixer to save my stirring arm (Pearl’s Pumpkin Poppers were wearing me out!). And after the Tide rolled over #1 Mississippi State last Saturday (Roll Tide), I decided to play with my new mixer and whip up a little Pupcake.

Sweet Potato-Almond Butter Birthday Cake for Dogs:

1 egg (local farm raised, cage free eggs)
1/4 cup fresh ground almond butter (organic)
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (organic)
1/3 cup raw honey (local)
1 cup baked sweet potato (local, organic)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Line your cake pan with parchment.

Mix your wet ingredients together, then sift the flour and baking powder in gradually until everything is incorporated. The batter for this is stiffer than a regular cake batter. Spoon it into your cake pan, and smooth it out with your spatula. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let it cool on a rack before serving.

This cake is moist, dense, and delicious. It’s not pretty (and I need to work on that), but it really is quite good. It’s lightly sweet, not bland at all. Reminds me of the the gingerbread cookies at the bakery behind Raleigh Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg, except not as dry. (Clearly, I ate some myself!)

The “frosting” is plain yogurt, almond butter, and molasses. I’m thinking of using a bundt pan next time and making a drizzle instead of a frosting.

Pearl and Truman loved it! Check out my Instagram account (@SamInBham) for the video of Pearl’s fit for more.

pugs & kisses,

All natural sweet potato dog birthday cake — Dog birthday cake: she’s Ugly, but oh so tasty!

Pearl is always thinking about the fill level of her tummy.

When the contents drop below an invisible line inside the tank, a sensor light starts flashing in her brain and she ~~pesters the crap out of me~~ alerts me to the need to refill the reservoir A.S.A.P.

This morning, I was a little low on fruit, it being the end of the week & what not.

So, they got a greater serving than normal of yogurt mixed with honey & oats, and half an apple. That did not hold Pearl till dinner (surprise, surprise), and just before half-time in the Auburn-Mississippi State game, she started her “I’m hungry” song & dance.

What to do? Do I give a little treat and have her back in my face in 20 minutes? Do I go ahead and serve dinner at 4pm? I mean, 4:00 is really the no-man’s land of mealtimes.

So I put on my thinking cap and dug around in my pantry.

Game Day Gruel:

1 T plain yogurt
3 T fresh ground almond butter
1 t organic black strap molasses
sprinkle of organic dehydrated coconut flakes

They each got 2 tablespoons of the dense, brown mixture in their food bowls, and calmed down till that game was over.

Problem solved.

Give it a try! It’s #YUM

pugs & kisses,

Let them eat cake!

Healthy Snack Idea: Game Day Gruel