Wow. Ok, it’s been a while. Sorry!
Last weekend we had a birthday party for one of our dogs, who was turning three:
These Schnauzer cupcakes were inspired by the book Hello Cupcake, which has cupcake decorating instructions for various dog breeds. My cupcakes didn’t turn out quite as nice as those in the book, but they were still a big hit:
Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to enjoy cupcakes without giving the dogs a homemade treat. Last year I made peanut butter biscuits, but this year I decided to do a layer cake, which was much easier:
Bacon Chicken Layer Cake (adapted from here.)
* 1 1/2 cups flour
* 1/2 T. baking powder
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 1/4 cup peanut oil
* 1 jar strained chicken baby food
* 1 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots
* Plain strained (or Greek-style) yogurt
* 2 or 3 Beggin Strips, crumbled
Generously grease and flour two 6" round cake pans; set aside. Combine flour and baking powder; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat softened butter until smooth. Add eggs and peanut oil; mix well. Add strained chicken and 1 cup of the shredded carrots and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into the 2 prepared 6" cake pans. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
Place one layer on a serving plate and spread yogurt over top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded carrots. Place second layer on top, then spread yogurt on top of the second layer. Sprinkle crumbled Beggin Strips over top.
