The Party - How to Throw the Best Doggie Birthday Ever

The Cake
The cornerstone of your event is the doggie birthday cake. This recipe from Paws and Tails Bakery will have your guests sitting up and begging for more. Or skip the fussing about in the kitchen and order it directly from them at pawsandtailsbakery.com.

Banana Birthday Pupcake
2 bananas
1 3/4 cups water
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 egg
2 Tbsp honey or molasses

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. In a bowl, combine bananas, water, vanilla, egg, and honey or molasses and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix well. Pour mixture into an 8-inch greased cake pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out dry.

Frosting
In a mixer combine the following:
12 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp honey
For carob frosting, add 3 tsp of carob powder to the frosting recipe.

Presentation
As most human guests likely won’t savour a slice, presentation is paramount. A cute idea is to use Pup-Peroni sticks instead of candles. And edible “candles” ensure no Poodle-do’s go up in flame—very important! Or try decorating the cake with crushed, dried banana chips and pipe a design on top of cake using contrasting carob frosting, or spell out the birthday dog’s name with little dog bone-shaped cookies. Aww.