Appa's Doggie Birthday Cake

October 12, 2013 a little nugget was born.

November 23, 2013 Appa became part of our family.

Getting a puppy is a big commitment. I consider it a trial run into becoming a parent because in a way you have to care for them like a would a child but they just grow up much quicker. At the age of 23 I didn’t think I was ready to become a parent. My fiancé, Chase, kept asking for a puppy. He thought getting a puppy would be so much fun, me? not so much. But in the end he convinced me, I told him about all the hard work that goes in raising a puppy. Well with housebreaking, training, exercising, toys, etc it was a lot of work all while working and going to school full time but we were going to do it. I originally wanted a French bulldog but Chase wanted a Siberian Husky, I wanted a dog that would be lazy and a lap dog but Chase wanted an active dog, how much more active can you get with a husky? They are a fur ball of energy.

We searched all over animal shelters, Craigslist, breeders and various animal places to find the perfect husky. I wanted a red husky but Chase was dead set on a “traditional” husky with black and white pattern and blue eyes. Do you know how long it took us to find Appa? Too damn long! But in the end we found this little nugget with the prettiest blue eyes and the grumpiest looking face. Chase drove 2 hours away to pick him up and it was love at first sight.

I remember going through all the troubles of raising him. He would sleep a couple of hours, then wake up crying wanting to play or do something. He was so tiny that his butt was too big and heavy for his hind legs that he would sometimes fall onto his butt when he was being potty trained. Then other times he was roll around in mud in the middle of the night so he would need to take a bath at 3am. If this was a test to be a parent, I don’t think we were ready but it was too late to go back! Regardless of the messes he made, the things that we chewed up we still loved him more and more every day.

Then came the crazy! I don’t know how or where he got his quirks but he is the epitome of special. He is afraid to walk on the hardwoods, he doesn’t like riding in cars, he doesn’t like getting picked up, he doesn’t like stairs, he is stubborn and sometimes talks back to me when I tell him to do things. But I still love him. I wanted a lap puppy and even though he is almost 90lbs he still behaves as a lap puppy laying his big head on my lap asking to get pet.

So for his birthday I wanted to make him something special to show him how much i loved him. When we were training Appa he would get peanut butter in one of those Kong toys so it would keep him occupied and entertained for hours. I think peanut butter is any dogs favorite treat, Appa also likes salmon but I don’t think a salmon cake sounds tasty. I wanted this cake to be something good the whole family can enjoy especially our furry members.

The hard part about making a cake for your dog is ensuring that you don’t put anything in it that will upset their tummies. The first time I made the cake it was a trial and error, I tried using no sweetener and that was terrible. I tried using bananas instead of eggs but it was too dense. There was a lot that went into the development of this cake. Unless your dog enjoys brushing their teeth you have to be conscious of how much sweetener you put it in it. Many people don’t realize that dogs can also form cavities, plaque and gum disease so it’s best to avoid feeding them things high in sugar. Not only that but sugar can also lead to obesity, fat dogs are cute but it’s not good for them or for your wallet once the vet bills come around.

The recipe for this cake is a modified vanilla sponge. For it I typically start by separating my room temperature eggs and whipping the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. By whipping the whites you are end up with a light and fluffy cake at the end instead of the dense bricks of bread. In a large bowl you want to cream your butter and sugar. For this doggie cake I halved the sugar content and also use half peanut butter and half butter as a the base of the cake. You’ll whip the sugar, peanut butter and butter until everything is nice and creamy. Add your egg yolks and vanilla, whip for another minute or two until the mixture is creamy again.

To your egg and butter mixture you will alternate adding your dry and wet ingredients. So in a separate bowl sift together your baking powder, flour, and salt. Then add about a third of the flour to the mixture and slowly add half the milk. Continue alternating adding ingredients until everything comes together. It should look nice creamy again. It might be a little thick but thats okay because we are going to lighten it up by folding in the egg whites. To this batter you’ll fold in the egg whites making sure not to overmix to avoid taking out the air of the eggs. Once that’s done pour your batter into a butter and floured cake pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out dry.

Once your cake is done you want to let it stand and cool. You should always cool your cake before frosting otherwise the buttercream will go all over the place and you’ll have one of my moments where you scream “THIS ISNT RIGHT!” and throw your cake across the kitchen as you break down in tears…

ANYWAY… cool your cake.

As your cake is cooling start working on your buttercream. To make a buttercream you start with simple ingredients like butter, cream and sugar… who would’ve thought? So to make this peanut butter buttercream you are going to cream 1 and 1/2 sticks of room temperate butter and a 1/4 cup of peanut butter. You beat it until its creamy and then you add a bit of vanilla, cream for another minute then add your sifted powdered sugar. It might look a little grainy but then slowly add your heavy cream until you get your desired creamy consistency. To add a bit of decoration I cut up pie crust into doggie treat shapes and the number 5. Brush them with some heavy cream or egg white and sprinkle a little bit of sugar. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Decorate your cake however you please and you’re done!

Doggie Birthday Cake

Serves 8-10

Cake:

2 eggs, separated

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Buttercream:

1 1/2 (3/4 cup) sticks of butter, room temperature

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer at high speed beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set whites aside. Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugar. Beat until creamy and add egg yolks and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients.

Fold in egg whites and pour into floured and buttered cake pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool Cake.

In mixer at medium speed beat butter and peanut butter until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat for another minute. Add sifted powdered sugar to creamed butter and turn to low speed. This will prevent sugar going everywhere. Slowly increase speed to medium speed and beat until grainy consistency forms. slowly add heavy cream and beat until creamy smooth texture forms.

Decorate cooled cake to preference.

Voila!