Recipe: Maple-Carrot “Pupcakes”

“Be a cupcake in a world full of muffins.” – Anonymous

Bonjour!

In honor of Le Chien‘s second birthday, I decided to continue my foray into pet-friendly baking. As summer rolls into fall, I feel the call to bake even more acutely than normal. Baking brings me a lot of pleasure and honors my commitment to joyful living every day.

These cupcakes are flavored with maple syrup, peanut butter, and pumpkin puree. They are a bit bland for human taste buds, but were délicieux to the hound. He especially liked the new dog treat – an organic biscuit from Wagatha’s in Vermont – on top!

Les Ingrédients

• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1 egg (organic)
• 1 T. maple syrup (organic)
• 1 T. peanut butter (organic)
• 1/2 c. pumpkin puree (organic)
• 1/2 c. finely shredded or chopped carrot
• 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt

La Recette

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare muffin tin with liners or cooking spray.
• Sift flour and baking powder together in medium mixing bowl.
• Add egg and stir to combine.
• Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Let batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.
• Bake cupcakes for 20 minutes and check with cake tester or toothpick. (I added 2 more minutes to the bake time, but every oven is different!)
• Cool cupcakes on wire rack. Top with your pup’s favorite treat, a small squirt of whipped cream, or leave plain.
• Yield: 6 regular cupcakes or 12-15 mini cupcakes.

Tasting Notes

• Maple Syrup. This recipe calls for very little maple syrup, which does not have as much sugar as honey but should still be used sparingly.
• Pumpkin. Pumpkin is full of fiber and vitamin A, both excellent for a dog’s digestion and diet, respectively. Check out my recipe for Pumpkin Dog Treats!
• Peanut Butter. Dogs love peanut butter. That is all. I would consider frosting these cupcakes with some smooth or chunky peanut butter on the next go-round.
• Organic Ingredients. I recently started incorporating les ingrédients biologiques in my low-FODMAP diet, and hence that of my dog. I like knowing our food has less junk in and on it.
• Bake Time. I baked the cupcakes for 20 minutes and then added 2. The cakes are dense and firm and do not brown much on top. I recommend testing with a cake tester or toothpick.
• Final Product. After baking, the cupcakes did not rise much, if at all. Because Le Chien is a dachshund, one cake is really too large to give him at once (though he would beg to differ, bien sûr). Next time, I will try making mini cupcakes, which should be more size-appropriate.

What do you like to bake or cook for your pet?

Merci for reading and please subscribe and share!

Amitiés,

Katie