Natural Carrot & Apple Pupcakes Recipe For Dogs

A delicious natural and vegetarian recipe, these carrot & apple pupcakes with cream cheese frosting are perfect for those special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or a tasty treat.

These cakes are a special treat. Fruit sugars (from the apple) are still sugars, and should not be consumed every day, but every now and again, it won't do any harm. Do feel free to cut the cakes into even smaller pieces if you like.

The carrot & apple pupcake recipe makes 24 mini pupcakes.

Ingredients for the cakes:

• A little oil, for greasing
• 200g buckwheat flour or brown rice flour
• 130g grated carrot
• 75g rolled oats
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 200g plain live yogurt
• 150g unsweetened applesauce*
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

*Either use bought applesauce  which contains no sugar or salt, or make your own.

Peel, core and chop about 300g cooking apples and place in a pan with a good splash of water. Cook over a medium heat with the lid on until the apples are cooked through and fluffy. If necessary, mash them lightly with a fork.

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 150g cream cheese
• 90g unsweetened applesauce*

To decorate the cakes:

• Flaxseeds, dehydrated slices of apple or carrot, finely chopped rosemary (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, Fan 160 degrees C, Gas 4. Lightly grease a 24 hole mini muffin tin.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, carrot, oats, flaxseeds and cinnamon, if using. In a jug, whisk together the yogurt, applesauce and eggs.
3. Gently and thoroughly mix the wet mixture into a dry mixture. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
4. When cool, prepare the frosting. In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and applesauce until well blended - if you would like it to be super smooth, whizz it in a blender or use a stick blender.
5. Smooth the frosting over the cupcakes. Sprinkle over some flaxseeds or rosemary to finish, or use a dehydrated apple or carrot slice if you would like. Any leftovers will freeze well for 4 months.

 Recipe by Debora Robertson

Book credit: Dogs' Dinners available on Amazon

A wonderful recipe book all about the healthy, happy way to feed your dog.