DIY Dog Birthday Cakelife magazine photographs

My daughter LOVES doggies!! So when it was time for her 2nd birthday I knew I wanted to throw her a girlie dog party! I looked and looked for a how to make a dog cake, but I couldn’t find it…. so I winged it. I turned out super cute so I decided to share with you step by step directions how to make your own Dog Cake =-) Enjoy!

First up, make 2 cake mixes (flavor of your choice) according to the package directions. You will want to fill a 10” round, 6” round, loaf pan, EXTRA loaf pan (just for eating). Bake according to box directions. Cool completely to ensure the cake doesn’t crumble when you cut it.
Note you will have slightly different bake times for each pan!

Using a sharp knife cut the cake as follows:

10” cake cut in half. Then cut 1-1.5” slice out of the cut side of each cake. This will become the ears and tail. Put up on the cut end side by side. Use frosting to “glue” pieces together. This is the dog’s body
6” cake cut in half and put up on the cut end side by side. Use frosting to “glue” pieces together. This is the dog’s head. Use a sharp knife to cut and half circle out of the top of the cake as shown above to make the dog’s face.
Loaf cake – Cut large loaf as seen above to make the 2 front and 2 rear paws. Cut a slope out of each paw to create the shape (seen in picture above)
Use the 1” slices of the 10” cut cake to make the ears (I added after the cake was frosted to give it more height & dimension) and along with the extra parts of the paw make the tail.

Frost the cake carefully with your favorite frosting. I used a homemade buttercream that I tinted/flavored with cocoa powder to get a nice soft brown. Add the ears and frost them as well. By waiting to add them you will create a more lifelike dog with space between his face & ears!

Now use a small straight tip to add the “fur” texture to the cake. I used the same homemade cocoa buttercream frosting. Pip short “hairs” all over the dog. You kind of have to eyeball this to make sure there are not bald spaced and that there is enough “hair” to create the effect.

Using fondant make the dog’s features: eyes, nose, tongue, bow, collar, and a bone. I use a homemade marshmallow fondant, but you can easily purchase it if you prefer. I tint mine with Wilton Gel food coloring. The colors are much truer, there is a bigger range of colors available, and it only takes a teeny bit to get even a dark black!