I can imagine the confusion in the eyes of my French Patisserie Chefs at Le Cordon Bleu when I decided to quit working in a Michelin-starred kitchen and use my baking skills to make delightful dog treats and cakes.
A lot of people have the idea of how difficult it is to work in the kitchen. Between working crazy hours and spending a lot of time standing next to an inferno of a kitchen grill, it can get stressful. The toughest part for me was dealing with the customers barging into the kitchens: requesting items that are not on the menu, complaining that the recipe isn’t how their grandma used to make or seeing if they can get a sneaky slice of the wedding cake before the bride and groom even had the chance to cut it. I decided to exchange complaining customers for the ones that still barge into the kitchen, but to wag their tails and drool all over the place instead.
Having had dogs in my life for the past 15 years meant a lot of birthdays to celebrate. It seemed like a lovely idea to get a doggy cupcake for the big day. The problem was that many dog cakes available for sale go the traditional cake way and mainly consist of flour, peanut butter, and oats. A pupcake or a treat made with such ingredients would be considered a complimentary dog food. * Something that can be fed alongside complete food, as it does not provide all the necessary nutrients. A complete dog food has to be nutritionally balanced and consist mainly of protein, followed by fats and fibre that will come from fruit, vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Vitamins and minerals are also added to complete the perfect nutritional mix.
We found out that some of our picky eaters would turn their nose up at the shop bought pupcakes. This one is different. Think meatloaf meets birthday cake.
Unlike traditional cake making where all the ingredients are perfectly balanced and measured with precision scales, this pupcake is like Frankenstein’s creature, where all the dogs’ favourite flavours come together in one. It is however closer to a complete food rather than complimentary food. The main ingredient in the recipe is the meat, making it protein rich as well as adding fats, with fruits and vegetables providing the necessary fibre and vitamins.
Choosing a meat base for the pupcake is down to your pooch’s preference. I like a mix of beef and turkey. Try not to add anything too fatty, like 20% plus fat, otherwise the pupcake comes out very oily and greasy looking. Adding high fat content mince would cause an imbalance in the nutritional breakdown. Your mince of choice is mixed with grated fruits and veg. Some of my favourites to use are: carrots, courgettes, apples and pears. A few spoons of oats and an egg holds it all together and we are ready for the oven.
For decorating the finished pupcake, you can use: peanut butter, Greek yogurt, a bit of pate, hams and cold cuts of meats.
Ingredients:
- 200 grams mince
- 150 grams grated fruit and veg 1 egg
- 2-4 tbsp oats
Mix everything thoroughly. I often line the base of the cake pan with parchment paper, to make it easier to remove from the pan when cooked. However, it is not essential as the mixture will shrink as you bake it, so should remove easily.
Compact the pupcake mixture into the cake pan. Make sure it’s packed well and make it as even as possible on the top.
