Who doesn’t love cupcakes? Finally the cupcake has made a smashing comeback and now they have gone to the dogs. Raleigh’s premiere place to find cute cupcakes for dogs is the Bone Appetit Bakery. Bone Appetit Bakery's website states they are currently not shipping their cupcakes due to hot weather so why not make your own?

Baking is therapeutic and I was up for a challenge to make a cute and tasty cupcake my canine-targeted audience would love. The experimentation goal was a sweet success. Here is the step-by-step spell to conjure great carob (a safe, chocolate alternative for dogs) and carrot ‘pupcakes’:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (Optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup carob chips (Easily available at your local health food store)

Directions:

• Mix dry ingredients.
• Cream together the butter, oil, eggs and optional vanilla.
• Stir in carrots and carobs.
• Pour batter into a muffin tin lined with paper cups. Bake for around 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Baking time may vary in your oven.

Frosting: 8oz. softened cream cheese and 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cupcake batter

Once your dry and wet ingredients have been combined, mix the batter until it has the consistancy of a thick dough, like muffin or dense cake. Use a thick spatula or get right in with your hands to mix; smooshing batter is great stress relief!

Smells good

Place the batter mixture into a lined muffin tin and bake about 35 minutes (depending on oven) at 350 degrees F. Use the toothpick test after 30 minutes to check doneness.

Your cupcakes should come out firm and your paper liner will be oliy - do not worry. Remove greased liners and replace with fresh paper. Double thickness works best, and rest the cupcakes on a wire baking rack until completely cooled before frosting.

Almost finished

Now for the fun part! To make the frosting, use one 8oz. package of whipped low-fat cream cheese and 1 tsp. vanilla extract added to a large mixing bowl. Allow mixed frosting to sit until room tempurate or microwave cream cheese and vanilla for 10-15 seconds - just until warm enough to smooth over cupcakes. Remember, not too hot or the frosting will be runny. If the frosting is too pliable, return it to the refridgerator for 10 to 15 minutes and try spreading again.

Return the frosted cupcakes to the refridgerator for 20 minutes to harden. It is much easier to decorate the cupcakes when the frosting is cold and stiff.

Completed "pupcake"

While any frosting can be used to decorate, the final cupcakes shown are decorated with carob chips melted down in a double boiler until smooth. The melted carob is then placed into the corner of a Ziploc bag made into a pastry bag. DO NOT USE REAL CHOCOLATE when baking for your pets.

Cool final product to set icing and pass them out to your favorite pooch.

Catch me on Twitter: