The great thing about living in a city like Milan (as opposed to say, Sydney) is that there are cute pups everywhere - at restaurants, bars, in shops, chilling, enjoying aperitivo hour and just living life - sometimes I think these dogs even have a better life than me.
Not allowed to have a furry friend of my own (yet), I still get to reap some benefits thanks to a friend who travels often for work. I GET TO DOGSIT HER PUG!
I go around like that cool aunt who treats her nephews to everything (because it's all about fun with no actual parent responsibilities). We go to the bar in the morning to get a cappuccino and a brioche, so she can pick through all the crumbs fallen from the morning brioche rush hour (the best hour). I take her to aperitivo sessions with my friends on the canal so she can steal all the attention of passerby (it's so Milanese).
And, we do photoshoots. With dog-friendly cupcakes, aka pupcakes.
That's the look of one satisfied pug.
Puno loves carrots, so I made some simple carrot cupcakes for her. I know that we are talking about a pug, and pugs have fantastic appetites, but honestly, she really did love them.
How to make carrot pupcakes
This is a really simple recipe with little that can go wrong. Making these pupcakes is simply a matter of grating the carrots, mashing the banana, and mixing everything together.
It's easy because you don't have to worry about the usual rules in cake making, such as not over-mixing the batter to keep a tender crumb - your dog won't yell at you because the cakes weren't soft and fluffy. In any case, dogs like chewy textures so that should give you extra comfort.
In terms of the ingredients, I checked to make sure Puno wasn't allergic to any of them and they should be ok for your dog too. Do make sure, however, to double-check your own dog's specific requirements.
Carrot and Banana Pup Cakes Recipe
Makes 12 pup cakes
Update April 2020: I tried making the recipe without the spices (cinnamon, allspice, ginger) and tested it on a very picky cocker spaniel and he gobbled it down straight away. So that's an option. Easily halve the recipe to make 6, and in this case, instead of splitting the egg, just add the egg yolk instead. They should come out just fine.
Ingredients
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 carrot, grated
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
3 cups of water
4 cups whole wheat flour or plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)
1 teaspoon powdered ginger (optional)
Optional: cream cheese for the frosting
Method
1. Set your oven to 180 degrees. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, carrot, egg and honey. Whisk to combine.
3. In another bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Add this to the wet mixture, stirring with a spatula until no dry bits can be seen.
4. Use a spoon to scoop the mixture into the muffin holes, filling up to about three-quarters of each hole.
5. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until the cupcakes are firm and dry to the touch.
6. Take them out, let them cool completely on a wire rack.
7. Optional: smear a bit of cream cheese on top or just add some grated carrot.
Note that these are very low in sugar and hardly contain any fat so they won't keep as long as regular cupcakes. Your best bet is to keep them in the fridge to serve for a maximum of 2 days. Or just hold a pug party and hand them all out.
