Liver cake recipe for dogs!
Homemade liver cake recipe.
For this liver cake recipe I make the mixture in 2 batches cause it would be a bit too much for my hand blender to try to blend all at once but if you have a powerful blender then you can do it all in one go. It’s a very simple recipe and if you can’t get liver you can try other meats, like minced beef, kidney, heart or even tuna! Once cooked put it in the freezer until needed. No need to defrost, there’s very little water content so can be eaten by your dog straight away.
Let’s make liver cake!
Let’s start with the ingredients. (click pics to enlarge)
Ingredients:
1kg of liver
4 Eggs
400g Flour
Method:
Blend half the liver (500g) 2 eggs and a splash of milk.
It should look a bit like a smoothie once done.
Add half the flour (about 200g)
Mix flour with a fork until it’s a thick sticky goo. You can add a bit more flour if it’s not thick enough.
You can line a baking tray with tin foil (you really don’t have too) and add a little oil on top of the tray. Pre-heat oven to 150c.
Empty mix onto tray and repeat process with other half of the ingredients adding that to the tray aswell.
Make sure it’s all level and even. Should now look a bit like this.
Put tray in oven and cook for about 1hr 30 mins – 2hrs.
Right, it should now be cooked. Yummy!
It’s easier to cut while it’s still warm.
Cut into squares and once cooled freeze for when you need them.
If your dog is like mine, she will have watched you the entire time.
Try our homemade dog biscuit recipe here!
Remember to share with your friends ↓
Hi, I was looking for a recipe for my dog’s birthday. i’m going to make your cake for him and his friends. I hope my result will look as nice as your cake. Your last sentence about the dog watching you the whole time, made me laugh. Pretty shure its going to be the same here!
I can only get cow’s liver, is that ok to use?
Hi Niki. Any liver will do. I’m sure you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make and your dogs will love it!!
Hi, This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to make it for my dogs! I have a question though… you say to freeze once cooled, but how long will they last without being frozen?? My reason for asking is because I want to make and sell some doggie treats for a charity event and want to be able tell my customers how to store them. Please help!! x
In the fridge they should last about 5 days pretty easily…probably a bit longer. In the freezer as long as it’s put in fresh it will last months and months and months! Been told this by a canine dietician!
Hi, I like your style it’s my dogs b day and they love it thx:-)
Thanks for letting me know I appreciate it!
You say put in the oven but what kind of temperature are we talking about and if I am putting it in a round cake tin what diameter should it have?
Hi Kate,
Pic 8, temp 150c. The smaller the size the quicker it will cook, you should just keep an eye on it. For example the tray size above will take about 1hr 30 mins – 2 hours but a cupcake size will take around 40 mins.
Thanks Jamie, thats a real help! I’m sure my dog will love this recipe and will be watching me the whole time!
Thanks for the recipe!! I have 6 dogs so I can cut up and put the whole cake in a freezer bag and put in the refrigerator and it lasts me about a week. They love it and all hang out in the kitchen while I’m making it. Doesn’t cost much to make and is very easy.
Thanks for your reply, Robin! It’s great how easy it is to make! I love the fact the you can chuck it all together, bake it and the dogs will always love it!
I have a little yorkie who suffers badly with constipation .i was told to use this and I put mine in little cup cakes and she loves them. It is also helping her .
That’s great that she likes them and they are helping her! Liver is a natural laxative!
This recipe is fab, I have a german shepherd who is in no way food oriented, so sometimes can make training harder work……except when it comes to this liver cake. she will (literally) do anythng for this. Thank you very much.
Thansk Nikki! All dogs seem to love this recipe! I once sold it at a gala day and a black Labrador dragged it’s owner to my stall!
Hi Jamie
Fab recipe! My Dog loves it. I’m making one today for her birthday. I often add a clove of garlic to the mixture the smellier the better for her. Works wonders as training treats.
Hi Matt! Thanks for the tip! Might try adding garlic next time I make it! Hope your dog has a great birthday!
Garlic is toxic for dogs!!
Thanks for your comment Dan. I’m aware that there is a lot of pro/against arguments for garlic and people should do their own research first before deciding if they should feed it to your dog or not. I’m quite happy to use it.
Is Garlic Good or Bad for Dogs?
Is Garlic Good or Bad for Dogs 2?
Hi…any idea how I can preserve liver cupcakes for atleast a week w/o freezing them?
I suppose you’d really want to dry them out if you want them to last longer – so I’d suggest a longer cook at a lower temp.
Hi, Can you use any flour? or does it have to be either self raising, or plain? thanks!
I used wholemeal flour, but I’m sure any flour would do. I personally wouldn’t use self raising as I like it to be quite dense and heavy. But it doesn’t really matter…the dog won’t mind!
Ok, Thankyou!
Thank you for sharing! What a great recipe! I just now baked it for my dog’s birthday cake. He will not stay away from the oven–he has been sniffing for the source of the yum for over an hour now!!! I used kidney and calves liver combined, and added a tiny pinch of garlic powder. I also made “frosting” to pipe on at party time— plain greek yogurt, a bit of Neufchâtel, and a bit of grated parmesan.
Wow! please take some pics! Sounds doggy-licous!
A friend who runs puppy training classes introduced Bertie to the delights of liver cake—brilliant training tempter! Now I can make some from your recipe so I’m off to stock up with liver. THANK YOU Jamie, Bertie and Charlie will be overjoyed!
Your welcome Sonia!
Hi have been looking for this recipe for ages as my mums dog only eats these treats!! He will be very happy when I go over mums to make some!!!
Thanks Gemma!
Sounds great but my German shepherd pup is 10 weeks old, is he too young for this ?
I’d say he probably is a bit young to be eating offal. Liver is a natural laxative too so it’ll just come back out the other end…wait a while and try using a different meat eg tuna.
Hi
Jamie! Its my dogs 8th birthday today and I’m going to bake this cake for him, it sounds awesome and I’m sure he’ll love it 
Hey Beverlene! I hope your doggy has a lovely birthday!
Hi Jamie, my friends and I have been looking for a this recipe for a while, I was wanting to share it to my facebook page, if that’s ok.
Hi June!
Of course u can share it (and anything else on website)
Hi Jamie,
I made a liver cake with a similar recipe a while ago for my assistance dog from dogs for the disabled. She is allergic to dairy and beef so it’s not always easy to get treats for her to use whilst training. The other recipe said to use milk or water so I used water. It worked out fine and my dog loved it but it didn’t freeze well. She is ok with eggs as it is only cows dairy that she has an allergy to, do you think it would be ok to not put water or milk in and just have eggs will that make it freeze better?
Thanks
Annie
Hi Annie! Thanks for leaving a comment. In what way did it not freeze well?
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Made a batch for the in laws Bernese mountain dog for her birthday. She loved it! I was her best friend all day after a few bites! One very happy doggy! Will be making more for our puppy when he is a little older and able to stomach liver. Do you have any recipes for puppy training tib bits suitable for 8-16 weeks? Many thanks
Hi Charlotte! Glad the liver cake went down well with the Bernese mountain dog. Try using minced meet (beef/chicken) or tuna loaf until your pup grows up a little..
hi do you have to use selfraising flour?? i only use natural spelt flour!!
Hi gary! The natural spelt flour will be just fine. Let us know how you get on!
I was given some advise to make liver cake as a treat for my 11 month old Beagle…….little lady has followed me around begging for more
can’t wait to see how she reacts to her training tomorrow . THANK YOU for a really easy recipe .
HI I’ve been making this recipe for 6 months now and have to say its my Lab x GSD’s favourite treat. we do lots of formal training and this is the top treat for difficult or new “tricks”, but then she is very food orientated, cheese and apple being her other favourites! Now we have a rescue border collie who is ball not food obsessed and this still comes out top, so thankyou for posting it! PS cow/ox liver is a nightmare to blend, lamb is much easier! I also only use standard plain flour.
Hi Lisa! Thanks for the comment! I’ve just got a hand blender and blending liver practically fries the motor. Thanks for the tips about the lamb liver, I’ll try that next time!
please can you help me I’m Making cup cakes how long do I cook for.
Hi Jean!
For these liver cupcakes I made (http://www.bdws.co.uk/2011/11/06/homemade-liver-cupcakes/) I cooked them for 40 mins! Good luck!
What a terrific web site! Here’s another take on your liver cake. NZ lambs’ liver is cheaper than UK. I bought a 400g pkt today in Sainsburys for.99p. It also seems to cook much quicker:
Dormy’s lambs’ liver dog treats
500g (NZ-cheaper) lambs liver
3 large eggs
500g SR Flour
600ml water
Optional
Pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic grated
1 ts dried herbs
Liquidise liver. Add eggs, continue liquidising until smooth. Add garlic, salt or herbs. With a metal spoon stir in all the flour alternating with water. Mix until smooth.
Pour into greased tin* and cook in 180° preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then test with metal skewer which should come out clean. Turn out whilst still hot onto rack and leave to cool. Cut up into 3cm pieces and freeze in plastic bags
*I use a 35cm square pyrex dish. I don’t bother to line it with anything
———————————
Dormy is a very sprightly 91 year old who has kept and shown dogs for years. She says that if you put some cubes of this in your pocket whilst showing your dog. It is guaranteed that its attention is solely on your pocket and nothing else. Dogs love it.
Hi Frances!
Thanks very much for your detailed comment! My local supermarket does sell NZ liver so I’ll give it a try!
My Golden Cocker Spaniel, Gabby, suffers from chronic colitis. I have switched her onto the BARF diet and she’s doing extremely well. You mention that liver acts as a laxative (which is an obvious concern to me!); do you think the liver cake will adversely affect her?
I think this is something that maybe a vet would be better with advising. For me, I’d be more concerned about the flour than the liver and would just bake the liver on it’s own and like with all dogs just a few small treats to begin with to let their body get used to it.
http://www.bdws.co.uk/2011/05/08/homemade-liver-treat-recipe/
I would just like to say thank you for this very simple and easy to follow recipe, I was going to buy some liver cake online then I found your recipe and noticed how easy it seemed so I thought I would give it go as my boxer will be 1 tomorrow. This made a huge batch and I have put some in the freezer for recall training that we will be doing over the next few weeks. There was not much of a smell until it came out the oven but it disappeared rather quickly once the window was open a little, all in all I will definitely be using this recipe again and I have already recommended it to some friends and family. Thanks again.
Thanks Paula! I’m really pleased it’s worked out well. There’s not really much to it and dog’s love it!
I have just made a half batch, and it looks really good. My lurcher Babs really liked it, and she is not usually bothered by food/treats
Hey Jenny! I’m glad Babs loves it…it’s such a popular recipe!
Just made this as it’s one of my three Labradors birthday this Friday. The youngest just did her first two paws up balance beg she was so impressed with it
Defo will be making this again and adding a few herbs and garlic… I cannot bear liver but even I thought it smelt quite nice!
Thanks Jules! The whole blended offal takes a bit of getting used to but it’s worth it!
I cooked this today for my 6 month old cocker, Coda and he is absolutely delighted
I’m an almost vegetarian so dealing with the liver was a little gross, and I don’t like cooking so this was really going out on a limb.. But it was so worth it! Cheap and easy recipe that I will def. do again
Hi Louise!
I’m very impressed you managed to stomach the liver considering your a veggie! Coda obviously has a very devoted owner!
BTW, I love cockers…best overall family pet you can get, imo!
Just made next batch of your recipe – to freeze. Very successful training aid for my whippet puppy – now 12 months old. Have added some minced raw lamb/mutton to this batch – so will see how that is.
In a 2-door AGA – I put half the above recipe quantities into the smaller roasting tin, and it takes about 2 3/4 hrs. in the lower, simmering over. I don’t enjoy the washing-up of the food processor afterwards!!
Thanks for your comments Sue!
I’ve always wanted an AGA, I’m so jealous! I have a wood burning stove and sometimes I cook the dogs dinner on it!
Washing up blended liver is pretty nasty but thankfully by bro does it!
We are making our second batch now. Muffin the terrier’s training has been much smoother with Liver cake treats to hand. She loves it!!
Thanks Fiona! Am glad Muffin enjoy’s it!
Hi Jamie, I want to try and make this for my dog but I am really squeemish when it comes to things like offal, would it work with minced beef or chicken?
Also Jamie, would it be ok if I used whipped cream cheese for frosting?
Hi Cara!
Yeah, minced meat, tuna, sardines should all work fine, i’ve never tried anything except tuna so let me know how it goes. But I’d consider trying liver just to see if you can handle it and also cause it’s really quite cheap.
Cream cheese frosting sounds delicous!
Thanks Jamie!
An almost identical recipe was given to me by a friend who took her puppy to training classes. I’ve made it several times and it’s a winner with all dogs. I wasn’t too keen on using white flour, so tried 1/3rd rice flour (because it’s expensive) AND 2/3 rolled oats. Works perfectly. I’m going to try adding herbs like parsley or sage to next batch.
Thanks Ronnie, I like the idea of the rolled oats and will give it a try next time I make it!
A woman on the beach gave me a very similar recipe, the only real differences being that i use a really nutty wholemeal flour,(the kind used for making rustic “farmhouse” style bread), a few cloves of garlic but also a few big dollops of peanut butter!! I’ve had no complaints from my three border terriers!!
Sounds great, Guy! I like the sound of the nutty wholemeal flour and peanut butter. Garlic is a very popular addition to liver cake and while I’ve never tried it I do add it to my dog’s homemade dog food!
I was sure dogs couldn’t have flour?
Hi Margaret. If you’d rather not use wheat flour you could replace it with a 50/50 combination of coconut flour and corn flour. But I’d add at least an extra egg and you might also need a little more milk.
Hi
A friend of mine makes a similar cake to this. What age is it suitable for? I have a 10 week old Golden retriever who is starting training in a month or so & wondered if now or then would be too early to give it to him??
Thanks for your help
Hi Carla! I’d wait until your pup got a little bit older before you started feeding offal. In the meantime try replacing the liver with Tuna and you’ll find it’ll work with great success!
I have a black lab and a staffy. It’s my labs 13th birthday tomorrow and i’m gonna make your cake. I’ll let you know what she thinks. I’m sure she’ll love it as in true lab style she is a greedy guts and she loves liver
Hi Rebecca!
A big happy birthday to you Lab! I hope she has a great day and am sure she’ll love your live cake!
It’s my eldest Labradors 10th birthday tomorrow so I have made this for him, he is very excited.
I filled it with cottage cheese and iced it with cream cheese.
So glad I found this recipe, thank you!
Thanks Linda! I’ve thought a lot about icing the cake. Would love to see a pic next time you make it! Give you Lab a big birthday kiss from me!
My dogs love this recipe.i add apples or carrots too.
Looks great! I’m baking this tonight for one of my retired greyhounds birthdays, problem is there’s two dogs..So is it better to double the mixture or bake two cakes? I guess doubling will take 3 hours to bake?
Cheers!
Hi Stu! This recipe makes one very large cake, enough for many dogs!
Made this for my dogs birthday, my two and all his doggie friends loved it!
changed the wheat flour for rice flour due to them not having wheat and left out milk but it still turned out great.
thanks for the great easy recipe but it has to be the most disgusting thing I’ve ever made lol
Thanks Margaret! It is very messy and a nightmare to clean the hand blender afterwards but at least it’s pretty simple!