These pupcakes were a real hit the other day at a three-year-old’s birthday bash. Slathered in loads of frosting and decorated with candy toppings, they ensured that no child’s face left the party pristine.

Pupcake is not actually a term coined by me (unlike the portmanteau word cupkie – a cupcake topped with a cookie – a trend that inexplicably has yet to sweep the nation).

I was unable to track down the origin of the word pupcake. However, much to my surprise, it does not refer to a cupcake in the shape of a dog. Rather, it is used to describe cupcakes baked specifically for dogs. Apparently, this is not some esoteric craze that I dug out of a corner of the Internet. It seems that many people truly bake cakes for their dogs’ birthdays or other special occasions:

“When it’s time to celebrate, make sure your pup doesn’t feel left out, by making or buying her one of these deliciously dog-friendly pupcakes! These 10 tasty baked goods look and sound so yummy, you’ll be tempted to take a bite, yourself!” There is even a pupcake cake mix for sale. Puzzling to me is that the most popular pupcake flavour by far seems to be banana and peanut butter. Who determined that dogs would prefer that over say, beef?

And now you know what to get the dog that has everything.

However, if you’re not actually looking to fatten up your pet but instead are simply a dog lover, these cupcakes are definitely for you. Happily there are many breeds of dog so the cupcake possibilities are nearly endless. Not being a dog connoisseur myself, I can’t exactly tell you which breed of dogs are featured here, but I’m pretty sure they do exist in nature. And not one three-year-old objected so I know I must have done something right.