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Homemade Birdseed Cakes with You Do It Suet

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Update March 2026: It appears that this company is no longer operating and this handy silicone mold to make homemade birdseed cakes is no longer available. However I’ve left the recipes here that I first wrote about in 2017. You could still make these homemade individual birdseed cakes by using some other small square mold (such as a plastic storage container) or by simply saving the packaging from a store-bought birdseed cake to re-use as a mold.

You can also try my birdseed cake recipe that makes 4 cakes.

How to make homemade birdseed cakes using the You Do It Suet mold

This silicone mold was designed for mixing your cakes directly into the mold, thus giving you the ability to use hot grease drippings from browning meat. However you can still use these recipes and just mix them in a mixing bowl instead and then put the mixture into whatever you are using for your substitute mold. If you don’t have meat drippings, you can use 1/3 cup of melted lard in any of these three recipes too. The first recipe idea is super simple – just two ingredients!

Idea #1: DIY Quick Birdseed Cake

  • About 1¼ cups Birdseed
  • Drippings from one pound of 80/20 ground beef (about 6 tablespoons)- OR – 1/3 cup melted Lard

Combine all ingredients and spread into your mold. Place in the freezer until set.

making a homemade birdseed cake

In addition to the birdseed, this next recipe adds in some peanut butter and raisins that are favorites of the birds too.

Idea #2: DIY Peanut Butter & Raisin Birdseed Cake

  • 1/2 cup Birdseed
  • 1/4 cup Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
  • 3 tablespoons Cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon Raisins
  • 3 tablespoons Peanut Butter
  • Drippings from one pound of 80/20 ground beef (about 6 tablespoons)- OR – 1/3 cup melted Lard

Combine all ingredients and spread into your mold. Place in the freezer until set.

How to make homemade birdseed cakes using the You Do It Suet mold

And finally, here’s an idea that’s uses dried cranberries. Dried fruit is always a fun addition to birdseed cakes that helps to attract birds.

Idea #3: DIY Cranberry Birdseed Cake

  • 3/4 cup Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
  • 1/4 cup Birdseed
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 tablespoons cornmeal
  • Drippings from one pound of 80/20 ground beef (about 6 tablespoons)- OR – 1/3 cup melted Lard

Combine all ingredients and spread into your mold. Place in the freezer until set.

A birdfeeder in a tree with a homemade birdseed cake

More Ideas for DIY Birdseed Cakes:

A birdfeeder in a tree with a homemade birdseed cake
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Individual Size Birdseed Cake Recipes

Each of these recipes is designed to make a single birdseed cake of the same size as the store-bought cakes. You can save the packaging from a store-bought cake as your mold, or perhaps find another container (such as a square plastic storage container) that is an appropriate size.
Yield: 1 birdseed cake
Author: Beverly

Equipment:

  • Mixing Bowl
  • Stirring Utensil
  • Something to use as a birdseed cake mold

Materials:

Idea #1: Quick Birdseed Cake

  • 1-1/4 cups birdseed
  • 1/3 cup melted lard (or about 6 tablespoons of meat drippings)

Idea #2: Peanut Butter & Raisin Birdseed Cake

  • 1/2 cup birdseed
  • 1/4 cup black oil sunflower seeds
  • 3 tablespoons cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon raisins
  • 3 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup melted lard (or about 6 tablespoons of meat drippings)

Idea #3: Cranberry Birdseed Cake

  • 3/4 cup black oil sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup birdseed
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 3 tablespoons cornmeal
  • 1/3 cup melted lard (or about 6 tablespoons of meat drippings)

Instructions:

  • Choose one of the three recipes above. Combine all the dry ingredients for that recipe in a mixing bowl.
  • Stir in the melted lard (or the meat drippings) until everything is well mixed.
  • Spread into something you can use as a mold for your birdseed cakes (such as the saved packaging from a store-bought cake, or a small square plastic storage container).
  • Place in the freezer until set (probably about an hour).

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14 Comments

  1. I just found your site. I make my own suet very similar to the first recipe you posted. The awful part was stuffing the mix into the suet holder, a very messy ordeal. I will order the mold. Thanks, Mary T.

    Reply

  2. Thank You for sharing this!! Your recipes are the only ones of many I’ve tried, that our feathered friends LOVE!! I DIY anything I can, so I truly appreciate your time and effort to share with us 🙂

    Reply

  3. Bev, thanks so much for all you have shared with me. I have saved your posts on my Pinetrest…can’t wait to try them. I have two jars of peanut butter, have already bought the lard plus I have pecans that my late husband pealed and think the birds will enjoy them. I have one suet container to hang outside and need to order more.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Shirley

    Reply

    1. You can still purchase these molds on the You Do It Suet site, but if you want to be frugal, you can always make the mixture in a mixing bowl and then mold it in a square tupperware, or save the plastic wrapper that the store bought cakes come in to re-use as a mold.

      Reply

  9. I feed my Feathered friends all year around also. But never thought to make these what a great idea thank you for sharing!!

    Reply

    1. I’ve really come to like that I can make just one square at a time with the You Do It Suet. It’s a nice way to try different combinations.

      Reply