I hate wasting food, so even if I overbake something, I feel the need to use it. When I got a new oven, we went through a LOT of cake pops! The good news is that there are a bunch of recipes for that extra cake, even if it’s covered in frosting. From simple cake truffles to pound cake French toast and chocolate cake shakes (yes, really!), this list of 10 leftover cake recipes has everything you’ll need to use up every single crumb!
1. Birthday Cake Truffles
These are as good as they sound, and if you’ve ever been to Milk Bar, I know you’ve tried these and let out a little groan. The actual cake truffle here is a simple mix of leftover vanilla or Funfetti cake with vanilla frosting and a bit of extra milk for moisture. But it’s the cookie crumb that makes these pop! You’ll mix flour, sugar, and cornflour with melted butter, vanilla, and sprinkles and bake until lightly golden. I like to use an ice cream scoop to portion mine because it’s easy and mess-free. Once they’re rolled and chilled, you’ll just need to dip in melted white chocolate and roll in the cooled cookie crumbs.
2. Cake Scraps Fudgy Brownie Recipe
This recipe is baking magic at its finest! Seriously, you won’t believe how simple and delicious these brownies come out. Just blitz your leftover cake in a food processor until it’s nice and crumbly, then throw in the rest and blitz until smooth. It takes minutes, and you’ll be left with a thick and chocolatey batter that will bake into the fudgiest brownies ever! If you use chocolate cake scraps, it will be much deeper in flavor, but vanilla would work, too. Either way, adding in chocolate chips is a must.
3. Cake Crumb Pudding
Bread pudding is a sweet, dense, and tasty way to use up stale bread. But did you know it doesn’t just have to be bread? When I worked in a bakery, we would take all the leftovers (cake, donuts, pastries, and more) and add them to the mix. The different flavors and textures really made this simple little treat into something extra special. If you blitz the cake into crumbs, this will be very custard-like. If you like a bit more texture, try chopping the cake into crumbs and toasting some of it first. Don’t over-mix this, or you’ll lose any texture it has. I like mine with rum or tea-soaked raisins, too!
4. Cake Pops
Cake pops can be made using any kind of cake and frosting you might have leftover, provided the flavors work together, of course. I don’t think chocolate cake would work too well with lemon frosting. When making your mix, if the cake already has frosting, don’t add extra until you’ve broken it down to crumbs. You might find it’s moist enough. If you’re starting with just cake scraps, add the frosting a little at a time, as a super moist cake won’t need much. The idea is to add just enough so it will hold its shape as you scoop and roll. Too much, and you’ll be left with one (delicious) sticky mess. Again, use an ice cream scoop to ensure you get the same size balls and be sure to chill them/freeze them before dipping in melted chocolate.
5. Chocolate Cake Shake
I really enjoy a bit of texture in my milkshakes. Cookies and cream are a great example of that almost grainy texture from the blended Oreos. I know it doesn’t sound great, but if you’ve tried it, you’ll get what I mean. That said, this will also have a texture. It’s not quite as grainy, but it’s not smooth either, which I think makes it extra tasty! Be sure to add cake and frosting, so you get maximum flavor and feel free to use chocolate ice cream if you want it really rich.
6. Pound Cake French Toast
Just when you thought French toast couldn’t get any better, with this recipe, nobody has to know you’re having cake for breakfast! Unlike most French toast recipes, you don’t want to over-saturate your pound cake. It’s not as stable as bread, so it will break apart if you leave it for too long. A great way to ensure it holds its shape is to give it a light toasting before adding the custard. Alternatively, why not try a pound cake French toast casserole? Make the custard and pour it over your cake in a baking dish. Instead of leaving it overnight, just let it sit in the fridge for about an hour before baking.
7. Mango Trifle
Trifle is a layered dessert made using cake, custard/pudding, whipped cream, and usually a fruit layer. So, if you have some leftover vanilla cake, why not break it up and make this sunny little trifle? Since the cake is layered with pudding and cream, it doesn’t need to be neat, and if it has frosting, it will just add to the flavor. I think this would be extra tasty with coconut whipped cream and toasted coconut sprinkled over the top. Though it’s not essential, caramelizing your mangoes with a bit of brown sugar will elevate this to another level!
8. Grilled Pound Cake with Berries
I’ve mentioned toasting your leftover cake a couple of times in this post, but have you ever grilled cake before? If you’re already grilling meat and the BBQ is still hot, you’ll have to give this a go. Not only do the grill marks look amazing, but they add such a unique, smoky flavor to the buttery cake. If you pair it with grilled fruit, it’s even better!
9. Domino Cake
This is a very dense and fudgy cake scrap recipe. It’s pretty similar to a no-bake cake made using dates and nuts. The great part is, not only can you use chocolate or vanilla cake, but you can even throw in leftover cookies if you have them!
10. Lemon Raspberry Trifle Recipe
This quick trifle recipe needs just four ingredients: leftover white, vanilla, or lemon cake, lemon pudding, whipped cream, and fresh raspberries. Lemon cake works incredibly well here, but if you only have vanilla, you might want to make a quick batch of lemon curd to boost that zesty taste. If you have, say, a lemon and blueberry cake left, you could always swap out the raspberries for extra blueberries. Though the raspberries would make a great color contrast! Click on a star to rate it!
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