What to do with cake trimmings?

July 4, 2012 4:05 PM

What to do with excess cake?

I just finished making this magnificent dessert. But, as you can see, it generates a lot of leftover cake, in some odd pieces. I could make a negative version, but I wanted to know if anyone else had ideas. Recipe says to freeze and save, but for what?

my first plan: make a lemon curd with the excess egg yolks and some other things I have around and pour it over the top, enjoy.

posted by the man of twists and turns to food & drink (26 answers total)

Make cake pops.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 4:09 PM on July 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Freeze it and save it for a cake emergency. Like those days when you say to yourself, "I want cake!" But there's none in the house. What are you going to do at that point, wiseguy? Bake? Or will you be prepared for a cake emergency?
posted by pickypicky at 4:10 PM on July 4, 2012 [29 favorites]

Trifle? There are a million recipes for trifles out there; one of my aunts makes a really simple one -- jam, a little bit of whatever type of liquor she's in the mood for (chambord, brandy, whatever) and whipped cream between layers of cake.
posted by shamash at 4:12 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Do you have any cookie cutters (or even glasses) to hand? You can cut .5 to 1 inch cake rounds and freeze them. They make an excellent base for strawberries and whipped cream, or ice cream and chocolate sauce.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:12 PM on July 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Cube your cake into about 1 inch pieces. Toss with sugar and then brown lightly under the broiler, tossing it periodically to get all sides. Serve with delightful things to dip it in -- lemon curd, yes, good. Also whip cream, fruit sauces, caramel, etc.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:13 PM on July 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

I had a hard time putting myself in the place of someone who even believe in the concept of "excess cake".

But you could make bread pudding out of it, only, with cake.

Mmmm... cake.
posted by tel3path at 4:19 PM on July 4, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nthing trifle!
posted by mon-ma-tron at 4:27 PM on July 4, 2012

Seconding cake pops - they taste super-sweet and truffley, which seems like it would go best with that type of cake. I'd be leery of toasting or trifling a cake which had so much food coloring in it - IME, you can taste food coloring and need a lot of frosting to blend away the taste. Whereas I associate toasted cake pieces and trifle with really unadulterated, cakey cakes. Which should not be read to imply that I have any objection to cake pops. Mmm, cake pops.
posted by Frowner at 4:27 PM on July 4, 2012

I too am confused by all these creative suggestions. CRAM IT INTO YOUR MOUTH UNTIL THERE IS NONE LEFT. Lemon curd as needed.

The trifle idea is nice but involves more work than should be necessary to eat cake. I like the bread pudding idea, or even supremely decadent breakfast french toast. Or cut it into whimsical shapes and have a posh afternoon tea tomorrow.
posted by elizardbits at 4:28 PM on July 4, 2012 [4 favorites]

Freeze! CAKE EMERGENCIES ARE A REAL THING.
posted by spunweb at 4:32 PM on July 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Send it to ME!

I never ever have excess cake.

Except at my wedding, but the stupid caterers threw it away! I would have frozen it all.
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 4:39 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

There is no such thing as excess cake, just people not hungry enough right now. So, I'd say - just keep it in the fridge, you know you'll eat it sooner than you expect to.
posted by vidur at 4:44 PM on July 4, 2012

Also you could make a British flag version that your guests throw dramatically into a harbor made of pudding and then hungrily devour FOR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY.
posted by elizardbits at 4:45 PM on July 4, 2012 [11 favorites]

Lamingtons!
posted by hot soup girl at 4:56 PM on July 4, 2012

French toast it. Who cares if the pieces aren't uniform.
posted by phunniemee at 4:57 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, yes, trifle. I am not a big fan of trifle, but just for the record, traditional trifle is strictly sherry trifle. There are a zillion variations, calling for pound cake, medira cake, duncan Heinz yellow cake, whatever - your cake will be completely suitable. It is hard not to be fond of something that looks like this.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:16 PM on July 4, 2012

Bourbon balls!

My gf and I made a ton of these with cake trimmings I got from work a couple of Christmases ago. I'm not sure if this was the recipe we used, but if not, it was very similar. I wouldn't worry too much about precise measurements--the whole process is pretty forgiving. We made three versions: Yellow cake with rum and ground walnuts, chocolate cake with Kahlua, instant coffee and ground almonds and red velvet cake with pecans and bourbon. Some got rolled in powdered sugar and some in cocoa. They lasted (refrigerated) for a looooong time and improved with age.
posted by zorseshoes at 6:05 PM on July 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

a local store sells cupcake shakes, blend with ice-cream!
posted by Jayed at 7:11 PM on July 4, 2012

Take the cookie cutters and cut them into rounds, put buttercream in the middle of a couple and freeze in plastic containers. Great gifts/snacks.
posted by saul wright at 7:13 PM on July 4, 2012

Offer guests cake or death.

Most of them will chose cake.
posted by -harlequin- at 7:27 PM on July 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

What are you going to do at that point, wiseguy? Bake?

Well, yeah. I'd bake. But thanks for the suggestion.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:29 PM on July 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

You can also freeze cake if you're going to use it for bread pudding or trifle.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:58 PM on July 4, 2012

Yes, bourbon balls. Yum.
posted by radioamy at 10:34 PM on July 4, 2012

Also, bourbon ball's Caribbean cousin, the rum ball. My husband and I made these around Christmastime and got good and cake drunk on the second and third days of Christmas.
posted by monkey!knife!fight! at 3:39 AM on July 5, 2012

You, my friend, need to discover the pure and unbridled joy of cake soaked in your favorite milk and spooned up as breakfast. I prefer soy, but almond or good old cow work just fine.
posted by troublewithwolves at 4:37 PM on July 5, 2012

OK, I froze the trimmings, and will use them for future delicious desserts. Thanks, everyone!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:29 PM on July 5, 2012