How can I reuse or recycle old cake?
We’ve had an email from Suzanne, asking:
What do you do with dry cake that you can’t stand to throw out? Trifle? Or rebake by slicing in pan and covering with a lemon something or other?
My first thought was “old cake? there is no such thing! there is cake and eaten cake!” but as much of a cake-fiend as I am, there are times when I’m in the same situation as Suzanne – banana bread when it’s past its best or the remains of a giant panettone that will not disappear (I swear those things regrow in the tin).
So suggestions?
In the past, I’ve microwaved old but not very dry cake (or muffin) and covered it in a healthy portion of custard for a speedy pudding. But I also like a biscuit-y idea – re-baking it in slices, maybe with a sprinkling of icing sugar on the top when it’s done – but am not sure it would work for (originally) really moist cakes. Anyone out there a cake expert?
(Photo by marsy)
Old panetonne (I know what you mean about it expanding in the tin) makes the best bread-and-butter pudding ever, and I suppose you could do something similar with other sorts of cake. There are lots of old-fashioned recipes for using food left-overs that might be worth looking at – a lot of them use breadcrumbs, like Queen of Puddings. I’m sure you could tweak the recipes to use cake crumbs instead, perhaps by reducing the amount of sugar in the rest of the recipe.
I’m a cake decorator, and I have get a TON of old cake bits and pieces lying around.
You can slice them and rebake them into croutons or biscotti.
You can turn them into french toast.
You can blend them into crumbs for making pie and tart shells.
You can turn them into trifles, cover in ice cream or pudding, or even spray with a tiny bit of liquour to turn them into a dessert.
All else fails, compost it!
stuff them into a glass and pour on some milk!
YUM
(ok, perhaps its the wisconsin in me talking…)
but really, it is good.
I used to make real trifles on the rare occasions we had excess cake. But I got lazy/had a baby and now I throw together a faux trifle with sliced fruit, whipped cream, instant pudding, and maybe some sliced almonds.
It’s easy AND delightful.
use old cake in trifle, the kind with pudding and whipped cream and served in a glass. make it up and let it sit overnight …add kirsh or a liquour have some fun with old cake.
Break into crumbs, stir in some melted butter and press into a pie plate to make a pie crust. Depending on the flavour, it could be a crust for a cheesecake, custard flan, pumpkin pie, etc. If following a recipe, use one that calls for cookie crumbs for the crust, and just replace with cake crumbs.
Left-over cake can be sliced into smaller or individual portions, then wrapped and stored in the freezer. Remove from freezer about an hour before serving.
Something my mom used to do if we had a big cake that was going stale before we could finish it-use an apple.Cut an apple into 4 to 8 pieces,no need to peel,put it in the dish with the cake,and cover it for a few hours or overnight.The cake softens right back up.You could always compost the apple or feed it to the birds later.It works.I really like the baker’s suggestions about making biscotti with it;I’ll have to try that.
Make rumballs. Smash all the cake in the mixer, adding ingredients according to what kind of cake it is. (There are recipes, if you want more specific instructions.) If it’s a rich layer cake, add nothing; if it’s a stale sponge cake, mix up ingredients for a fattening chocolate cream. Add a bit of liquor (or don’t – we like it without).
When it’s all one mush, flatten to 1-2 cm and freeze. Cut into cubes. Roll each cube into a ball. (Refreeze to store well-nigh indefinitely.) Dip in melted chocolate; roll while drying to avoid a flat ‘base’. Drizzle with leftover melted chocolate for a still more elegant look. Beautiful and YUM.
(hope this post didn’t go up twice)
How does cake get old?
Idea 1
First crumble finely if chocolate just melt cooking chocolate ,add to cake till its enough that you can make round balls (playdough consistancy) then dip into melted chocolate and cool can roll in nuts as well befor chocolate hardens,if cake isnt chocolate then add cocoa powdeer first.or leave for marble effect.
also could use white chocolate if cake is vanilla.
Idea 2
If you can slice cake into 2 layers add cream and cherries from a jar in the middle of the layers,then prick many(15 or so) holes on the top of the cake then gently pour the syrup from the cherries over the top of the cake ,leave the cake for 15 mins or so for the syrup make the cake moist. now its a black forest cake
It’s been a long while since the post about making biscotti from leftover cake, but does anyone know how to do this?
From the cookbook Nancy Silverton’s Pastries from the La Brea Bakery, you will find a recipe for crumb biscotti. The recipe calls for cake crumbs, flour, a bit of sugar, a teeny bit of leavening – baking powder and baking soda, spices to up the flavor and eggs and a bit of melted butter to bind everything together. Form into a loaf but make sure to pack in tightly so there are no air pockets. Bake as you would biscotti – bake the loaf just until done and then slice into biscotti. Bake again, cut sides down in a slow oven 200 degrees or a bit higher, until dry, 20 min or so.
I want to know how to make a crumb cake using left over cake, like they do on Cake Boss. Any ideas/or recipes?