What to do with leftover cake

Whenever I make a cake I'm inevitably left with levelled tops or cut-offs from number or letter creations and they typically end up in the freezer awaiting a spark of inspiration.

My favourite thing to do is pop them into the now fondly anticipated CAKE TUBS which I post most weeks for between $5-$10.

That being said, there are lots of avenues to go down when it comes to leftover cake bits and here are some of my favourite ways to repurpose them and make something amazing:

Cake jars

An idea I nabbed from a fellow caker is these nifty cake jars. I grabbed up an armful of jars at my local bits and bobs store, gave them a thorough wash and then filled them with cake bits, frosting and sprinkles.

I love the idea of cake jars for party favours or for outside parties to give kids their own individual serve which they can close up when they've had enough and come back to later or just take home at the party's end without soggy napkins and ruined cake!

Cake cones

Oh so much fun! They look like ice cream but they're not! They're filled with cake bits and topped with buttercream and sprinkles! You can honestly do whatever you want with them and I for one have many ideas in my head just waiting to get coned!

I used a 1M piping tip to achieve that icing swirl on top for anyone who's wondering.

Cakesicles

These are the most technical of the options. For cakesicles you'll require a mold which you can get from most cake supply shops or online (I've added a couple of links to the one I've got and the one Amazon stocks but if you do a search on Google you'll find options local to you).

You'll also need popsicle sticks, chocolate and either powdered food colouring or oil colouring. Colour Mill is the brand I use. Then you'll combine your cake with either buttercream or ganache until it forms a kind of dough but not runny or it won't work. See below for directions to make them.

There are three steps: 1. Melt the chocolate and then paint the inside of your molds. Then set in the fridge or freezer. 2. Push the cake into the mold and push the popsicle sticks into the mold and into the cake. Back in the fridge. 3. Smooth on more chocolate but be careful to work quickly as the chocolate will set on the cold cake. Back in the fridge to set. 4. Once they're set you'll be able to slide the cakesicles out of the mold and then its decorating time. Melt some more chocolate and drizzle it over to add sprinkles or apply buttercream as I have with these Frida Kahlo inspired cakesicles and edible marker facial details. The bats I adhered with buttercream also but as I say melted chocolate is most cakesicle-makers glue of choice. So there you have it, lots of fun and creative ways to use up those pesky cake bits or just a fun activity to do with your kids instead of the standard cupcake baking sessions we all partake in! I'd love to see your creations if you decided to try any of these out and if you're a social media junkie like me feel free to tag me on instagram at @dasmakescakes so I can see!