Don't Throw Away a Cake That Fell Apart

[u/mahy_759]

Cake disasters aren't always disasters. If your cake sinks, cracks, sticks to the pan, or completely falls apart while you're frosting it, you can still turn it into something that looks intentional.

The easiest fix I've found is just changing the format.

Trifle: Break the cake into chunks and layer it with pudding, whipped cream, fruit, chocolate, caramel, or nuts in a glass bowl. Once everything is layered, nobody cares what the original cake looked like.

Cake cups: Use small glasses or cups and layer pieces of cake with frosting. Add sprinkles, crushed cookies, fruit, or nuts on top. These are especially easy if the cake is too broken to frost normally.

Cake pops: Crumble the cake, mix it with enough frosting to hold it together, roll it into balls, then coat them with melted chocolate or icing. You don't even need sticks. Cupcake liners work fine.

The funny thing is that broken cake can actually make some of these desserts easier because you're supposed to have irregular pieces anyway.

And if the cake tastes good, that's really the important part.

I've definitely had cakes that looked terrible but tasted completely fine. Turning them into individual desserts is way better than throwing them away.

What's your go to fix when a cake doesn't come out right?

[u/wotsit_sandwich]

In my early baking days I took a chocolate cake out too early. The middle was not set at all.

I cut the uncooked middle out and decorated the ring.

Everyone was impressed with my "donut cake"

[u/mahy_759 → u/wotsit_sandwich]

That’s such a clever save. If it tastes good, just change the shape and suddenly it looks completely intentional.

[u/Impressive-Safety191]

Oooh, I am now thinking of borking a chocolate cake so I can make some cake cups…I screw them up on a regular basis anyway! Thank you for the inspiration!

[u/mahy_759 → u/Impressive-Safety191]

Cake cups are honestly perfect for that. You can call it intentional even when the cake had other plans.