Brownies are one of those desserts that tick all the boxes. Sweet without being too sugary, decadent enough to serve at a dinner party but simple enough to bring to a casual gathering, and always irresistibly chocolatey. While not everyone enjoys chocolate, it remains one of the most popular flavors in the dessert world, with its earthy richness responding beautifully to the addition of things like sugar and fat. Brownies encapsulate these qualities almost perfectly, which may be why they’ve remained so popular.
Though some people try to place them in the same category as cake, distinct differences in texture and ingredients place brownies firmly in a category all their own. However, they’re just similar enough that the leftover cake from your last family gathering or birthday party might be the key to making the densest, richest brownies you’ve ever had. Whether you’re tired of turning leftover cake into cake pops or just have a craving, this hack may change the way you make brownies forever.
Also called cake scrap or cake crumb brownies, the idea here is to use your leftover cake as a moist, delicious flour substitute. Crumble up the cake into fairly fine cake crumbs (think graham cracker crust consistency) and then blend them together with melted butter, extra sugar, and eggs. You’ll also need cocoa powder, especially if your leftover cake isn’t chocolate. These additional ingredients create a fudgy texture by saturating the crumbs and keeping everything moist, despite the cake technically being baked twice.
Best and worst cake flavors for cake scrap brownies
One of the best parts of this recipe is the abundance of cake flavors that work well in it. Picture making red velvet cake brownies by blending scarlet red velvet cake crumbs into melted butter and extra cocoa powder, or giving a yellow cake new life with a chocolatey makeover. Vanilla and spice cake are also good choices, as vanilla is practically mandatory when making brownies anyway, and who doesn’t love a good chocolate chai masala or pumpkin spice moment?
Things may even get super meta if you originally made your cake from a boxed brownie mix. Turning this kind of cake back into brownies may feel a little strange, but you’ll be able to rest assured the result will be delicious. You may even be able to leave the cocoa powder out of this one, unless you’re a fan of “death by chocolate” style desserts. You can also experiment with carrot cake, or banana or strawberry sponge to give your brownies a fresh or fruity flare.
Disappointingly, not every flavor of cake goes with chocolate. Lemon’s tartness or matcha’s earthiness, for example, can make chocolate taste bitter, and may be better as cake scrap blondies, instead. Additionally, if your cake has frosting, you’ll want to scrape it off, as it’ll add too much moisture (not to mention sugar). However, you can give it new life, too, by adding in some milk or whipped cream to lighten it up before topping your brownies with it.
