If you’re looking for a dessert to take to a party or your next game night, then look no further. This Cake Scrap Trifle is it! It’s beautiful and fun. The idea came to me one day when I had to throw together a dessert to take to a bbq, and I only had a few hours to whip something up.
I looked through my cupboards, fridge, and freezer and found a bag of cake scraps. As a cake decorator, I always have an abundance of cake scraps in my freezer. When making a cake, I sometimes overfill the pan slightly so the cake will rise up a little higher. I then cut off the top bump of the cake to level it out before flipping it onto a board. I save the scraps because they come in handy if I get an order for cake pops or crave a midnight snack.
Inspired by a strawberry shortcake trifle I’ve made in the past, I used the cake scraps instead of angel food cake and threw in brownies because…why not!
So, here’s the plan. First, make a batch of brownies. Check out our https://justforthe.fun/raspberry-brownies/ to get our brownie recipe and make it without the raspberry add-in. Second, if you don’t have cake scraps handy like I do, grab a box of Betty Crocker and bake a small round cake. One box should fill a single 10″ round pan. You will not need all of that cake for this trifle, so if you have a scratch cake recipe, you like you can cut it down into a smaller batch. Third, we make a whipped cream cheese filling and, last, dice and puree strawberries.
Whipped Cream cheese Filling
- 1 1/2c heavy whipping cream
- 1 8oz package of cream cheese (room temp.)
- 1c white sugar
- 1/8tsp salt
- 1tsp vanilla extract
In a mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Scoop mixture into a separate bowl and set aside. Clean the mixer. Whip the heavy cream in the mixer until stiff peaks form. Do not overwhip, or it will become a liquid again. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined. Fold slow and steady to keep it fluffy. Below are pictures of what the consistency looks like at each step.
This whipped cream cheese filling can be used for many other recipes besides this trifle. It would make an amazing filling inside a carrot or red velvet cake. Use it with a strawberry shortcake or spread it over brownies like frosting or a dollop on french toast. It also tastes great with a spoon straight out of the bowl!
Pureed Strawberries
About 2 cups of strawberries, stem cut off.
2 tsp sugar
In a blender, blend strawberries and sugar until well blended. Adding the sugar helps cut down on the sourness of the strawberries.
Assembly
Finally, the fun part! The picture below shows everything we need to start layering up our dessert. We have our Whipped Cream Cheese Filling and brownies cut into small squares, diced strawberries, pureed strawberries, and last but not least, my bag of yummy cake scraps. In the center is a trifle dish. It is a large open-mouthed bowl on a pedestal designed to show off the beautiful layers in this style of dessert.
List of layers from bottom to top.
- Cake, break the cake scraps up into bite-size pieces.
- Strawberry puree
- 2 cups diced strawberries
- Brownies
- Whipped cream cheese filling
- Repeat
The reason I layer it in this order is that the strawberry puree will soak into the bits of cake, which is my personal preference. Feel free to layer it in any order you desire. I was able to fit two rounds of the fillings in this 8″ x 5″ trifle dish; this might differ for you depending on what size bowl you have. In the final picture below, we added some brownie crumbs to the top just for fun. To serve it, I simply spoon it into a bowl and go for it!
Take this masterpiece to a party and watch the magic. I’m not kidding! It happens every time. Give it a try, and let us know what you and your friends think.