Whenever you bake...if you end up with too much cake batter, just bake it into an extra cake and throw it in the freezer. You can use that later to make cake balls or cake pops (throw cake into the mixer along with a tiny bit of buttercream or flavored creamer, form into truffle-sized balls, chill, then dip in chocolate). Or, you can dice the cake up and layer it with pudding, cool whip, whipped cream, sundae toppings, preserves, pie filling, or mousse into a quick and delicious trifle!
Speaking of mousse....
To make a quick and easy chocolate mousse, you just need cream and chocolate, preferably a decent quality like the Ghiradelli chips. First make a ganache with the cream and chocolate using any of the many recipes that can be found online. Do not make it TOO thick...you want it to still be scoop-able when chilled. Later, whip up some fresh cream with a dab of sugar and vanilla until stiff. (Do not overbeat, or you will end up with butter!) Then fold some of the cooled ganache into the whipped cream. Voila! Chocolate mousse! This is delicious as cake filling...layers in a trifle...or even served in a dessert bowl with a cookie and some chocolate shavings. Try folding in some peanut butter and then topping it with some Reese's cups! Or serve with chocolate/mint cookies and top with an Andes mint.
Lastly, our favorite "last minute dessert" is just plain old Jello cake...or "poke cake". Bake up a 9x13 of your favorite white or vanilla fluffy cake. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 15-20 minutes. Use a serving fork to poke holes in it all over the surface of the cake, about 1/4" apart. Then use your favorite flavor of jello...mixed with 1 cup of boiling water and only 1/2 cup of cold water...and gently spoon it over the cake so that it goes into all of the holes. Then chill! Top with Cool Whip, and if you have berries on hand, they go well with it, too!
Yum...now I want Jello cake!!!
Enjoy!
Thank you very much, great tips!!
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