It may seem strange to have leftover cake, but as someone who bakes regularly I have found myself in this situation many times! In order to avoid food waste, you can quickly whip up these Three Ingredient Leftover Cake Truffles. They are made using only three ingredients: cake, cream cheese and chocolate. I've been using this recipe for years and I can't remember where I first heard about this handy trick of mixing cream cheese with cake crumbs to make tasty truffles, but I'm so glad I did!
Inside the Three Ingredient Leftover Cake Truffles is a delicious moist centre. I mean, cream cheese and cake mixed together then covered in chocolate, is that ever not going to be good?! It's dangerously easy to eat several of these in one sitting!
How to make Three Ingredient Leftover Cake Truffles...
I used a food processor to turn my leftover cake into crumbs. (This cake I used was a vanilla cake with pink food colouring.)
I mixed the cream cheese into the cake crumbs. Then I rolled the cake into balls using my hands and placed them onto a lined baking tray. I put them in the freezer for an hour.
To decorate, I melted white and dark chocolate. I removed the truffles from the freezer, I dipped them into the chocolate and coated them. I placed them onto some greaseproof paper and drizzled the alternating chocolate over them. Then I left them to set.
Reasons you will have leftover cake:
- After making a hidden design cake, like the Hidden Heart Cake that left me with these bright pink cake leftovers!
- If your cakes have domed in the oven and you've levelled them off to flatten them.
- If your cake sunk in the middle, but the edges are edible.
- If you've carved a cake into a shape or cut out shapes from a sheet of cake
Tips for making the Three Ingredient Leftover Cake Truffles:
- You can use any sponge cake to make the truffles, chocolate, vanilla, lemon... whatever you have leftover!
- Any amount of leftover cake will work too, just weigh the leftover cake, and halve that weight to work out how much cream cheese you'll need.
- You can also cover them with whichever chocolate you prefer, or you could use candy melts for a fun coloured effect!
- Another great way to decorate the truffles would be to add some sprinkles onto the chocolate before it sets.
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
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Three Ingredient Leftover Cake Truffles
Ingredients
- 420 g Leftover cake
- 210 g Full fat cream cheese
- 185 g White chocolate
- 215 g Dark chocolate
Instructions
- Use a food processor to turn the cake into crumbs
- Mix the cream cheese into the cake crumbs
- Roll the cake into balls using your hands, weigh them if you like so they're all a similar size. Mine were 25g each
- Place them onto a lined baking tray. Then put them in the freezer for an hour
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, then heat in 10 second blasts, stir and repeat until melted
- Remove the truffles from the freezer and dip them into the chocolate, coating them fully. Place them onto some greaseproof paper and to set. Use the remaining chocolate to drizzle over the truffles
- Serve immediately, store leftovers in the fridge and eat within 5 days
Lisa Niblock
I love cake truffles! I struggle with cake pops too! They can be tricky to get to stay on the stick for when it's dunked into the coating and stuff.
Kat BakingExplorer
Yes I completely agree, cake pops are troublesome!
Emma | Fork and Good
Cake truffles are way cooler than cake pops. These look lovely, a perfect use for leftover cake!
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Emma! I love finding new ways to use up leftovers.
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
Yep..... Cream cheese and cake crumbs have to be good! I usually make cake-pop type mixture with coconut cream, but I love cream cheese, so next time......
Kat BakingExplorer
Coconut cream sounds yummy too! Hope you enjoy the cream cheese version next time 🙂
Baking Addict
I find cake pops very fiddly, cake truffles are a much better idea!
Kat BakingExplorer
They are so fiddly which is why I avoid them, cake truffles are the way forward!
Elizabeth
These are so pretty! Perfect little Valentine's nibbles 🙂 Thank you for sharing with Credit Crunch Munch!
Kat BakingExplorer
Thank you!
Cat Ratliff
Looks delicious and fun to eat...Thanks for sharing.
Jill Phillips
A brilliant way to use leftover sponge and so easy - thanks Kat! I only had milk and dark chocolate but was very happy with the result. I'll try them with white chocolate next time.
thebakingexplorer
You're very welcome Jill, I'm pleased you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Miriama
Hi. What chocolate brand did you use?
thebakingexplorer
Hi Miriama, you can use any chocolate that melts well and you like the taste of 🙂
Pooja
Lovely recipe..would love to try it
Chastity Waddle
How well do these freeze?
thebakingexplorer
They freeze great without the chocolate, I wouldn't recommend freezing them with the chocolate covering.
Gaye De Leiros
You can add a tot of rum to make them into totally decadent rum truffles and I find coating them in cocoa powder works well as a variation.
Hate waste use every scrap ! It’s a very Marie Antoinette sort of problem!
Dawn
I brought a huge birthday cake cheap from Asda guess what I’m making this weekend such an easy recipe . Quick tip if your cake is not quite stale but a bit dry warm it in microwave for 20 seconds and it will go soft and moist or eat it with vanilla ice cream
thebakingexplorer
Fab idea Dawn! If you're warming the cake, let it cool before adding the cream cheese. Or if it's a bit dry, you can add a little extra cream cheese for added moisture 😀
J2410
Could I leave them in the fridge longer than an hour to set if I don't have a freezer?
thebakingexplorer
Hi, I've never tried that so I can't say for sure. Cream cheese is soft when you take it out of the fridge so I'm not sure if the truffles would be solid enough for coating in chocolate.
J2410
Thank you so much for the reply! I'll let you know how I get on 😀
Tina
Hi, how did that work out for you? I can only use my fridge too. Thanks 🙂