Today's blog is brought to you by the letter "L" for leftovers.
Yes, leftovers. Those pathetic reminders of what was and the nagging feeling of what they could have been but never quite were...but today, today I will elevate leftovers from the infamy of forgotten places at the back of the fridge to the cake stand of magnificent! I will boldly go, where no caker has gone before....to the depths of the frozen waste lands of food faux pas... 
Ok, I'm done being ridiculous...for now.
The three photos below are of my most recent mini tea cakes, and if it weren't for my utter disdain of waste...they would never have been. How sad would that be?!?! :)
Remember that cupcake bouquet for my niece? Well, by the time all was said and done, I had quite a bit of
leftover royal icing and vanilla cake batter.
Not wanting to throw perfectly good unborn desserts away, I baked up the batter into mini cakes and put them in
the freezer...with future plans already rolling about in my head. I also piped what felt like, to my very tired wrists and fingers, a million roses with the leftover icing.
Said roses and cakes have spent the past couple weeks carefully packed away, just waiting for the right moment...and then it came. My best friend's birthday!!!
I Just can't stand to let a birthday go to waste (are you sensing a pattern?)...so of course, it was time to release the leftovers and give them a nice up-cycle.
Sadly, the second cake was made for a much less happy event, but I'm a firm believer in the power of love shared in
the form of sweets.
I filled them with raspberry jam and made fresh buttercream to ice the cakes and for the leaves...which leads me to my next leftover adventure!!! More about that after you've feasted your eyes on these cute little bundles.

So, after I finished these flappers, I had about half a cup of perfectly good buttercream frosting, just sitting in a bowl with no where to go. Then, a thought popped into my head.
Remember my sister's Doctor Who cake? Well that bad boy left a mess of scraps and chunky crumbs after I finished hacking and shaping it. Again, the inner hoarder could not throw away the pile of moist, chocolaty mess.
So, here's what I did. I kneeded all the scraps together and shaped them into a dome then chucked 'em in the freezer. They've been there ever since...so guess what happened to the leftover buttercream...it gave new life to my chocolate mound and oh was it good!

I admit, it's not one of my prettier creations, definitely the ugly child, but it did give me an idea for what I will do with all my future cake scraps and unused frostings. So here goes...

The Ghost of Caking Past or Birthday Cake Revisited 
Recipe
Save all your cake scraps no matter the amount in an airtight bag/container stored in the freezer (mixing flavors works if they are complimentary).
Once you have a few cups worth, defrost and place into a large mixing bowl.
Add a 1/4 of buttercream frosting, or a small amount of milk, or some melted jam/chocolate. (Experiment and have fun! You can throw in other stuff too like chocolate chips, sprinkles, nuts, or fruit. Go crazy people! This is no time to be timid!)
Use your hands to mush it all together and work it into a congealed mass.
Place the lot into a lined pan, buttered mold, or just form it into a shape you find pleasing.
Now you can either store it in the freezer for future enjoyment or frost it for immediate gratification (fondant, ganache, or icing works too.)
Might I add, this process makes for a very dense, rich texture. Very yum. I suggest washing it down with a hot beverage or chilled milk.
And if that wasn't cool enough, leftover cookies can be reborn in a similar fashion, just chuck 'em in the food processor or mash 'em in a bag with a rolling pin and have fun!
It doesn't get much better than playing with your food :)
Much Sweetness!
~Lizbeth

My little sister and I are Whovians...for those of you who dn't know what that means, we love Doctor Who! This past Thursday was her 17th Birthday and she requested a cake that was either purple, musical, Doctor Whosical, or Spockable (Spock from Star Trek...we're also Trekkies). 
I spent a little time mulling these options over in my head and finally settled on making a Tardis cake. It's the first time I've ever attempted a "sculpted" cake and I think it turned out well for my first try, but why am I mentioning all this? Well, because in the process of making this cake I made the choice to try modeling chocolate over fondant and boy am I glad I did! It was a dream to work with compared to fondant and it really fortified the structure of the cake which fondant wouldn't have done, plus it tastes so yummy. Even if you don't have a cake to make, just mix up some modeling chocolate and get the kids or whoever is a kid at heart and start sculpting. It's basically edible clay. So here's a recipe for modeling chocolate. Go forth and play! 

*These are the ratios to chocolate as listed in The Joy of Baking. I actually played around with these measurements and used 4Tbls per 7oz of white chocolate and then tried 2Tbl per 7oz of white chocolate and found that both were too extreme but both still worked fine. One was just a bit sticky and the other a bit crumbly. So, depending on your climate and hand temperature, you might find different ratios give a better consistency. Either way, in my situation, the chocolate was manageable and did the job so don't be frightened, just try it out. 

Dark Chocolate Modeling Paste:
7 ounces (200 grams)bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Modeling Paste:
7 ounces (200 grams)semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3 1/2 - 4 tablespoons light corn syrup

White Chocolate Modeling Paste:
7 ounces (200 grams)white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Milk Chocolate Modeling Paste:
7 ounces (200 grams)Milk Chocolate
2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a glass bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals til all is melted silky smooth. If you just want a chocolate colored modeling chocolate, use something other than white chocolate and then get right to pouring in the syrup. If you want colored modeling chocolate, you can use already colored chocolates or if you only have regular white, just add the food coloring after the chocolate is completely melted. Gel food coloring is best. Now add your corn syrup. You can heat this up for about 30 seconds to make it easier to pour and incorporate or just spray your measuring spoon with pam so the syrup slips right out. Stir diligently til all is incorporated. Don't freak out if you chocolate looks like it is suddenly burnt, that's how it is suppose to look. It will turn thick and gross. Lay it out on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper and lay another piece on top, then spread the chocolate into a thin layer. Leave it over night to cool. If you're in a hurry you can place it in the fridge, but I prefer the slow cool process. The next day, break or roll up the chocolate and knead it til it is pliable. You're ready to have fun!