After my latest delectable baking experience, I was left with a conundrum of vast proportions. What to do with the scraps of cake left behind when cutting the diminutive babycakes from the sheet-cake sized pan? The cake was moist, delightfully sunny in color, toasty brown on the edges, and simply crying out for something to be done with the scraps. It only took a moment, before the bits of cake were piled into a Ziploc bag, and I knew they were destined for something comforting and delicious, Cake Pudding.

I love bread pudding, except when it has raisins in it. Dried fruit should be kept to trail mixes. So why not use scraps of cake (thankfully with no raisins), those wonderfully crisp edges that have settled in the corners of the pan, instead of the bread, for cake pudding. Now I know, this isn’t a dessert that can be made often, because really, how often does one have piles of unfrosted cake with which to assemble it? But the next time you find yourself with left-overs from one sweet dessert– why not make another?

I left my cake scraps to sit for a few days, while I was finishing and digesting the babycakes, I didn’t want to overload on decadence. At the market, I caught the last of the late harvest peaches, peeled, sliced and added to the pudding, they were a tasty foil for the richness of the custard. I made a simple, unsweetened custard, figuring there was enough sweetness in the cake alone, popped the pudding in the oven, and in a half hour I was tucking in to the ultimate comfort food. The cake pudding was surprisingly not too sweet, yet warm, and silky smooth in texture. And I felt very industrious (even though truly I am not) to be able to bake two tantalizing desserts from one recipe for a basic yellow cake.