Easy Cinnamon Sugar Pound Cake Croutons with Leftover Cake

Sometimes you have leftover pound cake. And sometimes you want to recycle that cake into another fabulous dessert. Enter cinnamon sugar pound cake croutons.

This light and crunchy churro-flavored munchie is perfect for snacking or topping a banana split. Make them once, and you’ll be hooked.

If you like the flavor of cinnamon and sugar, you will love this recipe for snickerdoodle cookies without cream of tartar.

Or, if you prefer the classic tangy taste, try the original snickerdoodles.

And don't forget to check out all the other topping ideas.

You Will Love This Recipe! Here’s Why.

• It uses up a leftover pound cake. Nothing is worse than throwing out food. And throwing out cake is a tragedy. But recycling it into another recipe keeps it fresh and exciting.

• Yummy snack. No need to buy another snack food. Pound cake croutons are just the thing to perk you up during your midafternoon hunger pains.
  
  Plus, kids will love the treat for an afternoon snack. Think cake croutons and apple slices. They will gobble them right up.

• Unique dessert topping. Cinnamon sugar croutons are just the thing to take a banana split to the next level. These croutons can also swap out vanilla wafers in banana pudding.

Ingredients

• Leftover pound cake. Pound cake is the perfect cake to use to make cake croutons because the cake is usually not frosted. And when a cake is in a loaf shape, it is easy to slice and cube.

• Melted butter. Butter tastes the best, and it helps the cinnamon and sugar stick to the cake cubes. However, you can use melted coconut oil or olive oil instead of butter if you prefer.

• Cinnamon and sugar. The perfect ratio of cinnamon and sugar is 1:2. That is 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to 2 tablespoons of sugar. Now you have sweet croutons with just enough cinnamon flavor.

Substitutions

• You can make cake croutons with any leftover cake (without frosting). Use angel food, chocolate, or lemon cake if you don’t have pound cake. Any one of these cakes will taste great with cinnamon and sugar.
  
  Try the following:

• Angel food cake croutons

• Chocolate cake croutons with sugar

• Lemon cake croutons with lemon sugar

Directions

STEP 1: Prep the pound cake.

• Scrape any frosting off the leftover pound cake.

• Cut all the edges off the cake. You don’t want any brown crust left.

• Slice the cake into 1-inch pieces. Cut each piece into 1-inch cubes.

• Lay the cake cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer. Dry the cubes for 24 to 48 hours.

STEP 2: Make the pound cake croutons.

• Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• Stir the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.

• Melt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Heat again in 10-second increments until it is melted.

• Pour the dried cake cubes into a large mixing bowl.

• Drizzle the melted butter on the cubes and mix to combine.

• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar onto the cubes and stir until each cake cube is coated.

• Lay the cake cubes on the baking sheet in a single layer.

• Toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Stir and toast again for another 10 minutes. Repeat 3 or 4 times for a total of 30 to 40 minutes or until the cake cubes begin to look toasted. 

• Remove the cubes from the oven and turn the oven off.

• Cool the croutons completely. Use them immediately or store them in an airtight container on the counter.

Tasty Tips

• Sometimes it takes longer for the croutons to finish toasting. If you take them out too soon, they won’t have that light, crunchy texture you expect in a crouton.
  
  Be patient. Slow and steady toasting is the key to perfect cake croutons.

• Store the cooled croutons in an airtight container. Improperly stored croutons may start to soften in the middle and taste stale.

How to Store Pound Cake Croutons

• Store at room temperature. Keep the croutons in an airtight container at room temperature. They should last at least a week on the counter before they start to stale.

• Store in the freezer. Transfer the croutons to an airtight freezer container or zip-top storage bag for longer storage. Keep them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
  
  Freezing the cake croutons is the best way to store them. They are always ready to go and shouldn’t need to be thawed unless they are really big. And even then, you only need to wait about 5 minutes before they are ready to go.

How Long do Cake Croutons Last

Leftover pound cake croutons have a shelf life of about 1 week when stored at room temperature in an airtight container.

However, if you store them in the freezer, they will last at least 6 months. Then they are always ready for immediate snacking. Nothing better than that.

How to Use Pound Cake Croutons

• Top ice cream, sundaes, and banana splits.

• Mix into an ambrosia salad or even a green salad.

• Use them as a layer in banana pudding instead of vanilla wafers.

• Snack on them. Try them in a trail mix.

Hungry for More Leftover Cake Recipes?

Cake croutons aren’t the only recipes you can make with leftover cake. Try these delicious desserts too.

• Leftover cake bread pudding. Any cake can be cubed and transformed into cake bread pudding. Bake the cubes with a custard mixture and a drizzle of brown butter sauce. You will love the warm pudding topped with vanilla ice cream.

• Birthday cake Rice Krispies treats. Not your ordinary Rice Krispies recipe. No way. This fancy treat has birthday cake crumbs, mini marshmallows, and jimmies.
  
  Dunk the squares in melted white chocolate and sprinkle them with jimmies to make them festive.

• Easy dessert skewers with fruit and cake. This is the simplest dessert you can make. Skewer your favorite berries with cubes of fresh cake. Then drizzle with melted white chocolate for a gorgeous and delicious treat.

Recipe

Cinnamon Sugar Pound Cake Croutons

Tami McBride

Don't let leftover pound cake go to waste. Make cinnamon sugar pound cake croutons. Delicious snack, unique dessert topping, and fun mix-in.

Please note: The prep and cook time does not include the time to dry the cake cubes out overnight. Drying out can take 24 to 48 hours.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 2 cups

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups of pound cake cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon of butter melted
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Instructions

 

• SCRAPE any frosting off the leftover pound cake.
• CUT all the edges off the cake. You don’t want any brown crust left.
• SLICE the cake into 1-inch segments. Cut each piece into 1-inch cubes.
• LAY the cake cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer. Dry the cake for 24 to 48 hours.
• PREHEAT the oven to 250°F (120°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• STIR the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
• MELT the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Heat again in 10-second increments until it is melted.
• POUR the dried cake cubes into a large mixing bowl.
• DRIZZLE the melted butter on the cubes and mix to combine.
• SPRINKLE the cinnamon sugar onto the cubes and stir until each cake cube is coated.
• LAY the cake cubes on the baking sheet in a single layer.
• TOAST in the oven for 10 minutes. Stir and toast again for another 10 minutes. Repeat 3 or 4 times for a total of 30 to 40 minutes or until the cake cubes begin to look toasted. 
• REMOVE the cubes from the oven and turn the oven off.
• COOL the croutons completely. Use them immediately or store them in an airtight container on the counter.

Notes

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Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon

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