Should a burnt baked good just be tossed?

[True2marie]

I have tried different avenues to save a burnt baked good. Some of them work (cutting off edges) and others don't (extra icing). At times, it's just obvious that the baking project I completed was a failure and the goods need to go in the trash.

Do you always throw away burnt baked goods or try to mostly save them?

 

[TheViper]

If we are talking black burnt then it will get tossed in the trash. Though, if we are talking just a darker brown then I will try and salvage it. I can crumble it up and use it as some kind of topping or crust.

 

[shaybearlv]

Yes, depending on how burnt the goods are that I will decide whether to toss them or salvage them. When I burn something black, it normally is just around the edges so I just cut it off and then try to salvage the rest of it. If I just over cook it a little, such as with pastries or rolls (I hate hard rolls) I smother them in butter as soon as they come out of the oven and then set them in a tight lock container to just sit in their moisture which then they will be soft enough to eat in a few hours or by the next day. If they are too hard, I’ll crumble them up for toppings or crust too.

 

[Bella]

I also try to save my baked goods, if they are not too far gone. However, I never throw anything in the trash. I take the offending item outside, to the furthest part of my yard and leave it. The animals never seem to mind burnt stuff. Plus, in the winter I figure they need a little helping hand, when it comes to food.

 

[shaybearlv]

When I first started baking I had a TON of baking disasters that I was putting outside for the animals. I had to stop though because I had a few of them that would just hang around and when I stopped putting stuff out would go through my trash cans causing a disaster in my yard or parking area. My landlord at the time then sent a “memo” to all tenants to not feed the animals because other tenants were complaining. I call them animal haters! Poor things were just hungry. :/

 

[OhioTom76]

I personally love burnt baked stuff, especially cookies. I will dunk them into coffee, maybe throw a shot of whiskey in there too

I would toss them if they were for others, but if they were just for me I would keep a few at least then maybe toss the rest.

With regards to Shaybearlv's animal issue, I love animals too, but I've had some close calls with raccoons in the dumpster which jumped out and nearly mauled me for throwing bags of trash in there while they were in it digging around. They were hissing up a storm and clearly not amused that I just nailed them with my trash bags by accident, lol.

 

[Lacey]

I try to salvage anything that has been burnt unless it is far from being recognizable. You can hide a lot of things with icing or whipped cream I always say. If I can remove any really burnt parts and still have it look like it is supposed to I will cut of those parts as well.

 

[shaybearlv]

Raccoons are mean especially when you are messing with their food sources. My friend just sent me a text this morning saying she had to climb in her window because raccoons have taken over her yard by her door and it hissed at her and stared her into submission lol!

Frosting and whipped cream do save a lot of my goodies, it doesn’t just “mask” the burned taste but it actually softens them a bit which I love.

 

[ACSAPA]

I look everything up on Pinterest and one blogger suggests grating off the burnt parts of baked goods with a cheese grater or zester. Has anyone tried grating off the burnt parts?

 

[justusforus]

I hate wasting anything and would probably try and save it. I do like things a bit more cooked, but I assume you are talking char. I would try and cut it off and if an iced item..cover it as best I could.

 

[smlewis00]

If we are talking black burnt then it will get tossed in the trash. Though, if we are talking just a darker brown then I will try and salvage it. I can crumble it up and use it as some kind of topping or crust.

That is a very creative idea! I never thought about crumbling it up and using it as a topping! That could actually be really delicious! I will have to try that sometime! Hopefully I don't burn or ruin anything anytime soon though...haha Youv'e got me thinking....crumbled cake on vanilla ice cream perhaps? Sounds wonderful!

 

[VioletxSkye]

If it can't be saved then there's nothing you can do. Unless you can stomach burnt food. If the burnt part can be scraped or even cut off (as long as it's not 1/2 of it) then I will try. Maybe even covering it in a strong icing.

 

[NThomas]

Sometimes you have to toss out a burnt cake. It could end up very dry and hard. The brunt taste may have spread though the entire cake, so matter what you do it will still taste horrible. There are times when you have to just let it go .

 

[Jessi]

If we are talking black burnt then it will get tossed in the trash. Though, if we are talking just a darker brown then I will try and salvage it. I can crumble it up and use it as some kind of topping or crust.

This is the same for me. If they're overcooked and therefore, dried out, then they can still be salvaged. At the point where they're actually *burnt,* though, then the flavor is clearly effected and it's unlikely that you can salvage them. This doesn't happen very often for me, but in the past, I've just called it a loss and tossed them.

 

[dorannmwin]

I absolutely hate waste so I will do whatever I can to try to salvage that which I've made. There are times that I will cut all of the edges around a pan of brownies and I've crumbled slightly burnt cakes to use as cake pops.

I just hate to throw something away that wastes time and money.

 

[Tina Nord]

I don't like to waste anything so I would find a use for the cake. You can cut off all the burnt pieces and make a cake bread putting from the parts that are still usable. If there is enough to make small slices you could try petite fours for a little fun treat.

 

[loraanna]

I think so, for me if it's something I have trouble with like for instance chocolate chip cookies, I make extra batter because
I burn them all the time. This way I have more batter to work with and my family won't get the chance to tease me about my
burnt cookies.

 

[forextraspecialstuff]

If I am baking for myself I try to salvage it, even if the cake no longer looks like a cake or I have to cut off portions of cookies I always keep it (I really hate wasting food). If I am baking for someone else I want it to be perfect or as close as it can get and even if it is just a little browner than it should be I keep it for myself and start from scratch for the recipient.

 

[Jcandy]

I do not like throwing anything away. I try and use it somewhere or the other. Why don't you use your black burnt for some topping. It is a good option.

 

[hhh]

I honestly do not like to throw away my cakes if they're burnt. I mean, it's such a waste of time and effort not to mention the money. And if it's salvageable then I do try to fix it. But sometimes, you just can't save a cake no matter how hard you try. So I do have to, unfortunately resort to throwing the cake away.