• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Contact

Brooklyn Farm Girl

Cooking And Gardening in NYC

PopularStewed Tomatoes
let's be friends
join my free recipe club!
  • New? Start Here
  • recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Desserts
      • Dinner
      • Drinks
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
    • Type
      • 30 Minute Meals
      • Breads
      • Brownies & Bars
      • Cakes
      • Casseroles
      • Cheesy
      • Cookies
      • Dips
      • Donuts
      • Holidays
      • Kid Friendly
      • Mac and Cheese
      • Muffins
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Potluck
      • Salads
      • Smoothies
      • Sneaky Vegetables
      • Soups
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Meat
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
    • Method
      • Baked
      • Canning
      • Drying & Storing
      • Freezing
      • Instant Pot
      • Roasted
      • Slow Cooker
      • Stovetop
    • Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Winter
  • Vegetable Index
  • Urban Gardening
    • Let’s Harvest
    • Tutorials
    • Seed Calendar
    • Compost in Brooklyn
  • About Me
    • About Pamela
    • Our Garden
    • Editorial Guidelines
  • Life & motherhood
    • Journal
    • Motherhood
    • Our Upstate Adventure
    • Cats, Cats, Cats
    • Crafts
  • Videos
  • PopularStewed Tomatoes
Home » Recipe Type » Desserts » Cakes
5 from 8 reviews

What To Make When a Cake Falls Apart

By: Pamela Reed
Posted:9/1/16
Updated:6/27/23
Jump to Recipe

Did your chocolate cake fall apart?  Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet?  Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls!  This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

One minute it’s happiness, the next it’s sadness. One minute your cake is in the oven, smelling great, you’re surfing Pinterest for frosting ideas to really “wow”.  The next minute your chocolate cake won’t come out of the pan, and then it does, in one million pieces. We’ve all been there.  Actually I was there earlier this week.   So before the tears and bad words come out I’m here to help you save the day.

What to make when a cake falls apart?

Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls are so delicious that you won’t even mind ruining your cake.  In fact, you might start ruining cakes on purpose to make these!

Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Note, I am providing you the entire recipe below, for both the cake and frosting.  If you find this post and already have a destroyed chocolate cake, that’s ok, just use my frosting recipe and continue with the steps.

How to Save a Cake Disaster Recipe

Step 1:  Fail at baking chocolate cake.  Good job.  You aren’t going to regret it at all.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Step 2:  Break up your chocolate cake into a bowl.   You can use 1 or 2 9 inch cakes for this recipe.  Take the cake and crumble it up into small pieces, getting rid of any large chunks.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Step 3: Pour your peanut butter frosting in the bowl. This frosting is amazing!
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Step 4: Mix it all up.   The color of your peanut butter is going to disappear but the taste will remain. You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter for this recipe. I used crunchy to naturally add nuts, which you can see below.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Step  5:  Roll them into tablespoon sized balls.  Put in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Step 6: Get your ingredients ready that you want to roll the balls in. You can use shredded coconut, powdered sugar, sprinkles, crushed nuts, crushed candy.  Now roll each ball in a bowl of whatever ingredient you are using.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

I did some of each because I was so excited.  After you roll them, put back in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Step 7: Eat them, freeze them, enjoy.   You can serve them immediately, or you can throw them in a freezer bag in the freezer.
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

They are extremely tasty coming out of the freezer straight into your mouth.  I love having individual size servings already made and ready to eat in the freezer for dessert or when I am craving chocolate.  Storing these in the freezer comes in handy and are a favorite treat of mine!
Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!

Enjoy! Hope this recipe helps you with your failed chocolate cake!

Pin for later:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls! (AKA What To Make When a Cake Falls Apart) Did your chocolate cake fall apart? Do you have peanut butter? Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls!

  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
Free Recipe Club
5 from 8 reviews

What To Make When a Cake Falls Apart

Print
Did your chocolate cake fall apart?  Do you have peanut butter in the cabinet?  Then you can put them together to make these delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Balls!  This recipe is easy to make and a life saver for cake disasters!
By: Pamela Reed

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup boiling water

For the Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter - melted
  • 1 cup creamy or crunchy Peanut Butter
  • 2 cups powdered confectioners sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Extra

  • Shredded Coconut
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Sprinkles
  • Crushed Nuts

Instructions

For the Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and use hand mixer to mix until smooth - about 1 minute. Stir in boiling water with spoon.
  • Pour cake batter evenly into (2) 9 inch round cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray.
  • Bake for 32-35 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes.

For the Frosting

  • Beat melted butter and peanut butter in a bowl until mixed.
  • Gradually mix in sugar and once thick, add milk in.
  • Continue beating for about 2 minutes until creamy.

To make the balls

  • Drop your failed cakes into a large bowl. Crush with your hands or spoon to crumble the cake into small pieces.
  • Add frosting into the bowl. Stir with spoon.
  • Using your hands form tablespoon sized balls and place on wax paper cookie sheet. Continue doing this until all the cake mixture is gone.
  • Put in refrigerator for 45 minutes.
  • Remove from the fridge and roll balls into your choice of shredded coconut, powdered sugar, sprinkles or crushed nuts.
  • Place back on wax paper cookie sheet and refrigerate for 1 more hour.
  • Eat! Or throw in a freezer bag and freeze for a quick sweet snack!

Notes

This recipe is for the entire recipe. If you've used a different recipe for the failed chocolate cake, that's ok. Just use the frosting recipe and instructions that go along with making the balls.
Did you make this?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @BrooklynFarmGirl and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below.

Similar Recipes

  • Chocolate Cake In a Mug
  • Chocolate Banana Mug Cake
  • Root Beer Bundt Cake
  • Peach Cake With Vanilla Frosting

Reader Interactions

join the free recipe club

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight To Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

5 from 8 votes (3 ratings without comment)

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:





  1. Genevieve D Saunders says

    January 14, 2025 at 1:10 pm

    I definitely have a disaster cake. Couldn’t get it out of a silicon mold. I now have 1/2 crumbled, working on frosting. Mine isn’t creamy; it’s more crumbly. I’m pretty sure it will make balls. I love this. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth Smith says

    June 30, 2023 at 4:39 pm

    Can I use the canned frosting- just chocolate- instead of the peanut butter frosting?

    Reply
    • Pamela Reed says

      July 5, 2023 at 9:36 am

      Absolutely!

      Reply
  3. Jessica S. says

    June 26, 2023 at 2:08 pm

    Thanks so much. I forgot my vanilla in my cake and one of my leavening agents. I was able to add the vanilla to the peanut butter. Perfect. I like these best with powdered sugar.

    Reply
  4. Sue says

    December 9, 2022 at 2:17 am

    Hi. Looks great. Non dairy option please? Don’t want to use margerine. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Jessica S. says

      June 26, 2023 at 2:09 pm

      Look at your nutrition info. Many margarines are already vegan.

      Reply
  5. Karen says

    April 19, 2022 at 2:57 pm

    These are addicting ❤️ So delicious you want to eat more than one. But they are very rich and filling 😵‍💫. I made a white cake and threw in chocolate chips. Adding the peanut butter warm frosting made these yummy peanut butter cup tasting treats my family loved.

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      April 24, 2022 at 8:42 am

      Yum, those sound amazing, Karen! So happy these worked for you!

      Reply
  6. Lynne says

    July 28, 2021 at 11:36 am

    I made a keto bunt cake with almond flour following the recipe exactly. It came out totally crumbly.. Can I use this type of cake and make the cake balls is Paul’s?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      July 28, 2021 at 1:24 pm

      Yes, you can totally save your cake with this recipe!

      Reply
  7. Erma says

    January 21, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    Get idea, I’m going to try it my cake wouldn’t come out of the pan, All that work, now it will be alright. Thanks

    Reply
  8. Amy says

    November 11, 2020 at 6:45 am

    after finding out i’m allergic to eggs I tried this vegan red velvet recipe and it turned into a mess! nothing like a cake let alone like a red velvet. taste or texture wise. it all crumbled into a million peices.

    after finding this i tired some with peanut butter/caramel and some with cream cheese and butter and milk and caramel. and GOD they’re tasty! I was really sad about so much effort (wasted an entire night on them) going to waste. but now I actually learned something even tastier!

    Reply
  9. Katherine says

    November 25, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    Can you use something other than peanut butter, such as the cooked icing I made with the cake?

    Reply
  10. Melissa says

    November 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    What about a yellow cake? HELP!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      November 14, 2018 at 8:17 pm

      You can do exactly the same thing with a yellow cake! Enjoy!

      Reply
    • Jen says

      September 27, 2020 at 11:10 pm

      I wrecked my kids chocolate birthday cake and this looks do-able. Is there a way to add the sticks on these? Or any idea on how to arrange them for candle blowing?

      Reply
      • Pamela says

        September 29, 2020 at 10:30 am

        Hey Jen, I actually love the idea of adding sticks, that could be super fun! It would be like a “ball cake”, maybe you can add big colorful candles on top!

        Reply
  11. Sabrina Zaragoza says

    October 9, 2016 at 3:38 am

    I must say that I am not a big fan of sweet food, but this is a great idea. These looks so nice. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  12. Pat C.Wilson says

    September 13, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    very funny but useful tip. these look so delicious, my kids must love them so much. i think i’m gonna ruin the cake to make this. who need a big cake when have some cute cake balls like that xD

    Reply
  13. Valentina | The Baking Fairy says

    September 13, 2016 at 11:04 am

    These look SO good! Cake balls are definitely my go-to when my cake plans go hay-wire and I love how you used PB instead of the classic frosting. Pinning!

    Reply
  14. Emily says

    September 8, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    I would totally ruin a cake just to make these, haha! They look and sound incredible. Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday!

    Reply
  15. Jalynn Schroeder says

    September 6, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    OMG! These look AMAZING. Can’t wait to try!!

    Reply
  16. Linda @ 2 Cookin' Mamas says

    September 6, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    You are right, we’ve all been there! I love how you turned a bad situation into a delicious one. In fact, I would love one of those balls right now!

    Reply
  17. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says

    September 5, 2016 at 7:21 am

    It’s my niece’s birthday soon and I bet she would love something like this. Fun for kids to make too!

    Reply
  18. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    September 3, 2016 at 5:13 am

    A fantastic idea, Pamela. You can never go wrong with chocolate and pb!

    Reply
  19. Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says

    September 2, 2016 at 5:58 pm

    It is a great idea for the next time I’ll be cutting my chocolate cake into a funny shape 😀

    Reply
  20. Monica says

    September 2, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    First of all, that is one moist cake! It looks delicious and you totally did a great job improvising and not wasting a thing. We have all been there and it’s such a great feeling when you can save it. And these look pretty as well as tasty – love that you added peanut butter! No one would guess you hadn’t originally intended to make these.

    Reply
  21. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says

    September 2, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    Wow Pamela – you so rock! What an awesome idea to resuscitate a broken cake by turning it into these delectable and oh so pretty chocolate-PB cake balls!

    Reply
  22. Wendy says

    September 2, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    Great save! These cake balls should definitely be made on purpose as well! 🙂 Way too many of my cakes have been glued back together with frosting. Now I always line the bottom of cake pans with a cut-out circle of parchment paper. Spray the pan so it will stick, then spray the paper.

    Reply
  23. Jess @ Gas Stove Girl says

    September 2, 2016 at 8:44 am

    I love this! It is so real and relatable – haven’t we all had a cake fail before?! And that peanut butter icing…just heavenly!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

welcome!

Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

Read More

join the free
recipe club!

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight to Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

TOP POSTS

Half Sour Pickles

The Best Stewed Tomatoes Ever

Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole with Ground Beef

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Recipe Index
Vegetable Index
Follow On Facebook
Follow On Instagram
Free Recipe Club

fresh this week view all

How to Store and Freeze Fresh Blueberries

Irish Potato Candy (Pennsylvania Dutch)

Classic Stuffed Peppers

Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

As Featured On
free recipe club!
Get weekly recipes, videos, and gardening tips to your inbox!
join the club!
EST. 2013
let's be friends
  • Recipe Index
  • Veggie Index
  • Urban Gardening
  • Web Stories
Back To Top
© 2025 - All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

join the recipe club!

Receive My Favorite Recipes Straight to Your Inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!

242 shares

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.