Don't Toss That Dry Chocolate Cake — This Easy Trick Revives Moisture (And Flavor)

After hosting a party, it's not uncommon for every inch of your countertop to be covered in leftovers, from the uneaten veggie platter to the uncountable baked goods that you were somehow worried wouldn't be enough food for everyone, to, of course, the centerpiece: delicious chocolate cake. Sure, it can be nice to have a few slices left over to store in the fridge for a post-celebration snack, but you'll likely find that your cake on day two or three is merely a dry shell of what it once was. That is, unless you incorporate one simple trick that the professionals use to stretch out the window of time during which their cakes moist and flavorful to ensure every bite can be properly enjoyed. Their secret? Cake soaks.

Essentially, this means taking a liquid like simple syrup, various liqueurs, or fruit juices, and brushing some onto the top of each cake layer with a pastry brush or drizzling it on with a spoon. This moisture is sealed inside the cake via the layer of frosting, and helps it stay fluffy and munchable even after a few days in the fridge. If your cake has already dried out, you could employ this hack posthumously by brushing or pouring a little bit of the liquid of your choosing onto the side of each cake slice before eating it, reintroducing some moisture, and adding a new depth of flavor via the type of soak you choose. But really, this works best if it's done ahead of time — so go ahead and tuck this nugget of advice away for your next birthday extravaganza. And if you feel like the cake's really beyond saving? Crumble it up and use your leftovers to make cake pops.

Let's talk chocolate. Sure, there are all sorts of types of liquid you can use to soak into your cake, but certain flavor profiles will do a better job at bringing out the notes of chocolate. Our favorite by far is coffee simple syrup, which you can make by combining coffee and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Coffee and chocolate have often been paired throughout culinary history, from the mouthwatering classic homemade tiramisu to dipping good old-fashioned chocolate biscotti in a piping hot cup of joe.

Although some of the harmony between these two beloved flavors is unexplainable, we do have some idea of why they're a good pair: For one thing, chocolate tends to be sweet, while coffee is slightly bitter, meaning that the two complement each other and create a richer, more complex flavor profile. But if adding a soak of the caffeinated beverage doesn't sound like your style, there are other cake soaks that can help keep your fudgy concoction moist enough to see another day. Amaretto or rum are popular choices on the alcoholic side of things, but to keep the cake kid-friendly, a zesty mandarin orange simple syrup would be our pick for another. Apart from your personal flavor preferences, the flavor of frosting you choose should also be a guide to picking a cake soak, since the goal is for all three flavors — cake, soak, and frosting — to come together in creating your ideal bite.