A cupcake with a filling of caramel, chocolate, or jam is a truly special surprise, but after scooping out the center of each of your cupcakes to pipe in the filling, you'll have a leftover pile of cupcake cores. Rather than throwing the excess cake away, add it right back to the cupcakes to reduce waste and make them even better.

When filling your cupcakes, leave a bit of space in the hole instead of filling it up to the top, then place the cupcake core back over the hole to seal in the filling. This makes sure no cake is wasted and keeps the filling as a fun surprise that guests won't find out about until first bite, even if they lick off all the frosting first.

If you prefer as much filling as possible, you can simply cut off the bottom of the cored cake piece rather than use the whole cake center, and then do the sealing trick. Other uses for cupcake cores include cake pops, cake truffles, and simply popping them into your mouth to taste-test your cupcakes as a chef's treat.