Cakes in a Jar

Some weeks back, my friend Eve (thebottomsupblog.com) got me to bake a rainbow cake for her hubby, I blogged about it here. She had put together a rainbow themed party with a dessert table that was totally eye candy, you can read about it at her blog.

Now to back track a little, Eve had actually asked at that time if I could try baking in jars. She found a great idea online to make little gifts out of cakes in jars. She wanted the rainbow cake to be inside individual jars that could be given away to her guests at the party, which is genius!

Unfortunately, I just didn't have the time then to try it out and we couldn't get the most appropriate jars for the job. Well Eve, I just gave it a shot with those nifty Ikea mini jars and it turned out brilliant :)

This is what I did...

Prepare the rainbow cake batter and placed the individual coloured batter in piping bags.

Colours ready to go

Before using the the glass jars, sterlise with hot water and then make sure it is completely dry. Then grease the inside with a little butter or canola oil.

Recognise these jars?

Fill the glass jars one layer of colour at a time. Make sure to press the batter against the wall of the jar as that will give you the coloured layer look. Admittedly, these Ikea jars are not the best glassware for the job - it's irregular shaped and the opening is narrow. For best results, get straight jars with large opening.

Fill to the half way mark

These jars are too full 

As you can see from the picture, my jars are too full - ideally they should be 50-60% filled, leaving room for expansion. There was major overflow while the cakes baked but with some cleaning up, it turned out alright.

Jar full of rainbow

I made these for my dear cousin's surprise birthday. I decorated it with her name using art paper and glitter crayon. There's so many ways you could dress up these jars, they really do make great gifts!

Happy Birthday Gopi

Eve, thanks for sharing this great idea! You have cake credit with me ; )