I absolutely adore these Chocolate Birthday Cake Jars! I know cake jars are all the rage right now, and I think that is due in part to Wicked Good Cupcakes from Shark Tank. Have you heard of them? I had the opportunity to try one of their jars after my Mother-in-law was gifted a few and they were really good! What a terrific little gift to send to someone for any occasion! Wicked Good’s jars really seemed like the size of two cupcakes to me, so I scaled mine down quite a bit to fit into the size of a jam jar. To me this is the perfect portion for one serving, especially if you are taking them to an event and you want people to be able to finish them in one sitting.
I created these Chocolate Birthday Cake Jars because I love the idea. They take an ordinary chocolate cupcake and transform it into something extraordinary. They are great for any type of party and I love that they are easily transportable. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made cupcakes and had them ruined while transporting them. I have several horror stories but I’ll spare you from hearing all of them and just say this: Cupcakes all over my car isn’t a fun time. It also isn’t a fun time when you show up somewhere and half of what you made looks like someone just dropped it on the floor, stepped on it, and then attempted to serve it. And plastic wrap? No. It just isn’t friends with frosting. I strive to bring something to the table that looks just as delicious as it tastes and with these jars you really can’t mess it up! They are adorable and will stay that way. 🙂
You’ll notice the cake recipe calls for mixing everything together in one bowl. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this recipe and not ONE TIME has it flopped or failed because I didn’t mix my wet ingredients separately before adding them to the dry ingredients. This is a tried and true recipe that works perfectly and saves the extra time and hassle of having to wash another dish. Less dishes = Happy Momma!
So what can I say? I really enjoy sprinkles. I hope to not overload my blog with them but here they are again! I always use India Tree sprinkles because they do not contain any artificial ingredients. Most sprinkles contain partially hydrogenated oils which is just totally ridiculous to begin with, and I stay away from those items because they aren’t something I want to feed my family or friends. I used India Tree’s Carnival mix in these jars and they were just the perfect touch!
I’ve used more then one type of jar for cake jars but I really love the Weck jam jars the best (the jars in the pictures). The cake fits perfectly inside of them and they are just the right size to be able to put enough frosting inside without feeling like you have to over-do it just to fill a bigger sized jar. I have also picked up jars in the “random crap in the front of Target” isle and those ran me about a dollar a piece and worked good. I’ve also used Mason jam jars and they work fine too, however they are a bit shorter and if you choose to use a jar like that I would only make a half batch of icing or you’ll have a ton left over. The Weck jars are 5 ounces and the Mason jars are 4 ounces so if you have any jars that are around that size they will work nicely.
Assembling The Jars
Assembling the jars could not be easier! I’ve found the easiest way to bake the cake itself is in the form of cupcakes. I considered making a thin sheet cake and then cutting out cake circles to fit in the jars but the I’d have waste, and who wants to waste cake? So I baked the cake in the form of cupcakes and when the cupcakes were cooled I sliced them in half and they fit perfectly inside the jars. I used a large star tip and a piping bag for the filling. I experimented with just a round piping tip but the star definitely made the jars look fancier and I much preferred the star!
If you make your own Chocolate Birthday Cake Jars I’d love to see them! Tag #withbutterandlove on Instagram! 🙂
- ¾ cup all purpose flour (I used King Arthur's)
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup or 1 stick melted butter (unsalted)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup strong brewed coffee
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter softened (for frosting)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (for frosting)
- ¼ cup sour cream (for frosting)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (for frosting)
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (for frosting)
- Multi-Colored Sprinkles (I used India Tree Sprinkles)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 15 cupcake tins with liners.
- In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients including flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and both sugars. Be sure to sift cocoa powder to avoid any large chunks.
- Melt ½ cup unsalted butter and set aside to cool slightly. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and whisk.
- Add all wet ingredients including butter, eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and coffee to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Be sure to get around the edges of your bowl to make sure there are no pouches of dry ingredients hiding.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
- For Frosting: **If you are using smaller jars I would suggest cutting the frosting recipe in half.**
- Add softened butter to bowl of stand mixer and beat with paddle attachment until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar little by little until all sugar is combined and mixture is smooth.
- Add sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Add heavy cream to finish.
- For Jar Assembly: When cupcakes are cooled cut in half (a serrated knife will work the best!) Put frosting in piping bag with a large star tip. Put the bottom half of the cupcake down in the jar. Add a layer of sprinkles, followed by a layer of frosting. Add the other half of the cupcake (top down), then add another layer of frosting and top with additional sprinkles or decorations of your choice.