Cakes in a Jar... Travel Afar!

My Dear Husband's birthday is this week... Another that we will spend apart. So I got to thinking about a month ago about how I could possibly make his birthday a little more enjoyable in the Sandbox. Knowing that my DH has a sweet tooth, I scoured the net looking for somthing unique and sweet to send my husband. I ran across Cakes in a Jar on a blog and knew immediately that it was perfect! I went out and bought my jars, cakes mixes, and multiple tubs of icing. I chose a yellow cake batter and a strawberry cake batter. I was a little nervouse that it wouldn't turn out right because I have never canned anything, but with following the instructions on the blog (I will post it at the bottem on this post) it was easy peasy and FUN!!

First step, wash your jars and boil the lids in a pot while the cakes are baking. Mix the cake batter as instructed on the box and fill each little jar about half way with the batter. I watch alot of the food network so I used a little trick I witnessed on a show... place the batter in a ziplock bag and cut a bottem corner off and pipe it into each little jar, less of a clean up!

Step two... bake the cakes by following the instructions in the blog link that I post at the end of this. Take the lids out of the boiling water, dry them off and put them on the jars. As the cool, you will hear the tops pop as they seal themselves. The cakes will pull away from the sides of the jar as they cool, which makes it easy for the recipient to slide the cake out of the jar to enjoy.

Now the fun part!! Decorating!! I purchased some fabric and ribbons to decorate the jars I was sending to my husband. Once the cakes and sealed themselves you are able to unscrew the ring and place fabric over the jar and screw the ring back on.

That's how I decorated my hubbie's birthday cakes. I send different flavors or tubs of icing over so he could share with his men... I didn't expect him to eat all 8 cakes by himself! Have fun decorating them ladies!! They will mean the world to the soldiers when they recieve them! My husband absolutely loved his! You don't just have to make cakes, you can also bake breads to send!

Don't forget the most important ingredient....  LOVE

The blog where I found my inspiration and directions http://awtr.blogspot.com/2007/09/cake-in-jar.html

Until next time, I'll be thinking of you all!

XOXO,