Put a Lid On It: How To Ship Cupcakes in Mason Jars, from Beantownbaker.com
Monday, August 24, 2009 
Continuing our monthlong celebration of birthdays and all things sweet, Jen from the very sweet site Beantown Baker has dreamed up a thoughtful way to share birthday cake with friends who are far away: cupcakes baked in Mason Jars! Here she goes:
One of the things I love most about baking is sharing my baked goods with other people. Whether it's baking something for a friend who had surgery, got a promotion, or for no reason at all, I get real joy out of baking for other people. Since most of my family is 1000+ miles away, they don't usually get to experience my baked goods. Last fall when we were coming into what I call birthday season, 6 birthdays from Oct-Dec, I really wanted to bake for my family members with birthdays coming up.
Since cupcakes are my favorite thing to bake, I decided to send them cupcakes. I had seen this idea online and decided to give it a shot. I sent cupcakes in a jar to family members across the country. They were all pretty shocked when the packages came. It was fun to get the phone calls from each of them thanking me for the creative way to share my baking with them. My Dad loved it so much, I've been told that he tells everyone about it. As a not-so-subtle hint, he also gave me a box of new jars for my birthday. I think he's expecting more cupcakes in a jar this year for his birthday!
How to Make and Ship Cupcakes in Mason Jars
- Bake cupcakes as directed and allow to cool completely. Remove cupcake liner and cut cupcake in half either vertically or horizontally. Place 1/2 of the cupcake into a sterilized 1/2 pint wide mouth jar. Add frosting to jar. At this point, add some fun extra, such as crushed Oreos or sprinkles. Place the other half the the cupcake in the jar (if you cut the cupcake vertically, it is easier to put both halves in the jar and pipe frosting between the two pieces).
- Frost the cupcake as if it weren't in a jar. Add lid and ring to jar. Decorate with ribbon if you want. Be sure to tell your recipients to slide the lid off the jar as opposed to just pulling it up. Otherwise half of the frosting will stick to the lid.
- Mail immediately or place in freezer for a day or two then mail them. I like to freeze them and let the thaw as they are traveling to the unsuspecting recipients.
Yellow Funfetti Cupcakes
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and softened to room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup sprinkles
- Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line with parchment paper two 8×2-inch pans (These cakes rose over the top of my 2-inch pans - you could very well have a mess on your hands if you try 1.5 inch pans). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Place butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
- Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl before each addition. Add the eggs one at a time. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer. Stir in sprinkles.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife or off-set spatula. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top a couple of times to burst any air bubbles and allowing the batter to settle. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely in the pans before removing the cakes and frosting.
Chocolate frosting
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
- 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar - I used 2 1/2 cups
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
Keep updated on all of Jen's sweet adventures on beantownbaker.com!
birthday cake, cupcakes, guest blog, recipes
Reader Comments (43)
That is the most cutest idea, and so ingenious too! I love to share baked goods with friends and family. Most of them are out of state and the country so i can't wait to try this!
Yum! Those look delicious and perfect. What a fun idea to share your home baked love with friends and family all over.
Very cute! Where do you find mason jars that size? I'd love to know, so I can make them for friends and family! Thank you.
What an adorable idea!!!
PS - I love that your dad gave you more jars... that's too cute!
Great idea! And also because the jars are reusable.
That is stinkin' fabulous! Perfect for my co-ed daughter who loves cupcakes!! Thanks!!
omg those cupcakes in a jar are the coolest thing ever!
omg those cupcakes in a jar are the coolest thing ever!
omg that's so awesome! they look really pretty too. if only you could actually bake them in the jars...but the method you described is still pretty nifty.
where did you find the small jars? never seen those before.. such a cute idea!
where did you find the small jars? never seen those before.. such a cute idea!
If you like then you shoulda put a lid on it. Just kidding, really bad joke. What a fantastic idea. I've made chocolate cakes in mason jars. This is a great, I wonder what else you could make in mason jars. Key lime pie?
I absolutely love this idea! Another great one :)
How cute! What a wonderful gift idea...
Brilliant! And yummy too I bet!
Great idea.
@veggievixen I'm not sure why you couldn't just bake the cupcakes in the mason jars. I routinely use the oven to sterilize mine.
Also, if you send someone a dozen, what should they do with the 12 mason jars? Send them back?
What a great idea!!!! I have been trying to figure out how to send baked goods to friends & family that live across the country - this could be the answer!!! I to wonder what else you could use this technique for? Also, I am curious about freshness?????
duuuuuuuuuude. bookmarked for those "what the heck do i buy her?" friends!
Hmmm- interesting!! This is such a fun idea. I think my family & friends would absolutely tease me about being Martha-Stewart-Like if I actually did this. It's really a fun idea though. Might just have to bake up some Mason jars :)
I dont know how I feel about this one. I almost take away from the original way to eat a cupcake. I mean, its cute but you can't eat it the normal way. The traditional way of eating is what makes eating a cupcake fun!
This is great! I have a lot of family who live far away. I will have to try this:)
Oh my god! This is an excellent idea - bookmark worthy for sure. What a great way to send cupcakes to far away friends for their birthday!
Wonderful.
Oh I wish I had people who lived far away!
xx
I think it's a great idea, but if I was gifted one, I wouldn't know how to eat it without destroying it. Jam it with a fork and pull it out that way? Upend it and risk getting frosting all over my waiting palm? I'm perplexed....