Cupcakes in a jar are basically the best thing ever. They're cute, they're a delightful novelty, they come in reusable packaging, and they ship amazingly well. And--bonus!--shipping them in a jar not only protects the cake but seals in the moisture. Yes indeed--I'm firmly convinced that this is the way to go when shipping cupcakes.
But if you're not into that whole DIY thing (don't worry, it's ok) there's someone who will do it for you: Cupcake Carousel, a custom-order "we will ship cupcakes in a jar for you" business based in Madison, WI.
Recently owner Sarah, an avid baker who has "been baking since I was pretty much old enough to stand", citing that "Ever since burning my fingers on my easy bake oven, I was hooked" sent a batch of these sweet cakes over to the CakeSpy headquarters for us to sample--this was a hard task, but we put ourselves to it with due diligence.
First off, the parcel opened to sweetly wrapped rows of cupcakes in mason jars--everything was very secure.
and each little jar came tied with a cute ribbon and--this kills me--a mini spoon! (see top picture for a visual) I may or may not have cooed a little.
Opening the jar, the cupcakes had fared amazingly well through the shipping--the frosting was hardly smudged, thanks to the firm bases and protective glass layer encapsulating each one.
And even after several days of transit time and a two days of refrigeration (they arrived while I was still in Minneapolis), they were still surprisingly moist. Not as moist as if I ran over for a just baked treat from the local bakery, but amazingly moist for cakes that had been baked several days before--and, importantly, not stale tasting.
For me though, the standout was the chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream:
rich chocolate cake topped with a healthy dollop (and middle layer! yes!) of a very buttery and silky buttercream, sweetly flecked with little bits of madagascar vanilla bean.
To order, visit the Cupcake Carousel website; for more info on the day-to-day goings-on, check out the Cupcake Carousel blog!