Pumpkin Cake in a Jar

I really struggled with the title for this post.

Because Pumpkin Cake in a Jar implies that the cake is flavored with pumpkin.

Pumpkin that came from a can, but was mixed into a cake batter and poured into a jar.

But this cake is not pumpkin flavored.

It just looks like a pumpkin.

Kinda like those ships that are in bottles. Only instead of a bottle, it’s a jar. And instead of a ship, it’s a pumpkin.

A pumpkin that’s made out of cake.

Weird, right?

But maybe a little bit cool?

When I originally baked the cake batter in the jars, I had a bit of a different idea of what I was going to do with them. But when they came out, they weren’t exactly what I had planned on.

And that’s when the lightbulb appeared over my head. Only MY lightbulb was a pink neon one that’s shaped like cupcake.

That’s just how things happen with me.

Anyways–these things are a cinch to make, and super, SUPER cute. They are a great thing to have around if you’re one of those people who loves to pass out magical food gifts around the holidays.

Everyone loves those kind of people, don’t they?

Seriously, you should be a magical food passer outer. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Materials:

2 dozen 8 oz straight sided glass jars with lids (click for where to buy)
Ribbon
Round labels/Halloween stamp/stickers, etc. for decorating lid.
White cake mix plus oil, eggs, and water needed for cake
Orange food color
Green frosting (if you need a buttercream frosting recipe, click HERE for my tutorial)
Piping bag with #12 round tip
Nonstick cooking spray (like Pam)

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray the inside of your jars with nonstick spray and set them aside.

Prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box, adding enough orange food coloring to achieve your desired color.

Fill jars about 1/4 of the way, being careful not to get batter all over the rim and top of the jar. If you fill a small measuring cup with batter and carefully pour over the center of the jar, it will fill the jar very neatly.

Place jars on a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until cake is set. You can stick a spoon in the jar to see if the center of the cake springs back when lightly pressed, if you’re not sure.

Remove jars from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. As they cool, the cake will pull away from the sides of the jar.

Once the cakes are cool, stick the piping bag of frosting in the jar and pipe the top of the pumpkin and the stem.

Tie a coordinating ribbon around the top of the jar and place a label or sticker on the center of the lid.

They should look like this.

Unless you used different ribbon.  In which case, they should look like this but with different ribbon.

All that’s left to do is pass them out and be loved and adored and have compliments showered upon you.

Happy Wednesday!!