I saw some cool looking cakes online somewhere - that had been baked into small jam jars. We had to try it! This is our results:
We decided to start with a ginger cake. Gavin hasn’t forayed much into the world of baking and was pleasantly surprised with how easy & fast it is to make a cake.
I think that making a cake in a jar might in fact be the best way to do it! They stay quite moist in the jar, and since there are only 2 of us, this takes off the pressure to eat a whole cake in 2 days so it doesn’t stale. It fits well into a backpack, so you can take one with you for lunch (gavin) - which can be tricky to do with a slice of regular sized cake!
Plus the obvious fact that it just looks so cool! Right now we’ve got one in the freezer for testing, and I’m pretty confidant that it’s going to come out just as delicious as it went in!
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t count on these being safe to sit on the counter for months on end. We did boil the lids and put them on the cakes as soon as they came out of the oven (so they are sealed, with the lids sucked in) we didn’t boil them or anything after they were sealed. That’s why we’re testing the freezer.
Anyway - on to the recipe!
Our recipe is slightly adapted from the new and improved edition of the Joy of cooking.
Ingredienten:
The dry ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups flour (we used whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
The wet:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses (or corn syrup, honey, maple syrup or combination thereof. After many tests, we decided that we couldn’t taste the difference)
- 1 (large) egg
The added for deliciousness:
- a centaur shaped fresh ginger root
- a whole stick of butter (1/2 cup for the block buyers)
- 1/2 cup water
Step One:
You know the drill, combine dries in one bowl, wets in another. Put the wets in a bigger bowl, because we’ll do everything in there.
Step Two:
Mince up the ginger nice and small. Unless you like chunky fruit cakey bits. I can’t think of anyone as an example, so do it nice and small - add it to the wets. Also, The Joy says to use only 1/2 cup ginger. We didn’t really measure, and just made Gavin mince the whole thing. We like ginger.
Step Three:
You may have noticed that there isn’t any butter yet. Don’t worry! Here it comes!
Melt the butter into the water, and stir into the wets. I suppose the last three steps could be combined into 1 step, if we had said melted butter and hot water.
Step Four:
Combine wets & dries - don’t over mix!
Meanwhile, have Gavin oil and flour the jars, and drop the lids in just boiled water.
Step Five:
I forgot to tell you to preheat the over to 350 F - you should probably do that now! Now, when pouring the batter, make sure that you are around 2/3 full - 3/4 will overflow! That’s a terrible waste of ginger!
Step Six:
Bake them until they are done!
We started checking them after 20 minutes or so, poking them with a toothpick. I don’t remember how long it took before it came out clean. When they are done, take them out! We put them on a wooden cutting board, because we were worried about anything else being too cold and the jars exploding. I don’t know how likely that is! Dry (shake off) the lids and screw them on tight while the cake is still hot, and without burning yourself.
Once they’ve cooled - enjoy!! I like them best with lots of butter 
ps: have you seen the lovely ‘new’ butter dish that we got at the thrift store? I’m loving it! It definitely beats that battered and broken plastic one it’s replacing!
February 11th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I’ve got my flour, I’ve got my oil… where are my jars???
February 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Nice photos. Cake looks amazing. I also found an interesting recipe for ginger cake. Maybe we can try it next time that we’re together.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Oh my! Thanks for stopping by my blog even though it has been idle for quite some time. I absolutely love the blog you two have come up with…This recipe is great as well…I’ve always wanted to make a jar dessert but never have, now I should!
cheers,
Lydia
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:32 am
Liebe Zoe
Deine Konservenglaskuchen sehen sehr LECKER aus!
Heute abend backe ich Haferbrei Kekse. Hoffentlich werden sie auch lecker schmecken. Morgen werde ich zu einem Flohmarkt gehen und ich habe an meine liebe Zoe gedacht!
Alles Liebe
Deine
Courtney