DIY; Rainbow Cake in a Jar

Nothing is better than eating Rainbow Cake out of a jar. NOTHING. I have said it before, and I'll say it again I love jars. LOVE them. But really, how could you say no to rainbow cake in a jar? You couldn't. It tastes delicious, it's in a jar, you can pop a lid on to give it as a gift or party favor, or to store it, it looks wonderful, it's in a JAR, and it's fun! Here is my tutorial & recipe for Rainbow Cake and Tie Dye cakes in a jar as well as for perfect simple vanilla frosting.

For the Jars;

I used half pint jars. They are the perfect size! This recipe will make about 8. Make sure you clean and dry them before use.

For the Cake;

-You cannot use boxed mix to do this project. Don't even try. Your cake will come out muddy and ugly.
Instead you need a thick homemade cake batter. I am all about simplicity in the kitchen and so this recipe from Amy Sedariss
worked perfectly. It wasn't too sweet and it was wonderfully thick! But you can use whatever recipe you like best. 

-Once you have made the batter, separate it equally into 6 different bowls and tint red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
You do not need to grease or spray the jars as the cake is not going to be removed from the jars. Using either piping bags or a spoon,
put the cake batter into the jars in layers in rainbow order. Fill the jars just over halfway with the batter.

-Transfer the jars to a pan with high sides. Fill the pan with about a half inch of water. The water bath is so the cake does not brown.
Bake jars of cake at 350 (F) for about 35 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

-When the cakes are done take them out to cool. They will have puffed up on top. Once cool, scoop off the puffed up tops.
You can discard these, or as I found, fill another jar with them, making a fun tie dye pattern!

For the Frosting;

In a bowl, beat together, 5 cups of (sifted) confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, 1 stick (8 tbsp) of softened butter, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract (all natural, do not use imitation (ever)) until fluffy. If it is too thick add more milk. if it is too thin add more powdered sugar. This frosting compliments the cake so perfectly! So thick and creamy! Frost the cakes and decorate as desired! I used rainbow nonpareils!

For Tie Dye Cake in a Jar;

Doing regular rainbow cakes in a jar will result in enough chopped off tops of the cake for one or two tie dye cakes.
But what if you only want tie dye cakes? Make the cake batter and separate into the 6 colors like directed above.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spoon three layers of color (half should be red orange and  yellow,
the other half green blue and purple) into each cupcake liner. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once cool, cut the cupcakes in half horizontally (so there are a top and a bottom not a left side and a right side).
Use these pieces of cake to stuff the jars. Frost and decorate as you please!

Lastly; I finally got a Pinterest! And yes, I realize I'm a little late to jump on board, but I'm really excited! I am super new to it, and so I really don't know where to start. I'm looking for accounts to follow (full of decor, wedding, diy, food, inspiration), and I know all of you must have lovely Pinterests. SO if you are interested, follow me on Pinterest here (or click the button in the right sidebar) and/or comment below with the name of some of your favorite Pinterest accounts. So I can check out your account, as well as the ones you love & maybe follow some! You will also realize, that when you hover over (most of) my photos there's now a Pin it button! (I ask that you only pin those with the button (it will link back to the post anyway) and as always, never pin anything without giving credit.) My blog posts are finally pin-able! Very exciting. 

xo, Stay Infinite