cupcake?

I had an idea....I did not want to spend any time in the kitchen during his get together. Sooo I thought if I baked all the cake in individual servings the week before there would be less to do the day of. I experimented a couple of weeks before and decided it would work.
I bought 144 4 oz jars. and proceeded to fill them with 4 different kids of cake.

Each of those jars were washed first....then buttered....then filled...then the rim wiped clean...then baked in a cake pan with boiling water added half way up the sides....then taken out and sealed. The jar lids were put in a pan and boiled for a few minutes before being placed on the hot jars and the rim being put on them.

 I usually did one batch a day. Occasionally I doubled the batch of 'cupcakes'.

Sadly this was taken after the party when most of the cakes were gone and the decorations were too. (A pumpkin or 2 placed by a friend and then taken away by the friend so I don't have to deliver those things today.:)) The baskets were full and so was the 'tower' (plate rack).
I tried a couple of recipes that did not make the cut since there would be no frosting the cakes needed to be moist on their own.
Cupcake #1:
I did a pumpkin cake/cookie that I started making in 1990.Taken from Better Homes and Gardens 'Cookies for Christmas' book, page 62. I made a note then that they would make good cupcakes....just took me 23 years to try them that way.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Bars

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt

1 16-ounce can pumpkin*

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup oil

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• preheat oven to 350. Stir together first 5 dry ingredients. Set aside. Combine eggs, pumpkin, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and oil. Add flour mixture and mix until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Spread in an ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Stir together the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until done. Cool. Cut into bars. Makes 36.

*Pumpkin does not come in a 16 oz can, it is a 15 oz can but I just used the 1 can and they were fine. When not lidded the cinnamon and sugar form a crunchy top which is nice. I would add chopped pecans next time to get a crunch in these. I used a spicy cinnamon; Vietnamese "Saigon" cinnamon that I purchased from The Spice House.
I will probably never make these as a bar again; they make better cupcakes. Baking them in water increased the time you would think cupcakes would be done...just watch closely and check them often after 25 minutes.
Cupcake #2
Chocolate. I made the ultimate cupcake that I blogged about here with no frosting.
Cupcake #3
Lemon-Almond cake, gluten free. I found the recipe on line, here.
I doubled the recipe and added 1 Tablespoon vanilla since I have loads of homemade vanilla extract. :) I also used zest of 1 lemon and of 2 small cuties.
Cupcake #4
Passover Chocolate Sponge Cake. Found on line, here. This was done last minute (Saturday) so hadn't tested it before hand. I added vanilla and a spoonful of chocolate ganache as found in the Ultimate chocolate cupcake recipe. It sunk to the bottom but was still good. Next time I make this cake I will add some cocoa to up the chocolate flavor.
I'll continue to experiment with cake in a jar since it keeps the cake fresh longer and since we are a small family of 3 now baking a cake for us will not work very well...well we would just get too much cake. I had a lot of fun doing this but now I have to figure out where to put the jars!