The Top Ten Countdown: Number 1

The number one recipe on Margaret's Morsels is Mini Mason Jar Cakes. This summertime canning staple is a creative way to bake and serve cakes, cobblers, pies and crisps.

© Margaret's Morsels

Baby Cakes

The last few years, small desserts have become big business.  Brownie bites, cakepops -- decorated cake balls on a stick -- and cupcakes are just a few that have become popular.  Take a look in the baking aisle at the bookstore and you'll see a proliferation of books dedicated to the concept of diminutive desserts.  There are even cooking classes on the topic for the home baker.


I recently took a "Baby Cakes" class at a local cooking school.  I learned how to make individual pudding cakes, chocolate bouchons -- a two bite cake that resembles a cork (bouchon) -- and decorate petit fours.  The recipe that got my creative juices flowing the most, however, was mini Mason jar cakes.

Mason jars are glass jars with flat lids and screw top bands that are traditionally used to can food.  They can also be used to bake and serve individual desserts such as cakes, cobblers, pies and crisps.  You aren't canning the desserts, but using the jars as vessels to bake the desserts. The desserts should not be stored for long periods, but eaten within a few days of baking.


Jars are available in a variety of sizes, but the four ounce jars are wonderful for mini desserts.  The serving size is enough to satisfy your sweet tooth without feeling as though you're indulging.


You don't need a special cake recipe to make mini Mason jar cakes, but you do need a lot of jars.  I used a cake mix and ended up with 25 cakes. If you don't have enough jars, use the remaining batter for cupcakes or miniature loaves.  If you're making a cake from scratch and it can be halved, you can do that too.


Prepare the cake batter according to the directions.  Coat the clean jars with nonstick cooking spray and add approximately 1/4 cup cake batter, wiping any excess off the rims of the jars.

To make it easier to move the jars into and out of the oven, set them on a rimmed baking sheet.  I put them in a 9 x 13-inch pan.  Don't let the jars touch each other; air needs to circulate to ensure even baking.

Bake the cakes at the temperature listed on the recipe for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  The cakes bake much quicker than they would in a cake pan, so keep an eye on them to make sure they don't overbake.  Remove the pan from the oven and set the jars on a wire rack to cool completely.


Once the cakes are completely cool, they can be frosted or left plain.  If you leave them plain, there's enough room in the jar to add a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream when the cakes are served.  To frost the cakes, spread your favorite homemade or store bought frosting over the top of the cakes, wiping the rims to remove any excess frosting.  

When you're finished, put on the lids and the screw top bands.


You can leave the jars as is or go one step further and decorate the lids. Use some fabric -- something that coordinates with the party theme or season is a nice touch -- to cut circles or squares to put on top of the lids before the screw top bands are added.  If you don't have enough fabric, cut a circle that fits only the lids with no overhang when the bands are added.

Fabric left to right:  circle, square, lid only

Mini Mason jar cakes are great for a casual get together or picnic.  Unlike a frosted layer cake, the jars are easy to transport.  If you want to make the cakes year round, it's a good idea to stock up on the jars while they're in season at a good price.  The jars will be hard to find and cost a lot more if you wait until later in the year.

A tray of mini Mason jar cakes.

© Margaret's Morsels

Easter Menu: Part 3

This is the third of a three part series with recipes from my Easter menu.

If you don't know what to serve for dessert on Easter, it's not too late to make a bunny cake.  You don't need a special pan, only two 8-inch round cake pans.


I learned how to make this cake in a high school home economics class. My home ec teacher taught us to prepare the cake mix according to the package directions, but that's not how I fix it anymore.


Now days, when I bake a white or yellow cake mix, I use a recipe given to me by a friend that decorates cakes.  Instead of following the directions on the box, add water, Dream Whip, eggs and oil -- applesauce if you want to reduce the amount of fat -- to the cake mix.  The combination of these ingredients makes a packaged cake mix taste homemade.

This is all you need to make a bunny cake.

It's always best for food to be the same size to ensure even cooking.  This is also true in baking.  You want the amount of cake batter in each pan to be equal.  That way, the cakes will be the same size and one won't bake faster than the other.  There are various ways to achieve this.

I use a large cookie scoop and add one scoop of batter at a time to each pan until the batter is used up.  You can do the same thing with a measuring cup.  If you don't want to fool with a scoop or measuring cup, pour the batter into the pans, adding and removing batter, until the pans contain the same amount.

After all the batter is used, tap each pan on the kitchen counter a few times.  This distributes the batter and pops any air bubbles on the surface. Put the pans in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.  Let the pans cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cakes are completely cool, put one in the freezer on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.  You don't want to freeze the cake, but want it very cold.  This makes it less likely to crumble when you cut the cake into the bunny shape.

Put the cake that was in the freezer on a cutting board and cut curves in the side of the cake for the ears.  Use the leftover piece for the bow tie. The remaining cake is the bunny's head.

Cut the second ear from the other side of the cake.

Assemble the pieces on a large cake board or cookie sheet.  If the pieces are too big, trim the ears or bow tie until everything fits.

Frost each part of the cake including the edges with a white frosting, such as vanilla, buttercream or cream cheese.  I buy two 16 ounce containers of frosting to make sure I have enough to cover the whole cake completely.

Once the frosting is applied, sprinkle flaked coconut on top of the frosting to mimic the bunny's fur.  My son doesn't like coconut so I leave it off of the bow tie.  That way, anyone that doesn't like coconut can still have a piece of cake.

You can leave the cake as is, but it's fun to be creative and decorate the cake.  Kids love to help with the decorating.  My son's helped decorate the cake since he was two.  The first year he helped me, it wasn't physically possible to add one more jelly bean to the cake!  Over the years, he's perfected his technique and learned about moderation.

In home ec, we decorated everything -- ears, face and bow tie -- with jelly beans.  However, you don't have to use jelly beans to decorate the cake. As you can see from the picture, one year my son used M&M's and two upside down Hershey's Kisses to decorate the bow tie.  

Instead of jelly beans, additional coconut can be tinted pink and sprinkled on the ears.  The easiest way to tint coconut is in a resealable plastic bag. Dilute some red food coloring with 1/2 teaspoon water and pour over the coconut.  Seal the bag and shake the coconut until it's evenly tinted.

The whiskers can be made out of licorice.  You can also use licorice to outline the bow tie.  The rest of the cake can be decorated with M&M's, Skittles, gum drops, spice drops or any other colorful candy.  There are no steadfast rules so let creativity be your guide. 

The cake is a real crowd pleaser and disappears faster than candy in a child's Easter basket.  No matter what else you serve for Easter dinner, the cake is what everyone will remember.  

Easter Bunny Cake

12 Servings

1 (18 1/4 oz.) pkg. white cake mix

1 cup cold water

1 envelope Dream Whip (dry)

4 eggs

1/3 cup oil or applesauce

2 (16 oz.) containers white frosting (vanilla, buttercream or cream cheese)

flaked coconut (enough to cover cake)

jelly beans or other candy (to decorate the cake)

Put the first five ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes.  Pour batter into two greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans. Bake at 325° for about 40 minutes.  Remove pans from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.


When the cakes are completely cool, put one cake on a wire rack in the freezer for 30 minutes.  Remove from the freezer and put the cake on a cutting board.  Cut curves in the sides of the cake for the ears.  Use the leftover piece for the bow tie.  Arrange the pieces on a cake board or cookie sheet, using the remaining cake for the bunny's face.  Cover cake with the frosting.  Sprinkle coconut on top of the frosting.  Decorate with jelly beans or other candy.

© Margaret's Morsels