Red Velvet Cupcakes in jars

I never showed you the pictures of the red velvet cupcakes I baked back in May! I baked them in, wait for it, jars. I made these for two bake sales that just happened to be on the same day, so I made a whole lot of them. I used the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting [1] recipe from Pinch My Salt. I made two batches and filled 48 four-ounce jars. I think there might have been batter left over, maybe? It seems like it was so long ago, but I can tell you for certain that I filled four dozen jars.



I filled the jars about 1/3rd of the way full with batter, after baking this left enough room at the top of the jar for frosting and sprinkles. (I do wish I'd bought larger jars, four ounces seemed so itty once I got them home.)



There is something very satisfying about rows and rows of brand new and just cleaned jars.



Know what I need to remember to do? Keep track of which cubes of butter come from the same stick when I cut them up to allow them to soften. I made two separate batches and just sort of had to guess how much was half the butter. Oops. For the record I have seven cutting boards and I never think I have too many.



I finally bought myself some sheet pans that are the right size to hold my Silpats. The Silpats help keep the jars from sliding around. I tossed my other odd-sized (and badly mistreated) baking sheets and have not missed them. Apparently I need seven cutting boards but can get by just fine with two jelly roll pans.



The red food coloring looks crime scene-y. Know how much food coloring goes into each batch? A lot. I think my brain didn't comprehend how much it would take so I ended up doing a last minute run to the grocery store for more. (There is always one thing that makes me end up at a grocery store at 11 p.m. I don't mind though, grocery stores at odd hours can be an adventure.)



I traced the jar lids onto paper, scanned the circles into Photoshop, designed and printed out labels on cardstock and cut the circles out by hand. (Scott helped, he's awesome. He also helped pipe frosting and sprinkle red nonpareils more artfully than I did.) These labels were cut to fit just between the layers of the jar lids so they wouldn't require any adhesive to keep them in place, making the jars easy to wash and reuse. The other side of the label lists the ingredients. I included some small spoons attached to the jars with silver elastic cords that I bought at a packaging supply store. My favorite thing to use the little jars for is to shake just enough vinaigrette [2] for two, three or four salads. I also save seeds in them. (The Canary Bird Vine will live to see another year!)

I always have nightmares that I've misspelled something on a label. Creme cheese frosting? Cram cheese frosting? Cream chese frosting? Cream cheese frosing? This keeps me up at night.

[1] http://pinchmysalt.com/2009/02/04/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/
[2] http://www.teaandcookiesblog.com/2011/06/arugula-salad-and-vinaigrette-101.html

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/notmartha/~3/Z6gjBKtEXX8/

digital scrapbooking templates wedding scrapbook albums wholesale scrapbook supplies sewing manufacturers