Food and Recipes Desserts Cakes Birthday Cake In A Jar 4.2 (5) 2 Reviews Celebrate the people you love with an individual mason jar filled with birthday cake. By Ivy Odom Ivy Odom Ivy is an Editorial Producer for Dotdash Meredith and hosts an array of lifestyle videos. She also authors a bi-monthly recipe column for Southern Living. Ivy has over four years of experience as on-camera talent across multiple platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, television, and other social channels, as well as extensive producing and editing experience for TikTok. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on May 31, 2023 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Active Time: 1 hrs Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Servings: 8 What could be more Southern than a sweet birthday cake perfectly packaged in a mason jar? It's thoughtful, easy, and oh-so delicious. This cake in a jar recipe starts with a package of boxed cake mix (to save time), but we made a few changes to really take it to the next level. By substituting melted butter for oil and whole milk for water, we guarantee your boxed cake mix will taste better than ever. This Birthday Cake in a Jar recipe is complete with a homemade cream cheese icing that beautifully incorporates sweet and tangy flavors. Once the cake is baked and cooled, cut out circles of cake using the mason jar opening, and then layer the cake and icing until it fills the jar. Add assorted sprinkles to make this jar cake adorably festive. Whether you're leaving it at someone's doorstep or storing it in your freezer for grab-and-go birthday gifts when needed, this recipe is sure to impress. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Ingredients Cooking spray 1 recipe Better Boxed Cake Mix (no frosting) 1 cup assorted sprinkles, divided (optional) 2 recipes Cream Cheese Frosting 8 half-pint regular mouth mason jars with lids Directions Preheat oven and prepare the pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 1 rimmed (18x13-inch) baking sheet with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper. Or, alternatively, lightly grease 2 (9x13-inch) rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray, and line with parchment paper. Gather your ingredients. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Bake the cake: Prepare cake mix according to recipe instructions. Fold 2/3 cup sprinkles into batter if using. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Spread batter into prepared baking sheets. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Bake in preheated oven 20-23 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Prepare Frosting and cut Cake circles: Let cake cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare Cream Cheese Frosting and place in a piping bag. If all frosting does not fit in one bag, do this in batches. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Place cooled cake on a cutting board. Use a mason jar to cut 24 circles of cake; set aside. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Assemble the Jars: Place one circle of cake in a mason jar, lightly pressing cake to very bottom of jar. Pipe frosting about 1/2-inch thick on top of cake layer, then top with a second cake layer. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Pipe another 1/2-inch of frosting on top of second layer, then add one final layer of cake and a final 1/2-inch layer of frosting. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Place lid on mason jar and repeat with remaining cake, frosting, and sprinkles. Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless Rate it Print