wonderland cakes.

for aydan's birthday i wanted to do something extra.
something unexpected.
something a little different.
we made wonderland cakes.

what are wonderland cakes you ask?
they are rainbow layered cakes baked in jars, naturally.
they are the type of cakes that one would expect to see in wonderland.
layered colour upon colour upon colour. vibrant and wonderful.
something unusual and perfect for this tea party.

they fit in magically.

i had seen this done before and piggy baking on her idea i made my own version. {she had used a cake mix - i did not. she used pastels - i went for vibrant.}
i loved this.
the kids loved it.
they were the perfect addition.
and they tasted great!
that's the main thing right?
but the look does count for something as well.....you gotta give me that!

wonderland cakes {baked right in the jar!!}
makes 16 jars.
top these with my classic buttercream icing. yum.

18 tablespoons of unsalted butter - room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra large eggs - room temperature
1 cup sour cream - room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 lemon - zested
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
lots of different gel colours - i use gel because you get maximum colour with little dye - you can taste dye if you use too much.

16 x 250 ml canning jars
ziplock style sandwich bags - as many as as many colours you want.

preheat oven to 325 degrees. wash and dry your jars - i used 250 ml canning jars for this.
plus have your ziplock bags ready.

cream the butter and sugar on medium till light and fluffy. scrape down the bowl then while mixing add your eggs one at a time. scrape down bowl then add your sour cream, vanilla and lemon. mix well on low.

sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and soda. slowly add the flour mix to the wet mix. finish by hand to make sure it's all incorporated but being careful not to overmix.

dived the batter up between bowls and add your colour and mix gently. pour your coloured content - one colour per bag - into your bags. now you add them to the jars. when the process is done you want your batter to fall somewhere between 1/3 of the way up the jar and half way up.

also you might want to clean up your sides - we seemed to skip that step!
now pop them in the oven for 45 minutes. seems like a long time but that's the time!! then remove from oven and insert a tester in them to check that they are done. let them cool completely on the tray on a wire rack, ice them and close them up! a tip: do not add sprinkles to them {if using} till just before you serve them - if left over night some brands end to bleed into the icing and those they do not serve in wonderland!
hope you enjoy!