Valentine's Day Strawberry Cake-In-A-Jar

I have a slight obsession with mason jars. We used them at our wedding as candle holders, so now we have over a hundred empty mason jars, which makes me VERY happy!
Mason jars are such an easy way to give a dessert, a candle or some wildflowers that vintage, home-made feel. They also make any kind of dessert very portable and easy to serve!


I decided to make some cute Valentine's Day Strawberry Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting for my hunny. They were delicious, oh-so-simple, and super cute! Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Strawberry Cake-In-A-Jar
(makes 9 mason jar desserts)
INGREDIENTS:
1 18 oz. box Strawberry Cake Mix
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
red food coloring


DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 8" round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Blend the cake mix, water, oil, eggs and sour cream in a large bowl until all ingredients are moistened. Using a had mixer, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Pour 1/3 of the strawberry cake batter into one of the cake pans. 
4. Add a 7-9 drops of food coloring to the remaining batter. Mix thoroughly. Pour half of that batter the second cake pan. 
5. To the of the batter add 5-7 more drops of red food coloring. Mix thoroughly. Pour this batter into the last empty cake pan. 
6. You should have three pans, with even amount of cake batter, in three shades: pink, red, and dark red. You can add as much or as little food coloring as you'd like to customize your shades of pink & red.
7. Bake cakes for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cakes cool completely.
8. Using a round biscuit cutter, or any other object the same diameter as your mason jars, cut 9 circles out of each cake. You will have 27 circles total- 9 in each shade. Set these aside while you make the frosting.


Cream Cheese Frosting:
INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar


DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
2. Mix in vanilla and then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar. Add more or less sugar, depending on how creamy or stiff you like your frosting.
3. Put the dark red cake circles in the bottom of your mason jars. Using a spoon or a pastry bag, pipe 1 tablespoon of frosting on top of the cake circle. 
4. Next, put the bright red cake circles on top of the frosting. Top with another tablespoon of frosting. Repeat with the pink cake circles. Top with some pink sprinkles and eat up!

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