i would like to find receipes for making breads and cakes in a canning jar. Can anyone help?

-- Patricia Jividen (pjividen@msn.com), July 19, 2000

Answers

Hi Patricia: You can make cakes in a jar using just about any kind of moist cake recipie. (Pumpkin, zucchini, oatmeal, coffee cakes, etc. that doesn't require iceing.) Grease the inside of a quart canning jar and fill half way with the batter, bake at 350 until done. While still hot, remove from the oven and place lid and ring on. The lid will seal as the jar cools.

-- Marci (ajourend@libby.org), July 19, 2000.

Marci: Have you actually done this with QUART jars? All the recipies I have seen on the canning sites, use pint wide mouth jars. If quarts will work, that would be great! Thanks, Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), July 19, 2000.

My daughter and I did this for last Christmas. We also made a lemon curd in the small jelly jars for iceing for the carrot cake! We had folks bringing back their jars asking if they could have another one! You can use the quart jars as long as they are completely straight sided, or else you can't get the cake to slide out of the jar. The wide mouthed pints work great, so do the old wide mouthed straight sided old jars. But most of the new ones come in at the lid! This is a really great idea! Also cookie mix in jars or date bread mix in jars, attach the recipe, to just add egg and water. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 19, 2000.

A few years ago I was given a cake in a jar and really liked the idea of storing them that way until I could eat an entire cake. I called my county extension service to get a recipe for making them, and was told it is unwise to do so. I was told that they don't get hot enough in the baking process to kill the nasties, so any baked in this manner should be consumed in a maximum of 2 or 3 days. They wouldn't even give me a recipe for making them since they deemed them unsafe. Consider this informational and then make your own decision whether to proceed or not. It's kind of like water bath canning SOME things. Many a folk did it without problems, but it is not recommended today.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), July 19, 2000.

Vicki, would you please post your lemon curd recipe? Patricia thanks for posting this, I've been going to do this for the last couple of years. I've bought canned cake before. it was delicious and handy when a friend stopped by unexpectedly.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), July 20, 2000.

I've been doing this for years with gingerbread, pound cake and any moist cake like carrot or zuchinni and I've never had one unseal or spoil. Also, Ball makes a 1 1/2 pint straight sided jar that works well for the cakes, holding nore batter and saving lids, plus one of the pint size jars was a joke for my family. You would probably have to have a store special order the jars, but if you do many of these cakes, the price of a couple cases of the jars are worth it. I think I paid around $8 per case for mine.

-- Denyelle Stroup (dedestroup@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

Cindy it is the same recipe as for lemon meringue pie filling. In a suacepan, mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons corn starch, 3 tablespoos of flour and a dash of salt. Gradually add 1 and 1/2 cups of hot water stirring constantly. Cook and stir over moderately high heat till mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Mix 3 egg yolks into a cup, add some of the hot mixture to the egg yolks and stir, add some more until the egg yolks are hot but not cooked (this is called tempering) mix the egg yolk mixture back into the pot, I add 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel 1/3 cup lemon juice (fresh only) and 1tsp vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir over heat just till cooked through, and boiling again. I pour this mixture into 1/2 pint pretty jars, place seals on. Tighten down bands and I put in my canner, I bring my canner to 10 pounds of pressure for 3 minutes, turn off the heat, vent the canner and they seal. This is per instructions for canning custard. We also have had cakes canned like this for months. Just think about this, if their was something in a cake that would make you sick it would be the nuts going rancid, it would be obviously molded, and the eggs are cooked. If you don't can alot this type of thing can be scarry for you, but don't make others not try things because of "things you have heard". Canning has been done in the same way for generations. This is not some new gismo that we have made up. Now I don't use wax, and I wouldn't use wax to seal anything but Jelly. I also am very clean, cleaner when I can meat. There is a science to canning, yes, but this isn't brain surgery! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

Thanks Vicki, that sounds delicious. My grandpa lived to be in his 80's and died of unnatural causes, he canned his whole life. He canned some very interesting stuff in interesting ways. You just need to use your head and as Vicki said be clean.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), July 21, 2000.

Hi Patricia. I've had friends contact the Extension Service for canning directions but instead recieved such a lecture on the dangers of botulism in home canned products that they never even tried canning. Wonder why they were doing that? Sad.

I have a very old Kerr canning/freezing book, the first I ever bought and I've already had an invitation to join AARP. Anyway, the pumpkin bread recipe calls for 2/3 c shortening, 2 2/3 c. sugar, 4 eggs, 2 c. pumpkin, 2/3 c. water, 3 1/3 c flour, 1/2 t. baking powder, 2 t. baking soda, 1 1/2 t. salt, 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. ground cloves, 2/3 c. chopped nuts (optional) Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs,pumpkin and water. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Add to pumpkin mixture. Stir in nuts. Pour into greased Kerr wide mouth pint jars filling them half full of batter. Bake at 325o F. about 45 minutes. When done, remove one jar at a time from the oven, clean sealing edge and screw Kerr cap on firmly tight. Yield: 8 pints. Note: The bread may be frozen by allowing it to cool in the jars. Put on cap screwing band tight and store in freezer.

I've never made this recipe so I can't comment on it one way or another. I just wanted you to know it's a tested approved recipe by one of the jar manufacturers. Good luck.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), July 21, 2000.

Thanks Marilyn, we had a very informal class amongst our friends and their friends who knew I canned alot. Between all of our books, and the really hysterical book that came with my very old canner, we had more directions than we knew what to do with! My book even taught you how to dress the rabitt before shoving them into jars. My book does have a dessert section, most of the recipes end with using your canner as a water bath and boiling the jars from 5 to 15 minutes with no pressure. Vicki McGaugh

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 22, 2000.

The only time I've had a problem with this is making banana bread and I used too many bananas and the cake didn't bake thoroughly. There was no doubt about spoilage once I opened the jars!!! Never had problems with zucchini, pumpkin, or chocolate-cherry bread. Good luck.

-- glynnis (gabbycab@msn.com), July 22, 2000.

Glynnis--

Chocolate cherry bread??!!!! Can I have the recipe?? Thanks

-- Misha (homesteadingwannabe@hotmail.com), July 23, 2000.

I think I ran across canned cake recipes on S.O.A.R. searchable online recipe archives

-- ronda johnson (thejohnsons_doty@hotmail.com), August 21, 2000.

I have used the receipes on pumpkin and apple spice cake in a jar. I was successful and happy with the results. Look for the ingredigents in Volume#77/1:16,17 of Countryside. Hope this helps.

-- Lucille Clarke (Tinhouse1@aol.com), November 02, 2000.

Oh, I don't have volume 77, for the pumpkin cake in a jar recipe!!! "Can" anyone post this recipe for me? this would be great on my budget this year for gifts!! Thankyou in advance!! Blessings, Sissy

-- sissy sylvester-barth (jerreleene@hotmail.com), November 13, 2000.