Zebra cakes

Ok, now that pinterest exists (I still think googling my interest yields more ideas and pics...but anyways)....I have found some fun new ideas.

I saw this picture of individual cakes, in mason jars, and this one in particular is rainbow themed....



the original poster was Brooke McLay at http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/04/08/rainbow-cake-in-a-jar/

So, anyways, when I saw this, I immediately thought they would be fun to make in a "zebra print" design, because...my daughter loves that, and points out all things zebra print.

It's her birthday party this weekend, so, naturally, I decided to cram this baking experiment into my busy schedule.

Now, one thing you need to know about my blog, if you havent already figured it out....it's for the basic person. My pictures are not professional, I dont fix up my creations, I simply make them, like you would, and the results are not always perfect. My purpose, is to show you how to make fun things at home....even if you arent Martha Stewart.

So....on with the zebra cakes.

I started out with mason jars. I sprayed baking spray in each one...just a little bit.



I made a batch of cake mix and left it white.....



and I made a batch of cake mix and colored it black (you can get all kinds of food colors and Michaels)....



I just alternated black, white, black, white in the jar.










The oven is preheated to 400, and the jars are placed inside a baking pan, with 1/4 water inside. Just put the pan in the oven.....for about 40 minutes (check, and use a skewer to test that they are cooked throughout)



The result, (imperfect) zebra cakes. These will be topped with hot pink, whipped cream on the day of the party.



Im going to put the mason jar lid on each cake, and keep them in the fridge. Then, Ill transport them to the party (with my pastry bags of pink whipped cream) and each child will get their own cake and spoon.

It's different, festive, and fun......

ZEBRA CAKE UPDATE: These were yummy! they look fancy inside too!