Hello, Everyone! This is my first post. I searched my topic and didn't get any hits so I'm very sorry if I'm asking about something that has already been discussed.

I have been asked to make wedding favors/cake substitute for a friend's wedding. 250 plus cupcakes and for ease, we decided to try to make them in jars. So it technically won't be just a cupcake but assembled in a small glass jar. I think it will be adorable for decorating and will be easy to transport.

My question is, if I make them this way and seal them in a jar, how long can they stay at room temperature? I don't have a fridge large enough to put them in and will need to make them(or start making them) as early ahead of time as possible.

Does anyone how the food safety guidelines for this sort of thing and equally as important as food safety, will they still taste good if they are baked like... 5 or 7 days before?

Any info or advice would be so greatly appreciated. I haven't picked a recipe for frosting or cake yet... so I can figure out what would last the longest.

Thanks!

Welcome to cc, you will soon be as addicted as we all are. Here is a very interesting thread on cupcakes in a jar. HTH

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=606603&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0

YAY linedancer you're my hero I was searching all night for that thread!

You're welcome, glad I could be of assistance

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was thinking would work so well! You guys are great! Thank you for finding it for me!

Lacey, welcome to CC! As far as sitting at room temp- I know that Indydebi's BC on this site is great and can sit out on the counter for a while and nothing goes bad! If you have any fillings that require refrigeration, then no you obviously can't leave it out on the counter.

As far as baking 5-7 days in advance, have you thought about baking and freezing and then assembling a day or two in advance?

It's mostly an issue of space. Even if we split them up between all our freezers, I don't think we'd have enough room.

Maybe instead of filling, I could make a different flavor buttercream.... more intensely flavored or something to keep then counter stable.

Hmmm... So many things to decide. It would be so tragic if they end up ruined the day of.

There are a lot of fillings that don't require refrigeration! My worry would be that the cupcake may dry out being baked that far in advance.

Some people don't think it's food safe to let cake sit out that long either although I'm not sure exactly what the science of it is. (Our cakes are eaten fast! )

And the different flavor BC- that's what a lot of people use as filling! For example chocolate cake, chocolate BC on cake but maybe a peanut butter BC in the middle.

Here is a thread on how I freeze cupcakes, it might help your limited storage problem.

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-687702-.html

You could bake the cakes in a jar and seal them while hot then hand out sealed jellies/jams with them instead of icing. If you bake the cupcake in a jar then put the seal & ring on and let them set the heat will cause them to seal air tight - just like with canning veggies. Then storage isn't a problem because they don't require refrigeration. My dh & I did this one year for Christmas gifts.

I've never heard of this - can't wait to try it, just because.