Angie Padilla wasn't aware of the insane story about the confiscated cupcake-in-a-jar that dominated the news for a brief minute back in December. When the story broke about Rebecca Hains having her jarred cupcake confiscated by TSA officials in Las Vegas, Angie was too busy making her cake-in-a-jar as a holiday gift for her coworkers.
Padilla, a contract administrator by trade, didn't have enough in her budget to afford nice presents for everyone in the rather large office where she works -- so she decided to make cakes in mason jars. Soon Padilla found herself taking orders for the self-contained treats -- first from co-workers and friends, then from people who heard about the cakes.
Padilla has turned her holiday project into a part-time job. She now
spends most of her free time (after working and taking care of her two
small boys), baking the cakes, which come in two sizes and several
flavors. She takes orders through her Angie's Cake Jars website,
enlisting boyfriend Alberto Luna to deliver throughout Miami-Dade.
Padilla also sells her cake jars at the weekly farmers market on
Sundays at Pinecrest Gardens.
Padilla makes the cake jars in six different flavors --
rum cake, chocolate/chocolate, red velvet, hummingbird, Key lime, and
vanilla. She also makes a totally vegan chocolate hazelnut cake, which
is baked with almond milk, vegan margarine, and vegan-friendly organic
sugar. The cake jars are decorated with fabric, ready for gift giving
and are available in two sizes, an individual sized (eight ounce) jar
($5), and a jar-for-two (16 ounce), priced at $8.
How does Angie
get the cake in the jar? She bakes the cake directly in the canning
jars, which are designed to handle heat. After the cake cools, she
individually frosts each one with buttercream or cream cheese frosting,
before placing the lid on the jar. The result is a tasty treat,
suitable for gift giving (though we don't suggest taking them through
TSA screening).
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