The REAL Pot-o-gold

Friday is my roommate's birthday but since I'll be out of town on the actual day, we're celebrating with some friends a little early this year.  It just so happens that her birthday falls the day before St. Patty's AND her favorite flavor combination is chocolate and mint...so here is my St. Patty's Day creation that is really her birthday-cake-in-a-jar :).  I've decided to call it "The Real Pot-o-gold".

 It all began when I fell in love with these jars. Every. single. one. I've never canned anything in my life but those jars make me want to plant a garden and have a cellar full of jams, veggies and fruits and well...anything and everything that would fit in one of those jars.  I could have gone jar-crazy and ordered a case of every different size, but I showed great restraint and just started with the 760 set.  If you aren't sold on them yet....let me show you what it looks like with the lid on (minus the rubber seal)...

I mean, seriously. Is that not the cutest thing?!

Anyway...on to what is inside!!  I started with a chocolate mint oreo and then made my favorite chocolate cake recipe and dropped a heaping tablespoon on top of the oreo (trying carefully to not smear it down the side of the jar).  The jars I used happen to fit perfectly inside a standard muffin tin, so I placed each on in the muffin tin and baked them at 350 for 20 minutes (watching them every 5 after the first 10 minutes or so. I'm sure every cake recipe and oven will vary).  While they cooled I mixed together the creme de menthe cream cheese frosting as well as my mom's amazing hot fudge sauce.  I also took one row of mint oreos and crushed them in a ziplock bag.  Once cooled I piped in the cream cheese icing making sure it covered all the way to the edge to give a nice green layer on top of the cake.  Then I dropped a heaping teaspoon of the (cooled) hot fudge sauce on top and sprinkled that generously with oreo crumbs.  I sealed each one up with a lid and set them aside until ready to serve with ice cream. And then I did an irish jig. Either that or I licked all the beaters. I can't really remember it all.

If you want a fun gift to give to a friend for St. Patty's day or just a fun dessert to serve to your family or at a party - give this one a try!

As I mentioned - I just used a favorite chocolate cake recipe, but I would highly recommend only making a quarter of the recipe if possible.  I hardly used any of the batter and now have a ridiculous amount of chocolate cupcakes leftover :).  The rest of the recipes you will find below:

Creme de Menthe Cream Cheese Icing

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon creme de menthe

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the creme de menthe, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar (add more to reach desired thickness). Fill disposable piping bag and cut off tip to pipe.  Store any remaining frosting in the refrigerator after use.

Mama Dubes Hot Fudge Sauce

1/2 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. room temperature water

2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla (I substituted creme de menthe for this recipe)   

1. Mix together the dry ingredients in 1 qt. casserole or 2 c. glass measure. Stir in water

2. Cook in the microwave on full power for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir half-way through cooking time.  Blend in butter. Cook on full power for 30 seconds or until butter is melted. Stir halfway through cooking time. Blend in vanilla (or mint). Stir thoroughly.