I was very pleased to have created these party favors for a dear friend’s milestone birthday dinner. Below, are details on how to make these delicious Chocolate Chianti Jarcakes.

Inspiration: Dinner at Cooper’s Hawk Winery. Birthday Girl is a lover of red wine, chocolate and all things pretty.

Feeling inspired, I turned to Sprinkle Bakes,  the blog I browse anytime I want to attempt anything exceptional. Heather Baird always seems to have what I am looking for – here is her amazing recipe for Chocolate Chianti Cupcakes.

The recipe was near perfect, but I did find that when I was blending the cooked-down Chianti into the buttercream (ohhh, that buttercream…) I didn’t have to use the full amount the recipe called for. Maybe I did something wrong, but if I would have added the full amount, the frosting would have been too watered down. I was glad I decided to add less and taste-test as my kitchen-aid did its work. The frosting was so unbelievable that I double layered the chocolate cupcakes (I make them smaller so they fit the jars) just so I’d have an excuse to add more frosting! After the assembly, I placed the jars in an old wine crate to tote them to the restaurant. Cute, right?

Click here for how to prepare the cupcakes, the embellishments and the jar. Let me know what you think!

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