Why a chocolate jar makes a great gift — and how to make one

13 Apr 2023

Gift Ideas

The most sublime dessert gift you’ve never heard of — here’s the lowdown

Choosing the perfect gift is always tricky. It’s easy to think in categories — like homemade and thoughtful vs. shop-bought and impressive. But what if you want to gift something you’ve made with your own two hands that also contains some of your loved one’s favourite treats? Well, we have a splendid idea for you — a chocolate jar.

Here’s everything you need to know about chocolate jars and how to make some yourself.

Three kilner jars with red and white checked ribbons

What are chocolate jars?

Chocolate jars are what they say on the tin (or jar). The concept is to fill a pretty glass jar with your loved one’s favourite chocolates, sweets, or nibbles. It’s a great way to repurpose an old jar and make gifting chocolates that little bit more special. Wondering how to decorate a gift jar? You’re free to put your own aesthetic spin on the presentation with ribbon, twine, or glass paint. You can customise according to each unique giftee. Did you know that these little presents also make ideal wedding favours?

Classic chocolate jars: what to include

Classic chocolate jars are very simple. They just contain chocolates that your loved one can reach in and enjoy whenever they please. People sometimes decide to include a few different chocolate types within the jar, creating colourful tiers for a touch more visual appeal. But others like to keep things simple with just one variety of chocolate  — usually the giftee’s absolute favourite or a particularly luxurious chocolate they’ve never tried before.

How about a cake jar?

If you think your friend or family member would adore a chocolate jar, you should also be aware of a close relative of this adorable gift — the chocolate cake jar. The idea is very similar, but there is one crucial distinction. Instead of containing shop-bought or homemade chocolates or truffles, the jar contains all the components of a chocolate cake — layers of moist sponge cake, buttercream icing, chocolate toppings. The works.

Those who fancy the idea of creating and gifting a chocolate jar will probably enjoy having a go at making a cake jar too. So you can leave your options open, we’ll tell you how to make one of these below, too.

How to make a chocolate jar

Chocolate jars are very easy to make, which means they are a great homemade gift idea for kids. Of course, you can whip some up on your own. But if you have children and want to get them involved, it could be a lot of fun.

To make a chocolate jar, choose the chocolates you want to include. Depending on the size of your jar, we recommend including up to a maximum of five types of chocolate that complement each other nicely. Clean and sterilise your jar, then get filling. Arrange your chocolates however you like — a complete mix of chocolates or neat layers. We recommend buying enough chocolates to completely fill the jar. They tend to look the best when full and it means your giftee will get to enjoy more chocolatey goodness.

You can stick with pre-wrapped chocolates in foil. However, we also think it’s rather lovely to see the chocolates in all their glory. Why not explore our Selector packs? From elegant Champagne Truffles to vibrant Raspberry Pannacotta bites, they offer a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Just make sure your jar has an airtight seal to keep the chocolate fresh.

Once your jar is full and the lid is on, you can add some finishing touches. We like to keep things simple with a cute name tag and some twine. Plus, it keeps unnecessary waste to a minimum.

How to make a chocolate cake jar

If you like the sound of crafting a chocolate cake jar, we like this recipe from The Spruce Eats. There are lots of recipes out there, so have a browse online. You’ll essentially need all the ingredients you’d need to make a full cake. And as you’ll also be basically baking a cake before transferring it into your jar, you might want to wait for an opportunity where you need to make lots of gifts at once. You can just make one jar if you wish. However, because of the baking involved, it’s more economical to make multiple. You don’t want to end up with lots of leftover cake (or maybe you do, we wouldn’t blame you).

The key to making a beautiful cake jar is patience. The risk with creating these treats is that you rush them and they end up turning into mush jars rather than cake jars. Take time to construct each layer so you can see neat, clean lines of cake components through the glass.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that homemade cake jars won’t last as long as simple chocolate-filled jars. Chocolate jars should be edible for as long as the best-before date on the chocolate packets you buy. Cake jars, on the other hand, need to be eaten fresh. You might want to use this information to choose which type of jar to try your hand at creating. Alternatively, you can just use it to plan your baking so your cake jar is gifted ‘straight out the oven’.

Chocolate cake in a jar

Chocolate jar ingredients from Hotel Chocolat

We’ve chatted a lot about creating your chocolate jars, but we haven’t mentioned much about ingredients. For both types of jar, your key ingredient is going to be chocolate. For your chocolate jar, you’ll want to buy the most luxurious, high-quality chocolates you can get your hands on. And for your chocolate cake jar, you’ll need some plain chocolate to bake with, plus chocolate bites and truffles for decoration.

See our Small Chocolate Packs section for our fabulous collection of chocolate truffles, bites, macarons, and patisserie-inspired nibbles. Sort by chocolate type to find your loved one’s favourite ingredients, textures, and flavours. From Lemon Chocolate Cheesecake to Chocolate Fudge Sundaes, you’ll find our most innovative creations dreamt up by our talented chocolatiers. Our Selectors are ideal for mixing and matching, so choose a few to add to your chocolate jar.

See our chocolate Batons and Slabs category for sublime cacao-rich white, milk, and dark chocolates that are perfect for melting into chocolate cakes, whipping up into ganache, or blending into buttercream. It’s the perfect place to find baking chocolate for your chocolate cake jar.

Happy baking and we hope your loved one enjoys their rather indulgent jar — whichever type you choose.