the food
Are you tired of hearing about the Summer Boutique yet? This is the last post. I promise.
I don’t really think you can have a party without food & drinks and this event was no different. But I also knew that I couldn’t go overboard on the food because 1. I was so SO occupied with the store part and 2. I didn’t want it to be about the food, but just a nice accompaniment.
So we opted for champagne
Sparkling lemonade with berries and water with lemon slices {served with these cute paper straws ordered from a store in Maine, go figure.}
And for sweets, we opted to join in on the cupcake trend.
{Think I should have ironed that tablecloth? Oops}
For the cupcakes, we did three different kinds.
Vanilla cake with french vanilla frosting and sparkling sugar.
Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling and chocolate frosting with chocolate shavings.
White cake with lemon custard filling, cream cheese frosting with yellow sparkling sugar and a blueberry.
Sounds ambitious, yes?
Oh, just you wait for my secrets.
Betty Crocker boxed cake mix. Instant Jello pudding. A hershey bar. Jars of frosting.
Seriously.
I made the cake according to the box directions but baked them as mini cupcakes. The chocolate mousse & lemon custard were made with a box of instant pudding {chocolate and lemon, poured into glasslock containers with cold milk and shaken by my boys}. Then I folded in freshly whipped cream. That’s it.
What makes the cupcakes look fancy is the piping bag {thanks Dee!}.
My mom and sister filled the cupcakes using a little tip inserted in the top, then swirled on frosting and garnished. The chocolate shavings were from a hershey bar that I took a vegetable peeler to. So easy.
So beautiful.
And so yummy.
I think I’ll go eat a leftover now.
Tonia
Oh my, how lovely this looks. You’ve just given me some inspiration for the bridal shower I’m going to be throwing for my sister. Can you share your recipe for the sparkling lemonade? I love, love, love the champagne display.
Hopefully your show can become a yearly event. Congrats!
Tessa
Perfect! Love the piping and the topping on the cupcakes. I actually think the box cake mixes make better tasting cupcakes than when I make them from scratch! Will be saving this post to copy in the future!! Thanks for all the inspiration. The flowers looked beautiful too!
Debra
Everything looks fantastic. Thank you for sharing your secrets–the cupcakes look so yummy!
Glad to hear the boutique was a success,
Debra
Trish @ Pink Preppy Lilly Lover
Hi Emily! What an incredibly lovely spread, I am in love with every little thoughtful detail! I’m sure the champagne was a hit, it looks so pretty on the cart, the sparkling lemonade looks delicious, and the cupcakes, OH MY! Delicious! I am so happy to have found you, I will be back often to visit!
Have a fabulous holiday weekend!! xox
Sara
Wow, everything looks incredible! Congratulations to you on your summer boutique, it appears that it was a huge success!
Megandvd
You are my hero!!! Thank you for making it ok to use box cake mixes.
That is my secret ingredient EVERYTIME. I love the piping. I also am a fan of the mini cupcake…perfect size. I make Lemon Blossoms all the time with the mini cupcake pans.
I adore your little world.
Cheers~
e
Cat Moore
Hi! I’m new to your blog, but heard about it on Nesting Place (I think) and after spending several minutes….I’m hooked. Beautiful! And, so happy for you for having a dream and making it a reality!
You have beautiful style and a beautiful family. Love little Audrey’s nursery. I just had to comment because we re-designed our home office to be our son’s nursery and it was featured in Southern Living magazine a year ago. Now, we’re workin on baby girl’s. 
Anyway, just wanted to say hi! Love your blog……and noticed we follow a lot of the same blogs.
~cat moore (iblogmoore.blogspot.com)
Sherry @ No Minimalist Here
Wow, all my favorite things…desserts, desserts and more desserts! Everything looks so yummy.
Bronwyn
Wow! Those little cakes were gorgeous! No one would ever guess they were from a mix!!
Arielle
Your attention to detial is amazing. All of the pictures are stunning- it looks like the event was a huge success! It’s so inspiring to see people doing what they love. Thanks for sharing!
MarshaMarshaMarsha
Looks simple and delicious! Very well done! (And if you won’t mention the tablecloth, I won’t either. There are so many other beautiful things to look at!)
Nancy
I found your blog via Nester and OH MY…. I have enjoyed the past 20 minutes perusing your blog so, so much. Just so beautiful and inspiring! Your summer boutique looked just lovely. I hope it was a huge success. So glad I found your blog. I will be back!
Happy 4th of July.
Melanie
Hi, I found your site through The Nester, and I was in love with the color scheme and set up of your summer boutique. I had to come over to your blog and see the rest of your work. I also love your kitchen and ended up reading through a lot of your older posts. I look forward to seeing what other creative genius you have up your sleeve! Best wishes to you and your family!
m
What a fun event! And such a creative idea!
m ^..^
Amy Jo
Your cupcakes look beautiful and are the perfect inspiration for a wedding shower I’m planning this month. Thanks for sharing your secrets! If you can make those amist all the other things you were doing that week, I surely can pull it off too!
Lori
Yummy – so did you put the jello/whipping cream inside the cupcakes after you cooked them? I so want to make these!!!
Emily
Lori: Yes. Just bake the cupcakes as usual, then use a filling tip to pipe in whatever filling you’ll use right into the top. My sister did it and she said you could sort of feel it fill up so that you know when to stop. Then cover the hole with frosting and you’re set!
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ’0 which is not a hashcash value.
Kristen
What an awesome idea, I would love to make these! How much milk and whipped cream do you add to the pudding mix?
Emily
Kristen:
Just go with the directions on the back of the pudding mix {instant}. I think it is 1 1/2 cups of COLD WHOLE milk. Then I whipped the cream, added a little powdered sugar and just folded it in until the color looked right. Not a perfect science to this one.
[WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ’0 which is not a hashcash value.
Melissa @ Food::Fluff::Frills
You totally inspired me and I made my own batch of cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday last weekend. So easy and they tasted amazing! Thank you!
I blogged about them here: http://food-fluff-frills.blogspot.com/2010/09/fancy-enough-cupcakes.html