Since the colors were turquoise and lime green I initially struggled with what I should make for the desserts, but finally decided upon doing a variation of my red velvet cupcakes (with a different colored food dye, of course), mini key lime pies and some s'mores bars. I'd never made key lime pie before but was delighted to discover how easy it was to make. Its definitely something foolproof that you can whip up in just a few minutes (if you use pre-made crust) that also tastes wonderful.
For the decor I bought a bunch of burlap that I used to make a table runner, some fabric bunting and to line a frame that I used as a mock menu (I wrote with liquid chalk on the glass). I also found some wooden slabs at Michael's that I used to display the key lime pies on, and then used some of my miscellaneous cake stands and plates that I used for my wedding. All in all, I think it turned out pretty well although I would recommend some modifications to the recipes (see below). Happy Baking!
The Recipes
Blue velvet cupcakes: I just used my standard red velvet cupcake recipe, omitted the red food dye (obviously) and used about 25 or so drops of neon blue food dye (it comes in a package with other neon colors). While I was going for a darker aqua color, they turned out a smidgen darker than I anticipated. I guess I'm used to being a little heavy handed with the red food dye, and didn't think that the neon colors would be so concentrated. The other option I thought would be to replace the cocoa powder with white chocolate powder which would result in a different flavor, but a brighter colored cupcake.
S'mores Bars: You can find the recipe here, but I recommend omitting the cocoa pebbles. They were tasty, but I think they would be considerably better without. It almost gave it a coconut flavor and texture that I wasn't a big fan of. I also thought that mixing Fluff (ie marshmallow cream) or Nutella into the chocolate would be pretty divine as well.
Mini Key Lime Pies: I used this recipe from Emeril Lagasse and simply put the filling into mini pre-made graham cracker crusts. It was not only one of the easiest things I have ever made, but one of the best key lime pies I've ever had. I purchased key lime juice (not regular lime juice) since I didn't know where to buy key limes, nor did I feel like squeezing a ton of them. I did add a teeny-tiny bit of lime green food coloring to the filling to give it some more pop for pictures. I didn't bother making the topping with sour cream, but I'm sure its quite good as well from all of the positive reviews the recipe has.
Invitations: Tiny Prints
Owl cake toppers: The Paige Spot on etsy
