Superbowl Party

(sweet & sour meatballs, beer cheese cookies, touchdown taco bites, seven layer dip)

Upcakes!

Pin it!

The upcake is the sweeter big sister to the cupcake. It has no wrapper, and when frosted, looks like a little cupcake mountain. Why make the switch to upcakes? More icing! There are a few tricks to baking these adorable sweets, so read on!

Pin it! 

The ingredients are the same as a cupcake, but rather than being baked in cupcake tins, I baked mine in little tomato sauce tin cans. There's a good reason for the smaller size of the can, aside from the preportions. You'll find out about that later. To prep the cans for baking, spray the inside with cooking spray, and cover the side in a cut roll of parchment paper. I put in about 1/3 cup of batter into each tin, and mine slid right out after baking!

To frost, hold lightly at the top and the bottom, like you're pinching it, and roll the upcake around while slathering frosting on the sides. (If you use a standard size can for baking you won't be able to manage this move, your upcake will be too wide to hold and frost in this way.) Load up those sides with sprinkles, before you set the upcake down. 

The frosted sides make the upcake really hard to move after frosting, so I set mine down on squares of parchment paper so that I could transport them to storage after decorating. 

Now it's time to frost the top... lay that icing on, and try to smooth out the place where the top and sides meet.

Pin it!

Upcakes are really too messy to pick up with your hands, you'll want to use a fork, and I know where you can get some really cute ones! 

I don't know about you, but my whole family is ready to make the permanent switch from cupcakes to upcakes! My favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, and the one I used, is from Cupcake Project, and I love their vanilla frosting too.

Do upcakes really exist? Yes! I searched to find what I could and came up with a lot of "Up" movie themed cakes. But I first saw an upcake, as shown above, on my Instagram feed. I can't remember who posted it, but they were visiting a diner in Pennsylvania called Dixie Picnic, and I think they are the ones who created the upcake. I've changed the shape a little to make them much more vertical.

Go forth and tell all of your friends about upcakes!

New Year's Appetizers

Food: Stuffed Mushrooms, Whoopie Pies, Pot Stickers, Fried Mozzarella, Meatballs, Stuffed Tomatoes
Our cocktail forks

We've also go these super festive forks for your fete! 

Happy New Year!

Ice Cream Social At West Elm

I am so excited to host this event for St. Louis's new West Elm store! I have so many great brands offering their items for our swag bags, which are going to the first 20 people to register...

1canoe2

Creature Type

Firecracker Press

Finch Vintage Rentals

Indie Mats

Snorkeling Coconut

Sucre Shop

Verde Kids

Come and learn how to customize your ice cream spoons with Sucre Shop and then eat some delicious ice cream by Frostbite! This is a FAMILY FRIENDLY event, so bring the kids! Be sure to call West Elm to register so you get some awesome swag!

Darling Parties!

Dina is Creative director of Deliciously Darling Events, a party design firm based in Atlanta. She takes ideas to the Nth level, always focusing on the details and completely transforming her parties with any theme her customer can throw her way.

We always love to get requests from Dina, and thought it was time to showcase some of the things we've put together for her. For more design ideas, DIYs and to book her for your events, check out her website!

Barbecue, Sucre Shop Style

Chevron Fan Handles

Starry Ice Cream Spoons

Stripey Straws

Watermelon image courtesy of Chicago Foodie Girl

St. Louis Party Supplies

Sucre Shop's studio is based in St. Louis, and we sure love this city we live in! I'm not a born and raised mid-westerner, but I really admire the way this big city acts like a small one. Still we have all the amenities of living somewhere much larger, including all of these fantastic local places which help our parties go with a bang:

This list of our favorite local party suppliers will be followed by a whole series of our St. Louis faves, so check back in.

SUPPLIES

The place I run to for most party supplies is American Carnival Mart. Their retail store is amazing! They are also direct importers to stadiums, parks, and events, and all those items are available for purchase in store too. You know the biggest Party City you've ever been to? This place is twice as big and 5 times as cool. Think popcorn and cotton candy supplies, tickets, pinata fillers and more. Psssst... their online store is amazing too.

SWEETS

In Kirkwood the Sugar Shack has nostalgic sweets galore! Jar after apothecary jar filled with rainbows of new and nostalgic goodness. Our favorite? The mini cotton candy swirls! Oh, so sweet.

SPACE

Hmmm, where should you have your party? Probably the Foundrie! The private space in the back of their store in Chesterfield Mall is massive and gorgeous. It used to be a Pottery Barn Kids store, so you can imagine the layout - lots of cool nooks and shelving, which the Foundrie has decorated so beautifully. It's the perfect blank space in which you can add sophistication if your party is for adults, and to decorate and still have space to run around if you're hosting a party for kiddos. It's also reasonably priced. One of the best deals in town. And while you're in the Foundrie, look around at all the local artists' work!

CUPCAKES

There are so many amazing cupcake places in town: The Sweet Divine and Jilly's Cupcake Bar have both taken home awards from Food Network's show Cupcake Wars. But I think the consensus among locals is that the best around is The Cup. St. Louis' first cupcake bakery is in the Central West End and it rules supreme in our book. We also like that one day a month they donate a percentage of their sales to a local charity.

PROPS

What's a party without props? Whether you're accessorizing a photo booth, decorating a sweets table, or setting up decor, you can bet Finch Vintage Rentals has something beautiful! Their website lists what they carry, so it's an easy go-to. If you're taking things a little riskier, the antique market on Fifi and Olive has something for your theme. This place is filled to the brim with hidden treasure - horseshoes, birthday candles, glassware and everything else you need to make your party perfect.

Go out and explore! Let us know your other St. Louis faves, and keep an eye out for our upcoming St. Louis posts.

Happy 4th, Sucre Shoppers!

In honor of Independence Day, we’re making an appropriately colourful - yet somewhat historically inappropriate - dessert: Eton Mess! Named after the super-posh British boys’ boarding school Eton College, it’s a divine combination of juicy fresh strawberries, fluffy whipped cream and sticky crushed meringue that’s the perfect summer dessert.

Eton Mess is traditionally served at Eton College’s annual cricket match against arch-rivals Harrow School, which is attended by the cream of the English upper-classes. Not quite the ideal choice for celebrating America’s independence from the Brits, but after 230 years, it might be time to start building some bridges. Just add our blue striped forks for extra patriotic pizzazz. 

INGREDIENTS
Fresh strawberries
Whipped cream 
Meringue (shop-bought is fine if you're pressed for time - we found some lemon meringue, which added a bit of zing)

PREPARATION
Slice the strawberries, and add sugar if they are very tart. Place them in individual trifle dishes. Cover the berries in whipped cream.Crush the meringue and sprinkle throughout. If you want a proper 'mess', stir it all up together. Add a whole strawberry on top to decorate. Serve immediately. Simple!