Banana Pecan Cupcakes

Seems like I haven't been around a computer at all since Friday...had a pretty busy weekend. We travelled to the Valley this weekend to the Annual Apple Blossom Festival. Charlee's baton twirling group was in the children's parade Saturday morning, so Friday night we put her hair in rags...yes rags. (get the how to here.)Well actually one of her old receiving blankets cut into strips. It's the only way we can get her hair to stay in curls, and as a part of her uniform all the girls have curled hair pulled back in a pony tail, too cute!

getting lined up;  Charlee is the one spinning the hoop on her arm. We had to stay hidden so she would stay with her group, hence the creeper picture.

Saturday afternoon I went and got fitted for my bridesmaids dress for A's wedding, and also went and picked up her wedding dress from the Bridal Shop. Saturday evening we all relaxed with a BBQ, good food and great friends! Sunday my little Princess was pretty under the weather, really nasty cold set it...so Sunday and Monday were Dr Mom days. Busy Busy! Last night I finally made it to a computer to get back on track and today back to the kitchen to try a new recipe.

So! I have realized how much I love Martha's Cupcake book since I started this blog. It is my GO TO cupcake book, for cupcake and icing recipes. So I have made a decision...I am going to bake my way through this entire book. Eventually I want to say I have tried every recipe in the book at least once.

This weekend I have an order for a sampler platter of cupcakes for a party, as I was flipping through the book to get all the recipes marked I came across a recipe I had never noticed before. Banana Pecan Cupcakes...YUM! and whats even better...they are topped with Caramel Buttercream! CARAMEL!!! (I seem to have a little theme going this past week) For the caramel Butter cream I changed it up a little....I had some dulce de leche in my fridge, so instead of making the caramel in the recipe (because I really don't like cooking sugar) I used that instead. The icing still turned out, and is DE-LISH!

To put it into perspective ...they are like mini banana bread  but so much better!

Banana-Pecan Cupcakes, with Caramel Butter Cream

 

*Banana note* we always have at least one banana that ends up getting all spotty and gross looking. so what I do is put the banana whole, still in the peel in a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer for someday when I have more gross spotty bananas.

When you take them out to use them, they are going to be black all over and mushy I recommend peeling them when they are still a little frozen, then they just mash up with a fork for use in banana pecan cupcakes! =)



Caramel Butter Cream

This is a version of swiss meringue butter cream, only you cream the butter before mixing it into the egg white mixture.

1 c plus 2 tbsp sugar

1/4 c water

1/4 c heavy cream (or substitute evaporated milk)

1 1/2 c butter, room temp

4 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

For the instructions I am just going to link up Martha's Site. There are multiple steps and I don't want anything to get mis-understood in translation. I am also very new to swiss meringue, so I suggest you learn directly fom Martha's Recipe .

As I said before I didn't use the caramel you make in the first step of the recipe. I used my dulce le leche and incorporated it the same way as you would the caramel made in the recipe.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Another page from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book, these cupcakes are
DE-LISH!! A cupcake version of the German Snickerdoodle cookie.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

3/4 c Flour

3/4 c Cake Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp more for dusting

1/2 c butter or margarine

1 c sugar, 1/2 tsp more for dusting

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c + 2 tbsp Milk

Sift flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a bowl.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or with your electric mixer cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.

Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of milk. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups.

Bake @350 for 13 minutes for mini cupcakes and 20 minutes for regular.

Mix the remaining 1/2 tsps of cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle over top of the iced cupcakes.

Allow to cool on cooling rack. When they are completely cooled, top with the seven minute frosting, using Wilton's tip #12 for minis or #1A for regular sized to get them to look like the ones I made. Then Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar you made before.

Dulce de Leche

Yesterday I spent the morning trying 2 new cupcake recipes! The first one I tried was Martha Stewarts Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, inspired by the German cookies of the same name. One thing about ole Martha, she never lets me down. These cinnamon sugar cupcakes turned out great, they aren't too sweet and would be perfect with an afternoon cup of coffee or latte.

The second cupcake I made was Chocolate Cupcake filled with dulce de leche topped with vanilla buttercream. Recently discovered this cupcake blog via twitter, Cupcake Project. LOVE HER! So as I was looking around her blog I came across a recipe for Dulce de Leche using the crockpot! I was intrigued and decided I was going to try it yesterday. It worked perfectly!

Dulce de Leche--Crockpot Method

1 can sweetened condensed milk

crockpot

Remove the label from the can and place in your crockpot. Fill with water until water is about 1" over the can. Turn your crockpot on low and leave for 8 hours.

After the 8 hours remove the can from the water and allow to come to room temperature before opening. Pour the caramel into a bowl and whip using a whisk to remove any lumps there may be.

Use for ice cream topping, dipping apple slices, eating with a spoon or Cupcake Filling! Delish!

Gooey Perfection!

So for the cupcakes, I just made my usual chocolate cupcake recipe. I cut a small cone out of the center of the cupcake and filled the hole with my dulce de leche. I then piped vanilla buttercream overtop to keep the caramel from leaking out. As a warning as to the gooey goodness inside I drizzled more dulche de leche overtop. I sent these and the Snickerdoodle cupcakes to the office with John today, Im hoping everyone enjoys them and they get good reviews. Thanks John!

{GIVEAWAY!!} Ella Bella's Bows!

Well folks now that I have my first giveaway under my belt it's time for giveaway #2! Soo excited about this one, its related to the other side of Bre...being a full time mommy to a little princess. These bows are just adorable! I have ordered some for Charlee and she has received so many compliments on them, and ....SHE LIKES THEM AND LEAVES THEM IN! Brushing and fixing hair is one of the biggest daily battles we have, Im sure other moms of little girls can relate.

Bow holders and Korkers

2 of the Princess' she can create for you Princess

Hats or Headbands

Charlee's Favorite Bow, Tinkerbell! There are other princesses available too, Im telling you this woman has talent!

So the prize is a $25 Credit for Ella Bellas Bows, its an online business run by a Military Mommy of 2 in New Brunswick, Canada. You can check out all her ribbon and product she offers here at Ella Bella's Bows. Here's a little bit about the company and founder, Pam.

"Ella Bella's Bows was created in a market of high priced boutiques. The goal of Ella Bella's Bows is to provide high quality and unique hair bows at a more affordable price. I feel every little girl has the right to feel pretty and I believe my product is affordable to everyone.
I encourage my customers to design their own bows but if thats not your thing, I also have many pre made bows as well. I also dont just make bows. I also sell hats, headbands, hair bow holders and much more!
Ella Bella's Bows is run out of my home in CFB Gagetown, NB. I am the mother of 2 beautiful children and the wife to a very handsome Army man!"

Entering the Giveaway is simple!

Lots of ways to Enter!

(Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.)

1} Go to Facebook and "Like" Ella Bella's Bows, browse around then come back and leave a comment on this post saying you did so.

2} Leave a comment letting us know what you would buy with your $25 credit from Ella Bella's Bows!

Bonus Entries:

3}Follow Bre Entertains Blog, leave a comment with your user name saying you are now a follower.

4}"Like" Bre Entertains on Facebook, come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

5} Follow Bre Entertains on Twitter, and tweet :

#win a $25 credit from Ella Bella's Bows on FB go to @breentertains blog for details on the new #giveaway!!

{Contest Open to residents of Canada and US Only}
Winner will be chosen via random.org on June 10th 2011

GOOD LUCK! And make sure to tell all your friends, even if you don't have a little girl Ella Bellas Bow's would make a great gift!

Giveaway Winner!

Im Sorry! Im Sorry! Im Sorry!  I realize I am almost 12 hours late choosing the winner, I decided to extend my long weekend just one more day to spend an extra day with the Parents. I am just getting back on track here now.

SO!! The winner was chosen using www.random.org and the winner was comment #2, E. Congratulations! You are the owner of a Wilton Cupcake Stand! If you could please email me your mailing address to breentertainsATgmailDOTcom I will get it ready and sent out to you asap! 

Thank you to all who entered and became followers on Twitter, my FB Page and the blog! I appreciate all your love! =) Keep coming back for more recipes, pictures and Giveaways!

Perfect Pizza Crust Recipe

Tonight for supper I am making homemade PIZZA! One of hubby and Charlee's favorites and MY absolute favorite recipe for Pizza Crust, it always turns out perfectly. So I decided to share with you my Perfect Pizza Crust. Although not the kind of entertaining recipe I usually post, it can be used for entertaining beer drinkers on a Friday Night or hungry sports fans.

Works Pizza w/ one slice of just cheese ...a la Bre.

Perfect Pizza Crust-Dad's Recipe

1 1/4 c warm water

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp honey

2 3/4 c flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp Olive Oil

Dissolve honey in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit for 5-10 minutes

when it bubbles like this, you know its working

Combine remaining ingredients in the bowl of your kitchen aid. Add water and mix. Make sure your mixer or hand mixer is fitted with the dough hook or attachments (those little swirly ones that come with hand mixers). Of course you can also use a wooden spoon and good ole fashioned muscle!

Mix until it no longer sticks to the side of the bowl and then an additional 3-4 minutes. In the kitchen aid the dough should almost "slap" against the bowl. To check your dough tear off a little piece and carefully stretch to form a "window" (dough stretches so thin WITHOUT tearing you can see through it) If the dough tears before forming a window you need to continue mixing or kneading. 

When the dough is done place in a lightly oiled bowl, and flip so all sides are oiled. Put the bowl in a warm area to rise until doubled.

sometimes it more than doubles! But dont worry you can also FREEZE this dough! Another reason its so PERFECT!!!

Punch, spread and add toppings.

Bake for 20 minutes @400 degrees.

This recipe will make 2 regular pizza crusts, 3 thin crust pizzas or one thick Stuffed crust pizza. 

Tonight I am making a works pizza for the family, with one slice of just cheese for the Princess. My works includes Italian sausage meat (sausage without the casing, you can buy small packages at sobeys) , bacon, mushrooms, red pepper, onions and tomatoes! I currently have tomato sauce simmering with spices on the stove to use instead of can sauce and then I will top it with mozza and marble cheese! Yummm  

I will be updating this post with pictures later today, SO CHECK BACK!!

Oreo Squares

I never make squares, EVER! With the exception of Rice Krispie treats every once in awhile. As you know...I'm a cupcake girl. When I was doing some research for the Baby Shower Menu I stumbled upon these Oreo squares, exactly like Rice Krispie squares...only way way better. So quick and easy too!

In the recipe I found it said to melt the marshmallows in the microwave, which wouldn't have been a problem except it called for large marshmallows....next time I'll be doing it on the stove if I'm using large marshmallows. Small marshmallows work great in the microwave though! Remember only 30 second intervals!! It doesn't take long to have a disaster on hand.

They don't look like much...but they are absolutely delicious!

Marshmallow Oreo Squares

1 350g box of Oreo Cookies

1/4 c margarine or butter

5 c large marshmallow

(THAT'S IT!!)

Empty the cookies into a food processor and pulse until ground. OR If you have some frustrations from the week empty into a large Ziploc bag, grab your rolling pin and...well you know what to do! =) 

Melt together marshmallows and margarine until puffed, either in the microwave or on the stove. Add the smushed Oreos and stir until combined. Put into a greased 8x8 pan and let set for about 1 hour or until firm. You can speed this up by putting them in the fridge of course. Cut, taste test, and serve.

Continuing upgrades!

Being a new blog and domain, Bre Entertains is constantly getting some kind of upgrade or new little gadget added on. A lot of it is behind the scenes but some you'll notice. So just a heads up we might hit some bumps, but please stick with me...if you notice something not working up to standard please let me know! @  breentertains AT gmail DOT com 

I am pretty new to this blogging thing, and really don't know much about HTML except it has to be opened <> and closed </> that's the extent of my coding right there. So I have enlisted Bestie J's husband...J...ohn to do the coding and help me out with the tech end of everything.  When I mess something up, like I recently did, he's there to figure out my stupid mistakes and fix it. He's also got some great blogging tips that have helped me get this thing off the ground. SO I just want to give him a big shout out, THANKS JAHN!! (haha) You've been a great help with everything behind the scenes and with promoting my blog to others. I really appreciate it! =D

John's most recent work...My "Link Me!" button....so why not grab it for your own blog!

Baby Shower

It all started in July after J got married, when I would bug her all the time about having a baby. If she told me she was cleaning the house I told her she was nesting. If she told me she was craving something, I told her it was because she was pregnant. SO when I got a call around Halloween from J saying "So for the Halloween Party this year, we can go out and I'll be the DD" I started freaking out because I knew instantly what that meant! I was so happy for them and that I would get to be an honorary Auntie!! <3

As everyone knows, or can guess I love throwing parties! And I've done a few different occasions...birthday brunch, kids birthdays, Halloween, theme parties, cocktails parties, bridal showers and bachelorettes...but THIS was my very first Baby Shower. Let me just say.....it was great! It went really really well, and I attribute that to the great group of ladies who came out this afternoon to celebrate with Bestie J. Thank you all! =)

So here it is! A Polka Dot Shower For Baby Cash

Mini Vanilla Cakes

J's Request, lemon meringue cupcakes

Little treats

Took a page from the Glitter Book and made some labels for some of the food.

had some punch, iced tea, lemonade, sparkling wine (non-alcoholic of course) and ice water

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

The Treat Station! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Not the nicest picture but I just had to show the spread we had going!

Felt Garland I sewed for the occasion on a trip to Moms House

Pinwheels are just too cute to not include in a baby shower, and so easy

The wooden blocks were borrowed from my daughters toy box and held together with a dab of hot glue. Baby words were scattered around the party.

washcloth clothesline, easily made with twine and some clothespins.

Baby Shower Sign

 So cute! The wash cloth clothesline idea came from A's Onesie Decor!

Made a mini candy buffet, complete with candy soothers and cake pops to match the polka dot theme

Favor bags

Candy Soothers A made for the Mini Candy Buffet

Me J and A! The bestest besties a girl could have! xo

Baby Shower Sneak Peek

Yesterday Bestie A and I spent the day crafting for a very important Baby Shower! On Sunday afternoon we will be hosting our very first Baby Shower for Bestie J, shes due in June and we're soooo excited to meet the new little edition. A and I are very excited to be "aunties" we even got to go to the 3-D ultrasound with them when they found out they were having a little BOY!! 

Just wanted to give everyone a little sneak peek of what we spent our rainy Monday doing! 

Cutest things ever! Found these while searching for new decor ideas from Once Wed you can check out her tutorial here

Needed some pinwheels!

Pulled out the Glitter and rhinestones

J likes glitter!

 Menu Sample some of Mommy To Be's Favorites!

Tossed Salad

Ham and Cheese

Famous Spinach Dip

Ginger Cookies (of course)

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

....and you know there will be some other surprises and LOTS more food.

 We got lots of other things done too... but I don't want to J to see it all before the shower! And then topped it all off with a nice little shopping spree, also for the shower! It was a very successful (and damp) Monday, poured rain absolutely all day long. So much for APRIL SHOWERS and MAY flowers....but its better than snow so Ill take it!

Check back Monday for the full blog post on the Blue, Green and Brown Baby Shower.

GIVEAWAY!!!

 First Off, just wanted to say Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms out there!! I had a great 3rd Mother's Day with Hubby and my Princess, if only the sun would have stayed out a little longer. Anyway!

In honor of the recent face lift courtesy of April M Designs   and the arrival of Spring Bre Entertains is hosting its first GIVEAWAY!! 

Seeing as most of the posts are concerning cupcakes and cupcake recipes I thought something to help you present those little works of art would be very fitting. I own one and I love it, it helps "fancy" up any cupcake...

 Wilton's Cupcakes 'N More Dessert Stand! 

and 

Wilton's Picket Fence Cupcake Wrappers! 

Cupcakes 'N More: Wilton says "The look is fresh and fun, featuring bold silver-coated wire spirals to securely hold each cupcake. The twisting, towering design is perfect for any setting-showers,kids' Birthdays, Weddings and Holidays"

 Comes with a set of 18, easy to use,Picket Fence Cupcake Wrappers. 

 

I've used mine for Birthday Cupcakes (of course)...

Not into cupcakes?  You can use the Dessert stand for many other things! Such as treat bags at a kids party, truffles or favors at any event!

...and Favors at a Bridal Shower!

18 Picket Fence Cupcake Wrappers

The Loot

There are a few different ways you can enter to win this Prize from 

Bre Entertains!

1. Become a Blog follower of Bre Entertains! Bottom right of this page, then leave a comment on this post saying you did so.

2. "like"  Bre Entertains on Facebook HERE, fresh off the press! Then come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

3. If you don't already, Follow me on Twitter! @breentertains  And Tweet to all your friends about the giveaway!
Tweet: Go Check out @breentertains first giveaway!www.breentertains.com
Then...well you get it...come back and leave a comment!! =D

Each comment you leave is an entry to the giveaway! The giveaway will run until May 24th, 2011 @ 9:00am! Then the winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced here on the blog! So be sure to check back!

*Contest is open to residents of US and Canada only

So get to it!!

Vanilla Cupcakes

FOUND ONE!!!! I finally have a good recipe for making vanilla/white cake! After trying a couple different recipes over about 2 months I finally found one that is moist, light and tastes good! 10 points if you can guess where I found it.... ole Martha never fails! So why didn't I start with her recipe for Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes in the first place you ask? Well for some reason I had it in my head that I HAD tried it before and it didn't turn out, and who knows I might have before the time of the magical Kitchen Aid.

yellow buttermilk cupcakes, with cinnamon cream cheese filling and butter cream

Bre's Cupcake Tip!
 I have probably mentioned this in a blog post before, but just in case....Instead of running out and buying a liter of buttermilk that is just going to go bad in your fridge...you can use 1 c milk + 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice, stir and let sit for 5 minutes. This is all I used to use when making cupcakes for us at home, has always worked fine for me.

Tomorrow night I am going to a friends place for a PartyLite Party so I made sure to make a dozen cupcakes in pretty liners. In order to make them a little more tempting I decided to try filling them with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese filling. I found the recipe in Wilton's "Cupcake Fun" magazine/book hubby picked up at Walmart for me for $6 or something. Its a pretty neat little magazine to flip through, I love that it has recipes and templates for different cupcake designs. Again the recipe is halved, I only had teeny cupcakes.

The wilton magazine

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 c icing sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp milk (I used 1 and a little bit)

refridgerate until ready to use.

Best Ever Ginger Cookies

These cookies are one of the 3 most popular foods among our group of friends! They are soooooo good (yes, that good) It all started a couple summers ago when my Sister-In-Law came to stay with us for the summer and babysit Miss Charlee so I could get out and get a part time job. While working at this job I met some nice people, but none as nice as Paula. She was that person that made going to work a bit better, and to top it all off she would always bake and bring the most delicious cookies to work. We became good friends and starting hanging out outside of work, still do. :) So this was the summer that I was getting married, and Bestie J threw  me a surprise shower. (<3) This surprise shower is where the best ever ginger cookies made their debut to the party world, and the parties would never be the same again! (We recently used them at our cocktail party)

So many people could have this recipe and not even know how delicious it is!! Its the "Quick Ginger Cookies" Recipe out of the Crosby's Molasses Cookbook. They are very quick so it makes this recipe that much better. 

Quick Ginger Cookies

3/4 c shortening

1 c sugar

1 egg

4 tbsp crosby's molasses

2 c Flour

2 tsp bk soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

Cream wet ingredients in the bowl of your mixer. 

Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, add with the mixer on low until combine.

Roll the dough into balls, roll in white sugar and place on lined baking sheet

Press lightly with fork

Bake @ 350 for 8 minutes.

For the record the other 2 favorite foods in our group are Spinach Dip and Caesar Potatoes.

Cupcake Portfolio... Fondant

So today I spent the day in the kitchen....First thing this morning I tried out a new white cake recipe...fail! I think I figured out that the recipe calls for too much flour. They are fluffy and feel moist to the touch, then you bite into one....DRRRYYYYY! So anyway I took advantage of this cupcake failure! I made a batch of butter cream and a batch of fondant and went to work practicing decorating cupcakes. So ignore the cupcakes and focus on the decor!

Came up with a few different designs that I was happy with but I still need lots of practice, especially bows. 

 Bridal Shower or just a Girly Birthday

Probably use this for almost any occasion you were celebrating.

top view of Daisy Cupcake

Paired with another design to personalize for the occasion

Baby Shower; can be personalized for Boy or Girl

Baby shower, Outdoor Birthday

Buzz Buzz!

Another Bee, this was one of the first cupcakes I did today so its a little sloppy but the idea is still there. Could pair this with a lady bug cupcake and a cupcake caterpillar

 Tame Bachelorette Cupcakes or Diva Birthday

Charlee's Favorite! Ice Cream Cupcake could be used for any occasion this summer!

So today was a busy but productive day (in the cupcake aspect of my house) . Between baking, making icing and fondant, coloring icing and fondant 8 different colors and creating some cupcakes. Only to then clean up my huge mess, do a mini cupcake photo shoot, upload and edit the pictures and finally ....finally Blog about it all and be able to share it with you...Oh yes, all the while being a mom. =)  It was a good day in my kitchen!