Fluffernutter Cupcake

So by special request of a loyal blog follower, I have found the perfect combination of Peanut Butter and Chocolate. With a little added surprise...

Introducing...The Fluffernutter

Bre's Cupcakes

Let me just start out by saying...about 2 years ago if you asked me to bake a cupcake from scratch or bake ANYTHING I would have laughed and said "I hate baking". It's the truth, I HATED baking. Nothing ever tasted good, things wouldn't rise it was just a disaster. So I just didn't bake, aside from the rare chocolate chip cookie. My my how things have changed.

These days cupcakes are my thing, I actually really enjoy making cupcakes, decorating cupcakes, trying new recipes, new techniques. I love it! So now I make and share my cupcakes with people via Bre's Cupcakes, I love getting orders and hearing other peoples ideas for new cupcakes, and new flavor combinations.

New Business Cards which I LOVE!

The business is still in the very beginning stages most of the orders coming from friends, but I do get orders from kijiji ads and now friends of friends. Everyone has to start somewhere, and Im happy to say that Im happy with how things are going for Bre Entertains and Bre's Cupcakes. =) So thank you all who have ordered from me, who follow me on twitter, FB and the Blog. By doing those things you're helping, and I SO SO SO appreciate it. If you live in Halifax you can enter my Giveaway, for a chance to win a dozen cupcakes from Bre's Cupcakes and try them for yourself.

Recently I have done a few orders and I still have a few to complete, so I thought I'd just share some pictures of what I've been up to these days.

Vegas Themed Baby Shower

 Anyone who follows me on Twitter heard about the Vegas Themed Shower and saw the Vegas sign I made for it. Well these cupcakes are for the same shower, I was so excited about this order when she asked me to do it. I think they turned out great, only downfall was that when set up properly it was HUGE! (I did make all 37 #'s but they aren't all in this picture)

Mini Red Velvet and Chocoalte Cupcakes for the Roulette Wheel.

After this picture was taken, I added MORE Glitta!

These were for my Best Client, for a Baby Shower she was hosting. I also made these for A's sister's Baby Shower/ her surprise Bridal Shower minus the Green. Simple is always a winner.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes for Baby Cash's Birthday

Rootbeer Cupcakes for Fathers Day, which you can see decorated here



Mini's For a Special Celebration



Favorite Color...Yep. Pink!

Tiki Birthday!

So this is an old one! From LAST June, it was A's 23rd Surprise Party. While cleaning out my party bins yesterday afternoon, and seeing just how much Tiki stuff I had in there...I realized I never did share this party with y'all.  The pictures aren't the greatest, they were taken very last minute! I have since learned to start decorating 1-2 days prior to be able to get pictures of decor without faces and before something falls down or gets mutilated. Anyway here was our Tiki Party! It was a great time!

New Use for plastic table cloth, make it into waves for a beach party. We cut tiny fish out of colored paper to let everyone know it WAS water.

Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

This is a very traditional, "straight from Grandma's kitchen" recipe. These muffins won't look anything like the muffins you buy at Tim Horton's or McDonald's with the giant perfect tops. But they taste just as good! I made these muffins for hubby's lunches, something healthy for him to take and eat on the go. 2 tips for you on this recipe

1) do NOT over mix it, its going to be lumpy and look weird, but that's what makes them so light.
2) Next time I would sprinkle the top with a little bit of coarsesugar before baking.

To me they look very rustic and old fashioned, but still delicious!

Cardboard Birthday Sign

Today my project was to finish the cardboard Birthday Banner I had started for Charlee's Birthday a couple weeks ago. (her Birthday isn't until August but I like to pick at things while I have the time, so I don't miss a single detail) I had been seeing them in a few different places online, So I decided to try it out for myself and see how it turned out. Nothing to lose, its just a cardboard box. I am so impressed with it...It's going to look great at her party.

Voila!!

The most time consuming and painful part of making this banner, was cutting out each letter, might have caused a bit of nerve damage to one finger but thats nothing! Luckily I have a very helpful Hubby and he helped cut the center out of the "b's" "d's" and "p's" Thank-you Husband! xo

 I kidnapped Charlee's Jessie doll and painted background pieces for each letter. Each background was a color or pattern that came out of her outfit.

They still have to be strung together with ribbon so it will hang as a Banner, but all in all..I am very Happy with this Crafting day.

I will be making a couple more, different letters, themes, different colors and sayings to have at the craft fair Ill be taking part in. These are just too cute to not share with people.

So if you're looking for a banner for a special occasion, please email me at breentertains AT gmail DOT com   and I can get one on the go for you!

Sponge Water Bombs

Huge announcement! I AM CURRENTLY BLOGGING OUTSIDE! Hopefully one of many days that I can sit outside with a cup of coffee or iced tea and write about whats currently on the go. No joke, I'm sure that we've only had about 10 sunny days here in Halifax, since we came back from Cuba in April! And that's not saying they were sunny and warm...the sun just poked its head out for a couple hours. I was starting to forget it was nearing the end of June. Anyway so with sun comes lots of ambition!!


One of my favorite party people is The Purple Pug, shes a glitter goddess! When I look at her stuff it makes me want to throw a party! She does have an online store but its under construction at the moment. I am patiently waiting for it to reopen. =) So until then I just follow her on FB and Twitter and read her blog about all the cool stuff she's been crafting. One of the things she posted not too long ago was Sponge Water Bombs! They look sooo cool! She was doing them for her son's end of school party, you can see them here. Be sure to look through her other pictures too, she just did this really cool Mario Kart Party. I know one little boy that would LOOOVE this party. So because we decided to have Charlee's 4th Birthday Party outside at a local park this year, I thought it would be a fun idea to make some of these for the kids to use. (fingers crossed its hot and doesn't rain, if that is the case Ill be doing like Kristy did and making them into "take homes") 


So this is how I spent my morning...lost in a world of sponge and I'm no where near done yet. I just ran out of sponges.

Start by cutting the sponge 4's to form sponge "straws"

Stack them like this, you can do solid colors or patterns. They look cute either way!

I used elastics to wrap them in the center, some people find it easier to use fishing twine. Tie them or get the elastic as tight as you possibly can in the center. And they look like this. How easy was that.

So at the party you just have a couple buckets filled with water and have these soaking in them. Much easier and more environmentally friendly than water balloons. Don't have to go around trying to pick up every tiny piece of balloon after the 5 minute water fight. They can use these again and again, just keep re-dunking them.  Now to get more sponge and make about 20 more! Happy Crafting!

Cupcake {Giveaway!!}

Lately I've been a little slack on my tweeting, blogging and fb'ing only because I still don't have my computer back. Husband and I are now sharing his laptop, as much as I wanted to chuck my computer off the patio...I miss it!! All my documents, bookmarks, well you know...its all missing. I feel so disorganized without it here. Also my cupcake business here in Halifax is starting to pick up a little bit, so that's taking up a little bit more of my time.

Anyway so..about time for another Giveaway! This time to promote my local Halifax Business "Bre's Cupcakes" All the cupcakes that I blog about here on Bre Entertains are available For Sale in Halifax, NS. I am just starting out trying to spread the word, I will be holding an Open House the middle of July and taking part in a craft fair in August Art Vs Craft Halifax.

Unfortunately this Giveaway is only open to residents of Halifax, NS. I would love to be able to ship or deliver all over but...just not an option at this point.

What do you win? 1 dozen Cupcakes of your choice from Bre's Cupcakes.

To Enter:

-Check out my cupcakes (all throughout the blog) then come back and leave a comment on this post saying which flavor you'd like to win 1 dozen of to try with your friends.

Bonus Entries:

--Follow Bre Entertains On Facebook, come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

--Change your Status on FB to let everyone know about the Bre's Cupcakes Giveaway! Leave a comment saying you did.

--Follow Bre Entertains on Twitter, come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

--Tweet: Hey #halifax want to #win 1 Dozen #cupcakes from @breentertains? Check out www.breentertains.com for details

--Follow the Bre Entertains Blog or the Bre's Cupcakes Blog, leave a comment saying your a new follower.

Each comment is 1 entry, so be sure to leave 1 comment per follow.

Winner will be chosen on July 16th, 2011 via random.org

Good Luck! And don't forget to Share with your friends!

Happy Birthday Baby Cash!

Happy Birthday Baby Cash!!! This mrning Bestie J FINALLY had her little boy Cash! Seems like shes been pregnant forever, an it was forever ago we had her Baby Shower. I was talking to J for a little bit and everythng is going well so far. I have seen a few pictures so far and he already melts my heart! I just can't wait to meet the little guy! SOON! So happy for their little family!


So this morning I made some lemonade cupcakes to bring to the new parents as a little treat. John had mentioned that they were one of his favorites so far. Only bad thing about it was I only had pink lemonade and I didnt think it would actually tint the icing pink...it did =( 



lemonade cupcakes with Baby toppers for The Strows

 This morning I also whipped up a batch of Fathers Day cupcakes! (Iwas trying to keep busy, so I wouldnt drive myself crazy thinking about J and Baby) I made vanilla cupcakes with a Rootbeer Buttercream, then found some very cute free toppers to print for the cupcakes.




Vanilla Cupcakes with Rootbeer Buttercream



For Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Hubby! You are an amazing Dad! And Happy Fathers Day To John as well, you are going to be agreat dad to both Logan and Cash!



German Chocolate Cupcakes

Lately my computer has been on the fritz which has resulted in a lot of frustration. When your computer decides its going to shut down whenever it feels like it and not open anything....your usually have some choice words for it. So I decided to make a trip home to where the computer genius resides, DAD! Thank goodness for my father and his "nerdeyness". So in return for fixing my computer, and because Father's Day is coming up I made him his favorite kind of cake,in CUPCAKE form. Of course!! 

German Chocolate is chocolate cake with a sweet and sticky coconut and pecan filling and topping. For those with a serious sweet tooth.

I started out by making the usual chocolate cupcake recipe, but instead of using cupcake liners you have to grease your muffin tin really well. This is because you are going to cut the cupcakes in half and fill them with the coconut pecan filling and then spoon some more over the top. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/2 c Flour

3/4 c Cocoa powder

1 1/2 c Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 tsp Salt

2 eggs

3/4 c buttermilk 

3 tbsp Vegetable Oil

3/4 c Warm Water

Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside

In a large bowl, or your kitchen aid bowl beat eggs , buttermilk and oil.

With the mixer on slow add the dry ingredients about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with the warm water. Beat until smooth and combined.

Divide batter evenly among greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 10 minutes (for mini cupcakes) 15-20 minutes for regular cupcakes. Until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on cooling racks.

 

 

Filling

2 egg yolks

6 oz Evaporated Milk

1/2 c packed brown sugar

6 tbsp butter, room temp in small pieces

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 c sweetened flaked coconut

3/4 c pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Combine yolks, milk and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add butter and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened (about 10 minutes) Pour mixture through a sieve, into a bowl (VERY IMPORTANT TO STRAIN MIXTURE) Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut and toasted pecans. Mix and let cool completely. Use right away, best eaten within 1 week.

To assemble, cut the cupcakes in half. Spoon a tbsp of filling into the center and replace the top of the cupcake. Spoon another tbsp or so on top of the cupcake. Keep in an airtight container for 1 week.

assembling the cupcakes

Lemonade Cupcakes

Well another weekend has come and gone! At least this weekend we saw some sun, and we took full advantage. Saturday we had a BBQ with our friends fam, my sister-in-law Megs came up from school for the weekend and was a great help getting everything ready on Saturday. We had to get one last family dinner in before Jess is immobile for a couple weeks, because Baby Cash will be here in less than a week!! <3 It was so nice to be able to sit on the patio again, with a glass of wine and the best friends a girl could have.  Now THAT is Summer. Then today we went to the park with the Strow's to let the kids run around before another wave of ridiculous rain hits Halifax. Packed a little picnic lunch, blew some bubbles, and played some soccer. All in all, GREAT weekend!

So for the BBQ I made Mini Lemonade Cupcakes, really there isn't a flavor that screams summer any louder than Lemonade. I used the regular vanilla cupcake recipe then tweaked it a bit. I also made lemonade buttercream to top it off, use your imagination 

Bre's Cupcake Tip

When adding extra liquids to buttercream, refrigerate the icing before trying to pipe it. This gives it a chance to solidify a little bit so its a lot easier to pipe. 

These cupcakes were a HUGE hit, everyone seemed to love them! Well...I made them Friday and there is none left today. I think that means they were good. I will definitely be making these again this summer.

Lemonade cupcakes complete with straws and umbrellas.

Mini Lemonade Cupcakes

For the BBQ I also made a very large pasta salad. It was a recipe I found on the Kraft website called Veggie Salad Pasta Toss I liked it a lot. And its a good thing because I made waaayyy too much and Ill be eating it for the next couple days. The "sauce" for this pasta salad is the Kraft Sundried Tomato and Oregano Salad Dressing. (one of my favs) So it automatically sounded like a perfect BBQ side dish. The next time I make this salad I will follow the recipe, but right before I serve it I will be adding more dressing and giving it a quick toss. I personally just found the pasta soaked it all up and it was a little bit dry, for me. Another recommended recipe! :)

Giveaway Winner!!

Today at 1pm the winner of the $25 Credit from Ella Bella's Bows was chosen via www.random.org . The winner was comment #4 from Gina Gammon! Congratulations Gina, Pam will be in touch to take your order and your information.

 Thanks to everyone who entered and shared the giveaway and I want to Thank Pam from Ella Bella's Bows for teaming up for a giveaway. Just because the Giveaway is over doesn't mean her store is closed! Head on over to her FB page "like" her, and get your shop on!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We're starting our weekend by taking Charlee to the Circus for the first time! =) We are all very excited!

Peanut Butter filled Chocolate Cupcakes

The other night hubster and I decided we needed to do something together. So we combined our interests (eating and baking) and made cupcakes. Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcakes, his very favorite combination. They are of course a Martha Stewart recipe. I had tried them once before but the centers sunk in and despite tasting amazing they weren't the greatest looking cupcakes.

So when we were baking the other night, I took the cake part and Tyler took the filling and we went to work baking. Then we literally swirled our creations together and stuck them in the oven to bake. It was really nice to be in the kitchen baking with someone else, makes it that much more enjoyable.





Finished Product! Complete with Abbie Cadabby cupcake liners



Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes 12

Cake:

2/3 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c butter or margarine, cut into small pieces

4 oz semi sweet chocolate

2 oz unsweetened chocolate (2 baking squares)

3/4 c sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coarsely chop chocolate and put in a heat proof bowl, add butter. Set over over a pan of simmering water, until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Mix sugar into cooled chocolate mixture. Add eggs and mix until mixture is smooth and well incorporated. Add flour, baking powder and salt mix until smooth, scraping sides as needed.

Filling:

4 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 c icing sugar

3/4 c smooth peanut butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients until smooth, use immediately.

Spoon ONLY 2 tbsp of batter into the bottom of lined muffin tins. Followed by 1 tbsp of peanut butter filling. Then spoon another tbsp of chocolate batter on top, and another tsp of peanut butter filling on top of that! (yummo). Swirl the top of each cupcake with a skewer with a wooden skewer.

gets a little messy, but its worth it

Bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes, rotating half way through.  Cool completely in the tin before removing cupcakes. The cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days before they start to dry out.

Twice Upon a Time

A couple of weeks ago I got a message about going to a party celebrating the success of a friend of a friend, Amanda Langley. Her business is called "Twice Upon A Time" and she creates Eco friendly children's clothes using pre-used clothes. Her stuff is truly adorable, its no wonder its shes had such a huge success with her business. She has recently been featured in an article in a local business paper, and has been on the local morning TV show. You can watch her on Breakfast Television here. Twice Upon A Time is an etsy store so where ever you are you can enjoy Amanda's Eco-friendly creations for your little one. Check it out...

Twice Upon A Time Etsy Shop 
So a couple weeks ago at J's Baby shower Melissa, a friend I have met through J, asked me if I would make cupcakes for the party celebrating Twice Upon A Time. I must say, Melissa is the biggest supporter of Bre's Cupcakes here in Halifax. I decided that a sampler platter would be the best idea for a party like this. Sample Platter sounds good....but believe me I learned just how much work it can be, with the first one under my belt now I know what to expect for next time.


Everything at the party looked stunning! From the set up of the food to the food itself, and of course all of Amanda's beautiful creations. I brought my camera to snap a few pictures of things to share on the blog, so here they are.

A selection of the adorable creations from Twice Upon A Time



On these sweaters she put the buttons on and made the "blooms" that really make the sweater something special. You can also buy these blooms by themselves and wear them with anything. Even adults! I bought a Pink Bloom for Charlee and she wore it in our family picture yesterday, it really made her outfit.



Necktie Onesies! So many patterns to choose from and personalization.

She also does headbands and hats! This purple bloom was my favorite.

Melissa also did an amazing job with the party! Here are some of HER creations, I just loved her labels with the buttons. I really wish I would have taken pictures of everything, this is a small portion of what we were greeted with. She was such a great hostess, and I was so glad to be invited.

Bre's Cupcakes! The sampler platter included Vanilla with Buttercream and fondant buttons, Chocolate salted caramel, chocolate mint, and banana pecan with caramel butter cream.


Thank you to Melissa for having us out and for letting me showcase my cupcakes as well!