It’s been said before, but I’ll say it again, this blog is going classy.  No longer will I be serving Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, I will be serving Irish Coffee Cupcakes.  The difference is subtle, but the affect is sophistication at the highest of levels.

I hope you appreciate the sarcasm and irony in the above paragraph.  I just ate mac & cheese and chicken fingers with ranch for dinner.  Third night in a row.  That was my dinner of choice this week.  Tonight I stepped it up with a bottle of wine, a whole bottle.  A bottle that cost less than $9 because I wanted to have enough money to order a spinach roll tomorrow for lunch.  Friday lunches have become a haven of laughter, delicious but bad-for-you-food, and wonderful treats.  I’ll post the treat I made for today’s lunch soon!  Like I said – classy.

This week has been busy.  It started with senior trip (I know I teach 8th grade and they are not seniors, but here in NYC the graduation rate is only about 50%, sad but true, so eighth grade is kind of a big year.  In the next month we have senior trip, prom, awards night, and graduation.) and a painful sunburn.  On top of that the humidity has been through the roof and the rain horrendous.

Easy, comforting food was a must for dinner.  Tonight I’m flying off to Atlanta to spend some time with Lynn, so I had no need for tons of the food in the fridge.  Everything makes sense now, right?  Let’s talk cupcakes.

Rob is a classy guy, hence the classy cupcakes.  Really he just kept asking for Irish car bomb cupcakes, but I’ve made them so many times, I didn’t want to make them again.  Last year he received Man Cupcakes for his birthday in the midst of bacon cupcake obsession.  Good times.

These cupcakes are of equal good times, if not better.  The cake has a light crumb and is tender with tons of chocolate flavor.  A whiskey ganache in the center is lovely the way only a whiskey ganache can be lovely.  Really, what is wrong with booze in chocolate?  To top it off, we have have a buttercream with a touch of cream cheese for softness and plenty of Irish Cream flavor.  Each bite is decadent, rich, and wonderful.  Stay classy friends, make yourself some Irish Coffee Cupcakes!

One Year Ago – Cake Batter Martinis

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Irish Coffee Cupcakes
Adapted from The Boys Club
Yield – 12 cupcakes

7 ounces sugar
3 ounces cake flour
1.1 ounces cocoa
3/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Kahlua
1/2 cup hot coffee

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line cupcake pans liners.
2. Add the sugar, flour, cocoa, powder, soda, salt, and espresso powder to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Mix until all the dry ingredients are well combined.
3. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and Kahlua and mix again until well combined.  Stream in the hot coffee and mix on low.
4. Use a standard size ice cream scoop to portion the batter.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean.
5. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Whiskey Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons whiskey
pinch of salt

1. Chop up the chocolate evenly and add it to a heatproof bowl.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until scalding, add the cream to the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.
3. Stir the ganache until all the chocolate is melted and then stir in the butter, whiskey, and salt.
4. Let cool and stir every so often.
5. Add to a piping bag with an injection tip and pipe about a tablespoon into each cupcake.

Bailey’s Buttercream
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
16-20 ounces of powdered sugar
3/8 cup Bailey’s
shaved chocolate for garnish

1. Beat the butter and cream cheese together for several minutes until light and creamy in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
2. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time on low speed.  In between additions, turn the mixer to high.
3. Beat in the Bailey’s until light and fluffy.
4. Add to a piping bag with a star tip and pipe onto each cupcake.
5. Sprinkle with shaved chocolate.

There was a quart of leftover dulce de leche swiss meringue buttercream in my freezer from the tres leche cupcakes.  It called my name for a week before I used it to make these sandwich cookies.  Swiss meringue buttercream is my all-time favorite type of frosting and when you add an entire can of dulce de leche to it, there is no mistress more tempting.

This is not my first combination of dulce de leche and cinnamon, but this version is all homemade and doesn’t require a freezer.  There is just something about the spicy cinnamon and smooth, caramel flavor that calls my name and excites my taste buds.  To me, this is a purely adult taste profile, much too sophisticated for the kiddos.  These were thoroughly enjoyed by all adults present.

I made these cookies on this particular Saturday because Andrea’s parents were in town visiting.  I like people to like me, and baking them something magically delicious is a sure fire way to make people like you.  Perhaps I should try bringing cupcakes with me on dates.  Would you fall in love with a lady who brought you cupcakes on a first date?  Are there any straight, single men who read this blog?  What do you think?!?!

Needless to say, Andrea’s parents like me!  Impressing lovely, Midwestern parents is one of my favorite hobbies, and I’m glad this was a success.  It’s hard not to like a chewy, cinnamon cookie sandwiched with a cool, creamy frosting.  It’s two cookies for the price of one, what’s not to love here!  You could totally enjoy the cookies without sandwiching them, but why would you when you can make a glorious cookie even more spectacular!

One Year Ago – S’more Cupcakes

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Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from Bakergirl
Yield – 18 sandwich cookies, 36 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup brown sugar {mix of light & dark}
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon whole milk
1/2 cup sugar + 3 tablespoons cinnamon for rolling
Dulce de leche buttercream

1. Brown the butter by placing it in a small saucepan.  Heat, whisk and watch until the butter is no longer yellow, but brown.  It takes about 8-10 minutes.  Transfer the browned butter to bowl to cool slightly.
2. Sift together the flour, soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt onto parchment paper, set aside.
3. Add the sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Mix to combine and then slowly add the butter.  Mix until all the sugar is moistened.
4. Beat the eggs, vanilla, and milk together in a small bowl and then add to the butter/sugar mixture.  Beat on high to combine well.
5. Turn the mixer to low and mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.  Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
7. Use a 2-tablespoon scoop to portion the dough.  Roll each piece of dough into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on the cookie sheet with plenty of space between.  I fit 8 cookies per sheet.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the tops are puffy.  Let cool for a minute on the cookie sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
9. Spread about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of frosting on one cookie, sandwich with a second cookie.

Another cupcake recipe?  That makes three in a row!  There are a lot of birthdays in May, and there is no better way to celebrate a birthday than with cupcakes.  No worries, there are about 3 more cupcake recipes coming your way in the next few days.  I’m totally making up for my two-month cupcake free period.

Kim has been telling me when her birthday is more months.  Luckily I can take a hint and remember that May 7 was her birthday!  Baking for fellow bakers is the most fun because they appreciate and understand what goes into baking, Kim is a fellow baker and she happens to love rich, overly sweet desserts.  She loved the Brownie Roll-ups.

These cupcakes are decadent!  The dark chocolate cake is moist, dark, and has a tender crumb.  The bits of dark and white chocolate increase the overall chocolate factor and add a great bite.  These cupcakes are almost brownie-like, but must lighter.  Lighter as in texture, not calorically!  As American buttercream tends to be, this one is super sweet and creamy; powdered sugar certainly packs a punch.

And let’s not forget the Kahlua, all 3/4 of a cup!  I’ve made my fair share of boozy cupcakes, but that’s a lot!  You can definitely taste the Kahlua in the cupcakes – never a bad thing.  As Kim has now discovered, it is easy to make friends on your birthday when you a bunch of delicious cupcakes to share!

One Year Ago – Homemade Slider Buns

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Chocolate Kahlua Cupcakes
Adapted from How Sweet it is
Yield – 15 cupcakes

3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/8 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Kahlua
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line your cupcake tins with liners.
2. Whisk together the egg and sugar until pale yellow.  Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, and salt.  Stir into the wet ingredients.
4. Whisk in the Kahlua and then fold in the chocolates.
5. Use a standard size ice cream scoop to portion the batter into cupcake pans.  These are rich, so keeping the cupcakes on the smaller size is best.
6. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon Kahlua
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
mini chocolate chips

1. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and creamy.
2. Add in the powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time on low speed.  Every so often turn the mixer to high and then scrape the bowl.
3. Beat in the Kahlua and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Add the frosting to a piping bag with a star attachment and pipe on the cupcakes.
5. Garnish with mini chocolate chips.

There is wine in the frosting.  Somehow, somewhere in my life I have reached the point where it is perfectly acceptable and seemingly normal for me to combine my two favorite things – wine and cupcakes – into one delicious dessert.  That’s what we have here, the possibility that I may have gone too far.

No.  I’ve gone just far enough.  In my search for a sangria cupcake recipe I found nothing worth using.  It was time to start from scratch.  I knew I could use my favorite cupcake and frosting recipe as a base and adapt from there.  Substitute orange extra for vanilla, soak with sangria, add a little wine to the frosting, and garnish with some boozy fruit.  Done.

I was surprised how well these turned out.  I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about putting wine in a cupcake, I just didn’t know if it would taste good.  Individually, a cold glass of sangria on a hot day is a delightful treat and a cupcake is lovely any day or night, but together, I was a skeptic.  The orange cake is wonderful.  Magic happens when you massage zest and sugar, everything is on the fast track to flavor town for sure!  Soaking the top with sangria adds flavor, moisture, and color; it tells you that this is a sangria cupcake.

The light purple frosting has just a hint of wine flavor, it’s kind of addicting, I kept needing little “samples” to make sure it tasted alright.  The star of the show is the bejeweled, boozy fruit on top.  Boozy fruit was a college staple for my roommates and I, and it brings home the sangria flavor and concept.  Mixing your wine and dessert is a surprisingly fantastic idea, you should definitely try it out!  By the way, the leftover sangria is a delicious accompaniment!

I made these cupcakes for Krystal in honor of her birthday because we enjoy sharing pitchers of sangria together in the summer.  Some of my best summer nights were with Krystal, sangria, and a fantastic outside drinking establishment.  What better way to celebrate her birthday than with sangria cupcakes!  Last year she received margarita whoopie pies,  I see the boozy theme here…

One Year Ago – 50 Shades of Grey Cupcakes

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Sangria Cupcakes
Yield – 15 cupcakes

Sangria
juice of one orange (zest first and save for later)
1/4 cup triple sec
1 apple diced small
8 strawberries diced small
1/2 bottle red wine
1/2 orange cut into small slices

1. Add all the ingredients to a jar with a lid.
2. Refrigerate overnight.

Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
zest of one orange
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon orange extract
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sangria from above recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F.
2. Add the sugar and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Massage the sugar and zest together for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the flour, powder, soda, and salt to the sugar, mix slowly with the paddle attachment.
4. Add the butter and beat for several minutes until the mixture becomes nice and crumbly.
5. While the mixer is mixing, whisk together the yogurt, oil, eggs, and extract.  Pour this in the mixer and combine.
6. Slowly add the milk in and turn on high for a few seconds.
7. Use a standard size ice cream scoop to portion the batter into lined cupcake pans.
8. Bake 14 minutes until a toothpick in a center cupcake comes out clean.  Place on a cooling rack.
9. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes in the top of each cupcake while still warm.  Use a pastry brush to apply sangria to each cupcake.  Repeat until all the sangria is used up.  Let cool completely.

Frosting
2/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup red wine
5 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Sangria fruit separated from the liquid and chopped in need be

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk, wine, and flour.  Keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth and thick resembling pancake batter.
2. Remove from the heat, stir in the extract and allow to cool completely.
3. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – beat for 8 minutes
4. Add in the cooled flour/milk mixture and beat until the entire frosting is light and fluffy, about another 5-8 minutes.
5. Use a piping bag with a plain tip to pipe a ring on the top of each cupcake.  Pipe less frosting on the inside so that you leave an indent in the center of the frosting.
6. Pile about 1/2 tablespoon of the sangria fruit in the center.
7. Garnish with a fresh orange slice.

Happy Quince de Mayo!  Not a real holiday, you say?  Oh well, these were enjoyed for the real holiday of Cinco de Mayo.  Instead of a typical margarita cupcake or something boozy, I decided to make this Cinco de Mayo classy.  Last year was a train-wreck, I still have flashbacks…

Classy is a fantastic way to go because these cupcakes are awesome, like seriously awesome.  One of the best cupcakes I’ve made.  And speaking of making cupcakes, as I was pulling out the ingredients and mixer to whip these up, I was struck by how long it had been since I last made cupcakes, it’s been awhile, since these in March, that’s almost two months ago!

I know it’s cliche and overdone, but I really love cupcakes.  They are always appreciated, always perfect for any occasion, and completely easy to carry and serve.  There are a million cupcake shops because the people have spoken, cupcakes are the way to go.

People often ask me what my favorite thing to bake is and I always sheepishly reply “cupcakes.”  I should stop being sheepish and own it – I make damn good cupcakes, damn good.  Plus, I love all the steps involved: batter, filling, frosting, and garnish.  However, the amount of dishes leaves something to be desired.

Speaking of damn good cupcakes, this one is double damn good.  I would eat swiss meringue buttercream on cardboard; it’s the creamiest, smoothest, and best frosting there is, hands down.  Add a jar of dulce de leche and you can do no wrong.  Best of all, the frosting isn’t overly sweet.  The vanilla chiffon cake is a perfect host to the rich frosting and the silky three-milk soaking liquid.  Honestly, again, you put the three-milk soaking liquid on cardboard, and I’d still eat the cardboard.  Altogether you have a marvelous, sophisticated cupcake perfect for Cinco de Mayo or any day of the year.

One Year Ago – Black Bean Sliders

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Tres Leches Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream
Adapted from Bakers Royale
Yield – 16 cupcakes

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup coconut milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ˚F and line a cupcake pan with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a paddle attachment.  While this is mixing, separate your eggs.
3. Add in the yolks one at a time while the mixer is in medium speed.  Beat in the vanilla.  Scrape the bowl as needed.
4. Sift together the flour, soda, and salt.  On the lowest speed, beat in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternate batches, beginning and ending with the flour.
5. Beat the egg whites until you have stiff, white peaks.  Fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter.
6. Use a standard ice cream scoop to portion the batter into the cupcake pans.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
7. Whisk together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and coconut milk.  Try not to drink it all!
8. When the cupcakes are finished baking, poke several holes and use a pastry brush to coat each cupcake with the 3-milk mixture.  Repeat five or six times.  You won’t use all the milk.
9. Refrigerate the cupcakes for two hours before frosting.

Dulce de Leche Swiss Meringue Buttercream
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
12 ounce can dulce de leche
1/2 cup sweetened coconut

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the egg whites and sugar.  Place the bowl over a small pot of simmering water.  Whisk the egg whites and sugar until the mixture is no longer gritty.
2. Using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs/sugar for about 10 minutes on high or until you have stiff white peaks and a cool bowl.
3. Meanwhile, add the coconut to a dry saute pan and toast until golden brown, let cool.
4. Turn the mixer to medium and add in the butter one tablespoon at time.  If the mixture looks curdled, just scrape the bowl and keep mixing.
5. Beat in the vanilla, salt, and dulce de leche.
6. Add into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe onto each cooled cupcake.  Sprinkle the toasted coconut on top.

Note – this recipe makes a TON of frosting.  I used less than half to frost the cupcakes.  I took the remaining 1-quart of frosting and stuck it in the freezer.  To use later, simply thaw in the fridge and then re-whip in a mixer.

The recipe was supposed to be a way to use up all the extra pulp and fiber from juicing.  That’s one of the disadvantages of juicing – all the leftover solid, fruit/veg mix that gets thrown out.  If you’re a composter, you’re fine, lots of wonderful pulp to throw in the compost pile.  I am not a composter; I’ve taken students to a composting center where we looked at indoor composting kits with worms.  For some reason my roommates are against the idea keeping worms in the apartment…

As I was looking for recipes, I struggled to find one that met my needs.  I wanted a recipe that was mostly vegan or at least easily adaptable to vegan and didn’t have too many weird ingredients.  This recipe was close enough.  By substituting the applesauce and grated carrots for my leftover carrot-ginger-pear pulp and using vegetable oil, I had all the ingredients I needed  already in the apartment.

These are good, super good.  My expectations were a little low, but these exceeded anything I could have dreamed of!  The muffins are amazingly moist, tender and flavorful.  The little bit of fresh ginger shines through like a diamond.  The top is just a bit crunchy from the flax seed.  I ate one everyday for breakfast and these stayed fresh for the whole week.  You would never guess this is vegan or semi-healthy.

If you’re a fan of carrot cake, I imagine it would be pretty easy to add some raisins, walnuts, and a whipped coconut milk frosting to make these guys into a lovely vegan treat!  I have a vision, it’ll come to fruition one day.  But before I turn a solid breakfast into a dessert, you should make your own muffins, start the day off right!

One Year Ago – Margarita Whoopie Pies

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Vegan Carrot Ginger Muffins
Adapted from Oh She Glows
Yield – 12

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot, pear, & fresh ginger **

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Line 12 cupcake cups with paper liners and spray the paper liners with cooking spray.  Set aside
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, flax seed, powder, soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl whisk together the maple syrup, oil, water, vanilla, and grated carrot mixture.
4. Stir the liquids into the dry until just combined.
5. Portion equally among the 12 muffin cups and bake for 15-18 minutes until lightly browned.  Let cool on a wire rack and remove the paper liner.
6. Once cooled, store in an air proof container for up to a week.

** I used the pulp left over from making a carrot, pear, ginger juice.  I used about 6 carrots, 2 pears, & a 1” piece of ginger.  If you don’t have leftover pulp from juice, grate 1 1/2 cups worth of carrot and add 1/3 cup of applesauce.  Grate in fresh ginger if desired, but the fresh ginger gave fantastic flavor!

Let’s be honest, juicing is a lot of work and a commitment.  Even if you bought the cleanse, you still need the time before and after for pre- and post-cleansing.  Making the juice myself was satisfying because I knew everything that was inside and I knew it was perfectly fresh.  I did feel better after juicing and lost several pounds.  However, I was fighting off a viral infection the entire time I was juicing, so needless to say, I lacked energy and was lethargic.  Despite the amount of work involved with a juice cleanse, I would do it again.  I feel recharged and recommitted to healthier eating and living!

This is a basic outline of how I conducted the cleanse:

• One week before – cut out caffeine and meat
• 3 days before – vegan
• 2 days  before – vegan and no sugar
• 1 day before – raw fruits, vegetables, & nuts
• juiced for 3 days
• 1 day after – raw fruits, vegetables, & nuts
• several days after – limit meat, diary, alcohol, and sugar

All in all, it was about a two week process.  For me the pre/post cleansing had as much as an effect as the actual juicing.  Sometimes your body just needs a great rest and you need to completely focus on healthful eating, if only for a few days.

Here are links to all the juices:

One Year Ago – Caramel Snickers Bars

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Juice Cleanse Shopping List {Blue Print Cleanse}
Adapted from Juices 1013 day cleanse

• 12 granny smith apples
• 3 red apples
• 14 lemons
• 3 limes
• 1 pineapple
• 3 pounds carrots
• 6 beets
• 3 English cucumbers
• 4 hearts of celery
• baby spinach
• 2 hearts of romaine
• 1 bunch kale
• 2 bunches parsley
• 1 bunch mint
• 1 hand of ginger
• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
• cayenne pepper
• agave nectar and honey
• 1 vanilla bean
• cinnamon

This juice is fantastic!  Rich and creamy and totally satisfying.  It totally saves you after a long day of drinking acidic juices filled with all the fruits and vegetables you can imagine.

Drinking the cashew milk before bed leaves your tummy full and happy while providing your body with needed protein and fat to start the next day off right.  The vanilla and cinnamon add great flavor.

This juice was the first one I prepared because it is the easiest to make ahead.  Simply soak the nuts over night and the blend with the rest of the ingredients.  Portion the juice into mason jars and store in the fridge.  You’re now ready for easy grabbing and drinking!  No worries, the juice cleanse is over now!

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Cashew Nut Milk
Adapted from Juices 101
Yield – 64 ounces

1 1/2 cups raw cashews
6 cups filtered water + more for soaking
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
seeds from 1 vanilla bean
3 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Soak the cashews overnight with plenty of water to cover.
2. Drain and rinse the cashews.  Add them to a VitaMix with 6 cups water, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon.
3. Blend for 2-3 minutes on high and then pour into a nut milk bag.
4. Squeeze out all of the nut milk until you are left with a dry pulp in the bag.
5. Portion the milk into 3 mason jars and then pour the rest in a glass to drink or store for later.
6. Store in the fridge and shake before drinking.

This is the drink I was most concerned about – I didn’t think I would be able to drink beet juice.  I had tried it in the VitaMix and I don’t know, it was just too grassy.  The pureed beet juice was too much to handle, but the juiced beet juice is delightful.

Fresh ginger is key!  It provides fantastic, sharp flavor and really covers up the grassyness of the beet the juice.  I enjoyed the lack of acidity in this juice, and my stomach definitely appreciated the break.

The best part of the beet juice is the color!  I wish Essie would make a nail polish called beet juice, I would wear it all the time.  You can see all the beet juice stains on the cutting board!  Again, this is a great make-ahead situation.  Peeling beets is messy and your hands will be all pink.  Bite the bullet and peel them all at once for the week.  While you have the peeler out, you might as well handle all the carrots.  Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later when you just grab a bag of prepared veggies out of the fridge and juice away in seconds!

One Year Ago – Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate and Caramel

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Carrot Apple Beet Ginger Juice
Adapted from Juice 101Yield – 1 16-ounce serving

3-4 carrots, peeled
2 beets, peeled
4 stalks celery
1 red apple
1 inch piece of ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Peel the beets and carrots and roughly chop the beets, carrots, celery, apple, and ginger.
2. Place everything in the juice and juice.
3. Add the lemon juice and stir.  Drink immediately or store in the fridge.

This one is spicy!  It just looks hot and was hard for me to drink.  The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper and I knew that would be too much for me, so I reduced the amount to 1/4 teaspoon.  Even that was too much.  If you’re not a spicy person, I would definitely recommend an 1/8 teaspoon.

Usually I highly recommend shaking all the juices to mix properly, but for this one I tried to let as much cayenne pepper settle at the bottom as possible.  Let’s have some honesty here – I only drank one of these, I couldn’t stand the cayenne pepper.   I know I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to spice, so do what your heart tells you for this situation.

I replaced the spicy lemonade with a plain coconut water.  Calorie-wise it was about the same and kept me full.  If I did a juice cleanse again, I would either completely eliminate the cayenne or add 1/16 of a teaspoon.

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Spicy Lemonade
Adapted from Juices 101
Yield – 1 16-ounce serving

2 lemons
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/8-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 1/4 and it was WAY too spicy for me)
14 ounces filtered water

1. Juice the lemons into a 16-ounce mason jar.  Add in the agave and cayenne pepper.
2. Add water to fill.  Screw on the lid tightly and shake.
3. Refrigerate before drinking.