Page 135: Vanilla Shake

Oops. I really didn't realize this was supposed to be a vanilla shake. I just saw "shake" and that the ingredients contained "one pint vanilla vegan ice cream" and then apparently took some liberties.

Instead of vanilla, I made a chocolate peanut butter shake. However, the last thing I need is an excuse to consume another half-pint of ice cream, so I'm considering this recipe made.

I started with Luna & Larry's dark chocolate ice cream (which is so delicious on it's own by the way) instead of the vanilla.  The rest I did by the book - soy milk, agave nectar, and ice - and then added a heaping spoonful of peanut butter.  Erin McKenna suggests throwing in things like brownies, cookies, and even pie, so I don't think the peanut butter was that far off.  It's really the dark chocolate that made for the biggest deviation.

I know this picture doesn't look all that appealing.  And, honestly, I've made a better vegan shake myself (peanut butter & chocolate chip cookie dough shake anyone?).  But it was ice cream, agave, soy milk, and ice - so of course it was tasty.

Now back to the baking - just FOUR recipes to go!

Page 136: Arnold Palmer

As it turns out, I did manage to acquire some tea and knock out the Arnold Palmer Recipe with the same batch of lemonade. I'm just posting it two months after the fact. Yes, I am that bad at blogging. Oh well.

But anyway... back to the point. Agave Lemonade + Yerba Mate Tea = The BabyCakes NYC Arnold Palmer.

It was pretty yummy. I mean we started with that yummy lemonade and added the unique flavor of yerba mate - so I can't say I'm surprised. I would definitely make this again. Well, that is if I ever have a dozen extra lemons sitting around my house that I need to use. Hey... it could happen.

Page 133: Agave Lemonade

I love lemonade!  Especially when it's more tart than sweet, and this agave-sweetened lemonade recipe is my idea of perfect beverage! Some might find it a bit sour, but you could always add more agave.  I thought it was delicious and so refreshing on this warm and sunny July afternoon!

You start with lots of lemons!

Squeeze them...

Add water and agave...

And enjoy over ice!

I'm sipping on it as I write and it's so lovely.  There's also a BabyCakes Arnold Palmer recipe I could so easily knock out right now, if only I had not just run out of yerba mate tea.  Hopefully I can squirrel some lemonade away until tomorrow so I can pick up some tea and check off yet another BabyCakes recipe.  I'll keep you posted!

Page 133: Babyberry

This recipe comes from the last chapter in the book: drinks.  This one isn't a drink, per se, at least I don't think it was supposed to be. It's supposed to be akin to your favorite frozen yogurt treat (I think the berry part should really give it away).

You use just three ingredients: dairy free yogurt, peaches, and ice cubes.

Then you blend them together. It's that simple.

I ended up with a very thin concoction - much more like a smoothie than soft serve yogurt.  I stuck it in the freezer for awhile to help it set up, but it still wasn't very soft serve like.

It was a nice thought, but I think next time I'll just eat the yogurt straight out of the container.  On to BabyCakes' strengths: baked goods!