Halloween Punch with Black Lemonade and Strawberry Skulls
Our spooky Halloween punch recipe is a fruit-infused spritzer made from frozen juice cubes that look like skulls! Press the juice and prep the frozen skulls ahead of time and melt them into your next witches’ brew.
Listen, maybe it’s just us, but at this time of year, when the sky turns gray and we pull on our sweaters, it can be really hard not to dive into that bag of candy we’ve been saving for trick-or-treaters. By the time it’s actually Halloween, we are all sugared-out.
That’s just one of the many reasons we love this refreshing Halloween punch made from sparkling water and cold-pressed juice.
Can You Make a Fresh Halloween Party Punch?
At PURE we pride ourselves on finding fun new whole food recipes we can try with the PURE Juicer, and this spooky Halloween punch is no exception. If you’re tired of the same old sugar-laden ginger-ale-and-lime-sherbert punch, our black lemonade strawberry punch may be just what you need to try this October. It’s all-natural, non alcoholic, and free of any food coloring.
And bonus: when you get to make fun juice cubes that look like skulls and drop them into a smoking cauldron of punch, your dopamine-happy brain won’t even care about finding more candy.
Spooky Halloween Punch Recipe
We love how light and refreshing this Halloween punch is. All you need is sparkling water, your favorite cold-pressed juice, and a freezer. We went with the flavor of strawberry lemonade, pressed from fresh strawberries and lemons. To make the punch extra spooky, we added activated charcoal to the lemonade (thus, black skull lemonade).
For a super simple set up, you can skip the frozen juice cubes and simply add the juice to the sparkling water (but would you want to?). Alternately, add both juice and juice cubes to the mixture for an extra flavorful concoction. There’s really no way to ruin this recipe!
Ingredients
Black Lemonade:
- 1 cup lemon juice (approx. 1-2 lemons)
- 4 cups filtered water
- Honey to taste (maple syrup works in a pinch)
- 2 capsules activated charcoal
Yield: 40 ounces of lemonade
Red Strawberry Juice
- 3 cups of strawberries
Yield: 17 ounces of juice
Pro tip: Try pomegranate juice or beet juice instead of strawberry! Just remember to taste your juice and sweeten accordingly.
Punch:
- 2 Liters of sparkling water
- 17 ounces (500mL) of lemonade & strawberry skulls
Directions
How to make frozen black lemonade juice cubes
- Cut lemons into a fan shape.
- Place 2 to 3 lemons in the center of your liner (no more than 1.5 cups). Wrap in liner then wrap in a cloth (or place inside a PURE bag).
- Press.
- Wrap and press another one to two times to get all the juice out of the pulp.
- Mix one cup of lemon juice with 4 cups of water.
- Open the activated charcoal capsules and pour charcoal powder into the juice. Sweeten to taste.
- Pour the black lemonade into ice cube trays in your chosen shape.
Try more lemonade recipes using the PURE Juicer
How to make frozen strawberry juice cubes
- Place 1 cup of clean strawberries on a liner. Place this in a cloth or inside a PURE bag.
- Wrap and press slowly.
- Wrap and press another one to two times to get all the juice out of the pulp.
- Pour the strawberry juice into ice cube trays in your chosen shape.
Pro tip: the results are better when you press one cloth at a time vs. 2-3 cloths.
Pressing ahead? PURE’s MVP vacuum pump seals a wide-mouth mason jar in about six seconds, and vacuum-sealed juice keeps up to a week in the refrigerator. See the MVP pump and kits.
How to Serve Halloween Party Punch
A successful Halloween party will do a couple things right: atmosphere and spectacle. With a fun drink like the black lemonade strawberry punch, you’ll have an instant crowd-pleasing event!
When you’re ready to wow your party guests, pour chilled sparkling water into your punch bowl. Next, use tongs to slowly lower the black lemonade and strawberry ice cubes into the punch bowl. Step back and watch as your guests ooh and ahh over the floating skulls in their bubbling beverage.
In our test kitchen we made two sizes of juice cubes — large skulls for the punch bowl and small skulls for individual glasses.
Want to take it up a notch? Read below for our tips on using dry ice to turn your bowl into a cauldron of witches’ brew.
Smoking Cauldron
Dry ice around the punch bowl
If there will be kids at your event, you may want to set up the dry ice so that it never actually touches the punch. To do this, find a large cauldron and place the bowl inside. Pour water into the cauldron, around the punch bowl. When you add dry ice to the water surrounding the punch bowl, you will see smoke, and the punch will remain untouched.
Bubbling Brew
Dry ice in the punch
Leave the dry ice in a large block and add it to your punch in one piece, at the bottom of the bowl, to make the liquid bubble and smoke. The ice is large enough that it will not be accidentally ladled into a glass and consumed.
Gruesome Goblets
Dry ice in individual glasses
If you’d like to hand each of your guests a smoking goblet of floating skull punch, you can also add a large chunk of dry ice to individual cups before pouring. ONLY do this if you know you can trust your guests to sip their drinks appropriately! Add a small juice cube to the top for an extra bubbly treat.
Enjoy! Happy Halloween!
Caution: Dry Ice Safety Tips
Never touch dry ice with bare skin
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide, and forms at temperatures below -109 degrees Fahrenheit–you could actually get frostbite from direct contact. Make sure to use gloves when handling dry ice, and use tongs to drop it into your bowl or glass.
Do not drink dry ice
It bears repeating: do not touch or ingest dry ice! Remind your guests to ladle punch from the top of the bowl. If you plan to add dry ice to individual cups, ensure that the ice chunks are big enough to easily avoid drinking them.
About the Ingredients
strawberries: made up of about 90% water, strawberries are a source of vitamin C, manganese, folate, and potassium, and they contain antioxidants and other plant compounds.
lemon: high in vitamin C and citric acid, lemons give the lemonade its bright, tart flavor.
activated charcoal: a fine black powder processed to be very porous. Here it simply gives the lemonade its black color. If you take medication, check with your doctor before using it.
honey: primarily composed of natural sugar, honey also contains antioxidants, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, and trace amounts of several vitamins and minerals.
Sources
Strawberries 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits
What is Activated Charcoal? Benefits and Uses
6 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Lemon
7 Unique Health Benefits of Honey
Medical Disclaimer
PURE is a kitchen products company. We are not doctors or medical experts. All content and information on this blog and website is for informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice, and does not establish any patient-client relationship by using this website.
Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for professional advice. You should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in your area for your health questions and concerns before making any professional, legal, medical, financial, or tax-related decisions.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet, especially if you have a health condition or take medication.