By: Sara Goldstein @tomatoes_tomahtos
Perhaps it’s due to coffee shops around the world temporarily closed or maybe because finally people have some extra time on their hands, whipped coffee a.k.a. dalgona coffee has taken the social media world by storm in the past couple months! (Followed closely by banana bread, but that’s a whole topic in itself.) Being a huge coffee lover, I knew that I had to see what the world was raving about and try it out for myself.
What is dalgona coffee?
The name dalgona is the South Korean word for a type of honeycomb candy. Dalgona coffee is a whipped coffee drink made by combining equal parts of instant coffee, sugar, and hot water. You whip them together until it resembles a fluffy meringue type consistency. Once it’s whipped, dollop it over your choice of milk. You can use hot milk or cold milk with ice. Give it a little stir and enjoy!
Basic Dalgona Coffee:
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon boiling water
Best methods for whipping:
You can technically use a whisk, although you might want to title this activity “workout of the day” as it can take up to 10 minutes to reach the desired consistency. Alternatively you can use a hand mixer or even better, your handy dandy kitchen aid, which can whip this up in half the time as a handheld whisk. You can also use a handheld frother if you happen to have one.
Turns out, I’m a huge fan of the texture and had a great time experimenting with some variations of the classic!
VARIATIONS:
Here’s a twist on the classic dalgona that kids and adults will both love! You can enjoy it on top of iced milk for chocolate milk or try hot milk for a hot cocoa-like version.
Ingredients:
1 egg white*
1 tbsp sugar**
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup milk of your choice
Directions:
1. Whip the egg white until it is frothy and mostly stiff with the whisk attachment of your stand mixer. Add the sugar and whip until stiff peaks form and it sticks to your whisk.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder.*** Whisk it in until incorporated.
3. Add the milk to a cup. Top with the whipped chocolate and enjoy!
*If you don’t want to use egg white, you can use already pasteurized eggs or aquafaba. Aquafaba is the thick liquid in a can of chickpeas that you usually drain out and throw away. It is commonly used in vegan baking as a substitute for egg whites and whips up just as well as egg whites in this recipe.
**This recipe works best with fine, granulated sugar. But it also works with many other sugars. Make sure the egg white/aquafaba is stiff before adding the sugar, especially if using a heavy sugar like coconut sugar.
***Do not add the cocoa powder until instructed or the egg whites will not properly whip. The powder will weigh the mixture down too much to froth properly.
My personal favorite coffee flavor is hazelnut, so I knew I had to give it a try! I usually have the Taster’s Choice hazelnut flavored coffee packets on hand, but if you don’t you can try the hazelnut spread version!
Method 1:
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp hazelnut flavored coffee (I used 2 Taster’s Choice hazelnut packets)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp boiling water
Directions:
1. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and whip together.
2. Prepare ice and milk in a glass and top it off with the frothy hazelnut foam. Top with chopped hazelnuts, if desired.
Method 2:
Ingredients:
1 spoonful hazelnut spread
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
1. Whisk hazelnut spread and heavy cream in a bowl until fluffy.
2. Add to a glass of milk.
If you’re big on sweet coffees, this one’s for you! Caramel sauce is folded into the basic dalgona coffee mixture to give it that delicious caramel flavor. If you’d like an added special touch, top it with a square of hazelnut chocolate or a wafer roll.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
2 tablespoons caramel sauce plus more for the glass
1 cup milk
Directions:
1. Combine the coffee, sugar, and hot water in a bowl. Whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the caramel sauce.
2. Drizzle the glass with caramel sauce. Pour in ice and milk. Top with the caramel coffee.
No matter which flavor you choose to make your dalgona coffee, it’s important to note that the foam can be kept in the refrigerator. That’s right — whether you make too much froth or you just want to prep for your next inevitable caffeine hankering, you can cut time by saving your foam in the refrigerator. It’ll last a few days, so all you’ll have to do is fill a cup with your choice of milk and ice cubes for a sweet morning treat.
