If you’ve ever had a Frappuccino* drink from Starbucks maybe you’ve thought “I wonder if I could make something like this at home?”
I know I have. So I decided to experiment and create a frozen coffee drink with a blender. I tried putting several ingredients together, and I think the end result turned out pretty well.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Milk | 1 Cup |
| Ice | 1 Cup |
| Instant Coffee | 1 Serving |
| Sweetened Condensed Milk | 1 Tbsp |
Directions
Put all of the ingredients in the blender. Start blending at a low speed, and then slowly work the blender up to a high speed. Blend Until Smooth
Video
Thoughts and Commentary
I think the real key is making sure you have a blender that is capable of chopping ice. The chopped bits of ice really give the drink a nice thick texture. The rest of the drink is just about finding your preferred balance of coffee flavor and sweetness.
Measuring the Ingredients
This is a great drink to make in the morning because who doesn’t like coffee in the morning? And if you are in a hurry you don’t really need to measure anything–rough approximations will suffice.
The ingredients list provides some measurement guidelines, but they don’t need to be strictly followed.
If you want more coffee flavor, increase the amount of instant coffee you add. If you want a thicker texture, you can add more ice. And if you accidentally added too much ice, you can balance it out with more milk.
Instant Coffee vs Espresso Shot vs Regularly Brewed Coffee
I think that instant coffee works great with blender recipes because you can just add a small amount of the powder to really pack in a lot of coffee flavor. In some sense, the instant coffee could be seen as a substitute for an espresso shot.
If you have an espresso machine, you can try making this recipe with an espresso shot instead.
I once tried making this recipe with a cup of regularly brewed coffee, but I didn’t like how it turned out. The drink ended up being far too watery.
Sweetened Condensed Milk
I think that sweetened condensed milk works great as a sweetener for this drink, but you could try something else, such as sugar.
Almond Milk or Soy Milk
You could also try substituting almond milk or soy milk for the milk in the recipe. Personally, I haven’t tried it out, but I imagine that the drink would still turn out well.
Cocoa Powder
You could also add in a scoop of cocoa powder to give the drink a bit of chocolate flavor.
Final Thoughts
I like this drink because it is super easy to make, and it feels like you are getting a coffeehouse product for just a fraction of the price. If you buy a blended coffee drink from your local coffee shop, you’ll probably be paying three to five dollars or more.
And no, I did not grind coffee beans in the blender while making this recipe.
*Frappuccino is a registered trademark of Starbucks.
Loquacious Taste 