You’ll find this frothy delight sweeping the internet right about now. Dalgona coffee, otherwise known as whipped coffee, is a fluffy sweet coffee flavored treat popular in Southeast Asia. It’s been elevated more so by social media, especially Tik Tok because of how enchanting and soft it is. The recipe as you’ll see is mindbogglingly simple, not to mention cheap!
Whipped Tik Tok Coffee
Just what makes this puffy, cloud-like treat so spectacular? It’s in its simplicity, and its versatility. This sweet drink is a blank canvas for creatives! You can add just about anything and change the color, flavor, and look of this drink. What creations will you come up with?
What is a Dalgona, Anyways?
Curiously enough, the treat from which this coffee drink takes its name isn’t a drink at all. ‘Dalgona’ refers to the South Korean toffee which can have a similar taste and appearance. Dalgona is a light, fluffy and crunchy toffee treat made from sugar and baking soda.
It’s crumbly, and smooth on the outside and with bubbled cavities on the inside resembling a sponge. For this reason, this whipped coffee drink adopted the name Dalgona coffee! As a matter of fact, you can even find versions of this drink topped with, or incorporating traditional crumbled dalgona on top.
The History of Dalgona Coffee
Dalgona coffee found its legs primarily as an internet and social media phenomenon. Countless videos of the enchanting mixing process can be found. In such videos, you can watch instant coffee crystals transform into puffy, silky, creamy delight that practically shimmers in the light.
Sometimes you’ll even hear it called ‘quarantine coffee’ since its emergence took place over the 2019/2020 Coronavirus pandemic. Millions of people have shared their own recipes, mesmerizing videos, and takes on the fantastic foamy beverage. In no small part due to the fact that going out for a bubble tea or latte just wasn’t an option.
Can you Make Dalgona Coffee at Home?
Yes! It’s the 3 ingredient wonder that just keeps on giving. With just sugar, instant coffee crystals and hot water, you’re off to the races! The only kicker is that it’s easiest to make with an electric mixer, or hand-mixer. Beating or whipping the mixture by hand requires sometimes as much as 10-15 minutes, where an electric mixture can get the job done in about 60 seconds.
Best served over milk and with ice, you really don’t need a whole lot to make this drink special. A nice glass, and some back lighting and you’ve got yourself a decent, and easy, Instagram picture! What will you come up with?
What’s in Dalgona Coffee?
Dalgona coffee, rather confusingly, isn’t made from the South Korean toffee snack. It’s just water, instant coffee and sugar. It’s so simple, that you’ve probably got most of the ingredients on hand right now. Besides that, it also technically contains milk. This frothy delight is usually dolloped over a glass of warm or cold milk after it’s made. Definitely not diet friendly, the saving grace of this drink is that it’s so simple and cheap to whip up!
Are there Different Flavors of Dalgona Coffee?
About as many as you can come up with. A search for Dalgona coffee will reveal a wide range of flavors and varieties. One way to mix things up is with toppings. Not only are they great for pictures, but they can compliment the flavor of Dalgona coffee perfectly. Crumbled dalgona toffee, honey, syrups and of course sprinkles are all good options. As for flavoring, people have used all different kinds of methods.
The first and most obvious is coffee syrups, which add a kick of your favorite flavor for something new! Get this, there’s even Dalgona coffee recipes with Nutella hazelnut spread mixed in! I’m a fiend for that stuff, seriously, I can’t even keep it in the house!
How do you Make Dalgona Coffee?
Here’s a quick and easy Dalgona Coffee recipe!
All you need is some sugar, hot water and instant coffee. Measure 2-3 tablespoons of each, depending on how much Dalgona coffee topping you’d like. Combine all three of these ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use either a standing mixer or hand mixer to create fluffy, light-brown stiff peaks. The volume of the mixture will have about tripled. Dollop onto a glass of milk, (or you beverage of choice), and enjoy!
Dalgona Coffee
This silky smooth and fragrant delight is as quick to make as it is to drink!
Ingredients
- Instant coffee 2 Tbsp
- Sugar 2 Tbsp
- Hot Water 2 Tbsp
- Milk (optional)
- Ice (optional)
Instructions
- Add instant coffee, sugar and hot water into the mixing bowl
- Stir on high speed for approx. 2 minutes, or until mixture has developed stiff peaks when fluffed.
- Dollop onto hot or cold milk, or whatever beverage you prefer!
Notes
If you're using a stand up mixer (like I did!) be sure to add one more tablespoon of water, sugar and instant coffee. While this will increase your yield, it will also give the mixer's whisk a fair chance at reaching the ingredients in the bowl.
In our version, we decided to incorporate original 'Dalgona' for a more traditional homage to the food. It works great as a crunchy topping to compliment the soft creamy whipped coffee. You can find Dalgona toffee online in no time!
Can you use Brewed Coffee for Dalgona Coffee?
No, only instant coffee crystals can produce the ‘whipped’ texture of Dalgona coffee. The composition of the instant coffee due to the way it’s processed causes a reaction with sugar and water. After beating this mixture, stiff peaks similar to making a meringue occur. Therefore, you can not use brewed coffee for Dalgona coffee.
Where to Get Dalgona Coffee
As of the time I’m writing this piece we’re not really allowed to go outside. Be it a weird time capsule, this is a time where a pandemic is keeping us all locked up like small exotic birds. The upside is that Dalgona coffee will probably be in just about every trendy little cafe and Asian market.
Cafes in South Korea already carry the silky smooth delicacy for their customers. It won’t be long until whipped coffee takes its place next to bubble tea as one of the internet’s most beloved drinks. Have you tried one?
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