Whipped Dalgona Coffee, Iced or Hot

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Instant coffee, sugar and boiling water whip into a glossy caramel-colored foam stiff enough to sit on cold milk without sinking. The trick is a 1:1:1 ratio, water that's actually boiling, and whipping past the point where you think it's done — you want it to hold peaks like meringue. Spoon it over iced milk for the classic look, or float it on hot milk for something closer to a home-made cappuccino.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp instant coffee granules or powder
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp boiling water
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, or oat milk
• 2 cups ice cubes (for the iced version)
• cocoa powder, cinnamon, or grated dark chocolate for dusting
• 2 tsp simple syrup or maple syrup, to sweeten the milk (optional)

Instructions

1. Choose a bowl that looks too big for the job — a medium mixing bowl, ideally metal or glass with a rounded bottom. The foam quadruples in volume, and a narrow bowl keeps the beaters submerged so it whips faster.
2. Add 2 tablespoons instant coffee, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and a pinch of salt to the bowl. If your instant coffee is freeze-dried in large shards, crush it between your fingers first so it dissolves cleanly.
3. Bring a few tablespoons of water to a full boil (or use water just off the boil from a kettle, about 200°F/93°C). Measure exactly 2 tablespoons and pour it over the coffee and sugar. Stir 15 seconds with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved and you have a dark, syrupy slurry with no grit.
4. Whip with a hand mixer on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes. It will go from thin and dark, to bubbly and mahogany, to pale caramel and thick. Stop when the beaters leave defined ridges and a lifted beater pulls up a peak that only just curls at the tip. If using vanilla, beat it in for the last 10 seconds.
5. Test it: drag a spoon through the foam. The channel should stay open for several seconds. If it collapses, keep whipping in 30-second bursts — under-whipped foam sinks straight into the milk.
6. For the iced version: fill two tall glasses with ice, pour in 3/4 cup cold milk each (sweeten with a teaspoon of syrup first if you like), leaving 1 1/2 inches of headroom. Spoon half the whipped coffee onto each, mounding it high, and smooth the top with the back of the spoon.
7. For the hot version: warm the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat to about 150°F (65°C), just steaming with no bubbles breaking, about 2 minutes. Divide between two mugs and float the whipped coffee on top.
8. Dust with a little cocoa powder or cinnamon and serve immediately with a long spoon. Stir it down into the milk before drinking — the foam alone is intensely strong and sweet, and it's meant to be folded in.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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