Dalgona Whipped Coffee Recipe (달고나 커피)

Dalgona whipped coffee has been on quite a viral streak over the last couple of years making a splash on Instagram and TikTok! And, it is all for a good reason!

The stimulating beverage became prominent during the quarantine lockdown and thus it’s often called the “quarantine coffee” drink. This new quarantine craze was first offered to the public by a South Korean cafe shop and from there it started spreading like wildfire.

This viral trend comes from South Korea; but some people point out that this type of coffee has been available for quite a long time in countries like India and Pakistan.

It’s a recent and modern Korean invention, but the origins of this drink could be traced back to other typical coffee drink recipes in India and Pakistan. In India they make the so called beaten coffee which is a popular home style coffee and is very similar to dalgona coffee.

The drink is named after a taste that resembles that of a popular Korean sweet toffee dessert called “dalgona”. Still, most dalgona coffee doesn’t have the actual dalgona added in it.

Even my cat likes it when I make dalgona coffee!

This drink began with a great success in January in South Korea after being popularized by famous actor Jung Il-woo in a TV show.

The recipe then got all over the place on TikTok, which I use quite a lot lately! And I got hooked with the drink from first sight. Then my cat got obsessed with Dalgona too.

It is now easily found on the social networks under hashtags like # dalgonacoffeechallenge or #whippedcoffee.

According to The New York Times, this recipe doesn’t come out of nowhere:

For some, it’s not just a short-lived fad; they’ve been making this recipe at home for years now. Who knows, we may be in for the appearance of a new latte-drinking culture or a movement.

In India and Pakistan, this types of coffee beverages have been for a long time popular under the name phenti hui. In Greece, they also have a coffee recipe very similar to Dalgona and is known as “Greek frappe”.

Ok, I’m done with the short history lesson, now get ready for making your ultra creamy homemade dalgona coffee with a texture that is creamy, airy and velvety smooth.

Discover below the secret (well, it’s not a secret anymore ;-)) of this super easy whipped coffee recipe, which packs for an instant delight and is perfect for your show off on the social media #dalgonacoffeechallenge.

Iced Dalgona Whipped Coffee Recipe

As we mentioned dalgona coffee is a trendy type of a whipped iced coffee recipe that comes from South Korea. This coffee takes its name from a resemblance in taste with the Korean caramel candy called dalgona.

Most of the dalgona coffee versions are for iced coffee type of drinks as it’s intended for use in the hot summer days, but you can skip the addition of ice and you will have a warm or at least not that cold drink similar to latte or mocha / frappe style coffee.

For and easy step by step guide on how to make the Dalgona whipped coffee yourself, take a look at the recipe Infographic below:

For this whipped Dalgona coffee recipe you will need only about 5 minutes for the preparation.

So, here we go.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 1 cup of milk (or vegan alternative, like soy or almond milk)
• Ice cubes (if you prefer an iced version)
• Cocoa powder and nutmeg for garnish (optional)

Preparation

1. Pour instant coffee granules, sugar and hot water in a large bowl
2. Use a blender, hand mixer or milk frother foam maker to mix ingredients.
3. After few minutes you should get a thick, airy and creamy texture.
4. Fill a large glass halfway with the ice cubes.
5. Pour milk up to about two-thirds of the cup.
6. With a spoon, add your whipped coffee on top of the milk. It is best if you pour the coffee over the back of the spoon slowly to keep the frothy goodness.
7. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cocoa powder on top.

Hot Dalgona Whipped Coffee

All of the elements of the iced version will be the same. The only different is you will not use ice cubes and you will need to heat up the milk before adding it to the glass.

Recipe Tips + Options

• Chocolate milk can be used in place of regular milk to get a bit of mocha flavor
• Use spices like ginger, vanilla, and matcha to get unique flavors.
• Instant coffee powder must be used in this recipe, other coffee types will not achieve the foam that is needed.
• Replace sugar with honey or maple syrup.

Dalgona Coffee Without Mixer or Blender

If you do not have a hand mixer, blender, or frother you can can still make dalgona coffee using a hand whisk. It will require a lot more effort, but with plenty of whisking the result should be just as good.

Blue Dalgona Coffee Latte Recipe

This is a little different type of Dalgona and is basically the same thing just with a blue butterfly pea flower powder instead of or in addition to granulated instant coffee. It’s pretty simple to make, really.

Preparation 10 min

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp blue matcha
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp warm water
• granulated coffee (optional)
• 1 cup milk (or vegetable milk)
• Ice cubes (for an icy version)
• Cocoa powder and a pinch of nutmeg grates for garnish (optional)

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, pour the blue matcha (and instant granulated coffee if you want a little extra caffeine kick, but the color will be darker and less vibrant blue, also the taste may be closer to coffee too), sugar and hot water.
2. Whisk (with a milk frother if possible, if not with a hand whisk – it will simply be longer and will require quite a lot of elbow grease i.e work) the mixture, until it becomes thick, airy and mix (about 3 minutes in the milk frother). (This is where the magic works, the mixture becomes creamy, sparkling and foamy.!)
3. Fill a cup or glass of ice cubes, halfway.
4. Pour milk or vegetable milk up to 2/3 of the cup.
5. Using a spoon, place the whipped blue mixture on top.
6. Optional: I sprinkled a little fresh nutmeg and cocoa powder on top.

The recent # dalgonacoffee trend has been storming social networks for the past few months, mostly due to  quarantined people who have more free  time available than usual and want to twister their regular coffee to look more like the concoctions they used to buy in cafes?!

Note: if you skip instant coffee in this dalgona recipe version and use just the butterfly pea flower powder, you will get a lighter in taste and more clean, vibrant blue color for your blue dalgona latte. You can always experiment and see what you like better.

Blue Matcha or Butterfly Pea Flower Powder Health Benefits

Matcha is known for its green color, which is actually a very fine powder of ground green tea. It is often served in latte (in hot milk).

But some people, also extend the definition of matcha to other types of finely ground tea, such as black or white tea.

And we now also find blue matcha, whose vibrant blue color is 100% natural! It is made from the flower of clitoria ternatea, or Butterfly Pea Flower, highly prized as an aromatic and medicinal plant.

The purplish blue flower is dried and then ground to be served as a latte, but also in a host of recipes as a natural dye and food coloring. Who needs the artificial dangerous lab created additives we often consume with our food. Nature is amazing and has everything to offer for delighting our sensed and taste buds and keep us healthy. Only we, humans have the stupidity to jam our food with artificial cancer and many other health issue causing substances to “improve” the taste, smell and visual appearance.

On the Web, many companies offer in addition to green and blue matcha, a red matcha made of roselle hibiscus flowers and a Pink matcha, which is made from … rose petals.

Whipped Dalgona coffee for people in a hurry:

This quick, easy version is less “instagrammable”, but faster and really still delicious. I put in the blender the basic ingredients: coffee, sugar (or sweetener) and hot water.

When it foams, I add plenty of ice cubes and a glass of oat milk. In two minutes, it’s ready !

In a few days, this ultra-fast version came to replace the mocha ice ball that we like to tune into our morning(or midday) desserts.
The current temperatures make us want a very refreshing sweetness, right:-).

And here is a nice challenge recipe for a quick dessert

For the challenge, I started with the idea of a very basic Dalgona coffee in a dessert version.

In the bottom of the glass I laid a crumbled Speculoos, then I added a ball of vanilla ice cream and poured the whipped coffee.

For the final touch, I grated a little chocolate on top. Voilla!