Kyle and I have definitely following social distancing culinary trends lately – it is hard not to when you have some time on your hands. We created a new take on banana bread, so that can be checked off the list. Now, it is time to move on to the newest pandemic social media craze – Dalgona Coffee.
Dalgona Coffee, a Korean beverage, is a light, frothy coffee drink made by whipping together instant coffee, boiling water, and sugar. It is like a bizarro-world cappuccino – frothy coffee on t0p, milk underneath. If you were tuned into Instagram and TikTok videos, you couldn’t miss this new coffee trend. Now, it was nice to view on social media, but that inner coffee snob in us frowned at the idea of drinking instant coffee.
Well, when Barbuzzo, one of our favorite Philadelphia restaurants, stepped in and shared their Salted Caramel Dalgona Coffee, everything changed. Their version is a mashup of the viral coffee beverage and their signature dessert, Salted Caramel Budino. We have raved and sounded the bells about this delicious dessert before, one layered with salted caramel pudding, whipped cream, and crushed chocolate cookies (in fact, we made an autumn-inspired version pumpkin bread riff here). When they shared this Dalgona Coffee inspired by their heavenly dessert, this drove Kyle to swallow his pride and whip some up.
The folks at Barbuzzo were gracious enough to share an enticing and extremely educational labeled diagram of their drink on social media – this allowed us to recreate the magic at home, since many of us won’t be downtown anytime soon to indulge in Barbuzzo’s Salted Caramel Dalgona Coffee in person (sigh).
The first portion of the beverage consists of Salted Carmel Milk, not something you have on hand everyday. But after a quick Google search, one can discover how to create this mouthwatering delight. You basically make a salted caramel sauce, then dilute it with a few cups of milk to make a seriously decadent and creamy Salted Caramel Milk.
Now, after making the Salted Caramel Milk, you can daydream about the many different ways you can use it in coffee and desserts. The possibilities are endless – milkshakes, iced coffee, cookies, the list goes on and on. On its own, the Salted Caramel Milk is quite rich, so you can mix it with equal parts of milk and Dalgona Coffee to reach the level of richness and sweetness you prefer.
Even if you use the Salted Caramel Milk straight in your Dalgona Coffees, the recipe listed will make enough caramel milk for a few batches of coffee, so you can enjoy this treat for a few days in a row. You are welcome!
Most recipes for Dalgona Coffee call for equal portions of instant coffee, granulated sugar, and boiling water. To counteract the sweetness of the caramel milk, Kyle cut the sugar in half. The resulting Dalgona Coffee was quite bitter – it takes a minute to get used to the instant coffee. However, once it was combined with the other components of the recipe it was quite yummy.
Barbuzzo uses crushed cookies in both their budino and Dalgona Coffee, but we swapped that out for some grated dark chocolate. The reasoning behind this alteration? Well, that is what was on hand AND it was a quick fix to make the whole recipe gluten free (double score!).
Once done, all you need to do is add a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of sea salt and you are heading towards Salted Caramel Nirvana. The recipe makes two generous servings of Dalgona Coffee. There is enough whipped cream and caramel milk left for more – so, yes, you will have bonus Dalgona!
Once you have those two items on hand, making Dalgona Coffee can be whipped up in a jiffy. No need to go to any coffee houses for this treat – your kitchen is all you need!
This coffee delight looks and tastes dreamy. It is the perfect diversion during these weird social distancing days. You can enjoy it in the morning or as a refreshing treat on the porch (most followers know how much I love my porch time) in the late afternoon. So, enjoy, stay safe, and hopefully these trying times will pass.
Inspired by Barbuzzo.
- For the Caramel Milk:
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- For the whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- For the coffee:
- ¼ cup instant coffee
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup boiling water
- To assemble:
- 1 cup milk
- Dark chocolate, grated or coarsely chopped OR crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies
- Flaky sea salt
- To make the caramel milk, heat the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, using a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, until all the sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel turns a deep amber color. Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and kosher salt. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract. If the caramel seizes, return the pan to the stove and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the hardened sugar has dissolved completely. Turn off heat and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least one hour before using.
- To make the whipped cream: combine heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk with a handheld or stand mixer (or do it by hand with a whisk, if you’re feeling adventurous), until stiff peaks form.
- To make the Dalgona Coffee: combine the instant coffee, sugar, and boiling water and whisk with a stand mixer until the coffee is frothy and holds soft peaks.
- To assemble the Salted Caramel Dalgona Coffees: fill two large glasses with ice. Place ¼ - ½ cup of the Salted Caramel Milk in each glass, then add an equal amount of regular milk to dilute (depending on your preferred sweetness level. As pictured, I used ½ cup each). Evenly divide the Dalgona Coffee between the two glasses, the top with a dollop of whipped cream, some grated chocolate, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Reserve the leftover whipped cream and Salted Caramel Milk for future batches - they should both keep in the fridge for several days.
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