Boozy Dalgona Coffee Break #QuarantineCocktail

“Shelter in Place” really does force some changes in your life. A lot of people are facing situations that they never imagined they would be in. While we are doing our part in staying home, who says we can’t have a little boozy coffee break? This cocktail was a lot of fun to think through from ideation to creation. I don’t know about you but my social feeds were filled with beautiful images of whipped coffee this week. I was mesmerized by images of the fluffy concoctions tagged #dalgonacoffee and did some research to see what this trend was all about. In doing so, I learned a few things that really inspired me.

The first thing I learned was that this trend popped up all over South Korea during their COVID crisis. It’s named after an old school confection/candy (also known as Ppopgi). The next thing I learned was just how simple it is to create with ingredients you may already have at your fingertips! Now here’s a fun fact, I actually came up with this recipe by starting with the garnish and then working my way backwards to the spirit base.

It was the candy that inspired the coffee, and the candy is what I felt connected me to a memory. When I was little, my mother use to make this candy right over the stove with a spoon, chopsticks, sugar and pinch of baking soda. This melted sugar would harden into a sweet crunchy brittle and it would satisfy our sweet tooth. I thought it would be such a cute way to bring this nostalgia full circle by garnishing this cocktail with pieces of the candy. I knew the dalgona coffee portion would be the heart of this cocktail so I thought a creamy, cool spiced rum based milk punch would fit nicely as the bones of the drink. I will warn you now, this cocktail is like drinking a dessert! It’s dangerously delicious and don’t let the sugar amount scare you off!

INGREDIENTS

For Poopgi Candy (Garnish)

  • 2 Tbsp Sugar

  • 1 Pinch of Baking Soda

For Dalgona Coffee (1:1:1 Ratio of ingredients)

  • 2 Tbsp Sugar

  • 2 Tbsp Instant Coffee

  • 2 Tbsp Water

Optional Ombre Effect Layer

  • 2 Tbsp of Cool Whip

For Spiced Rum Milk Punch ( Serves 1-2 increase recipe to serve your desired qty)

  • Ice Cubes

  • 1 and 3/4 oz. Spice Rum

  • 2.5 oz. Milk of your choice ( I used Almond Coconut from Silk)

  • 2 oz. Simple Syrup

  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

SHAKE. IT. UP

  1. Start with making the ppopgi candy garnish. Melt the 2 Tbsp of sugar over low/medium heat in a shallow small pan. Stir continuously with a whisk or chopsticks so that you get rid of any lumps and doesn’t burn.

  2. Once the sugar liquifies and starts to brown, remove from heat and add the pinch if baking soda. Continue to stir with your utensil of choice until a caramel color is achieved.

  3. Fold a piece of parchment paper in half and spray both sides lightly with cooking spray or oil. Pour the mixture onto the sprayed side and fold over and press down with a flat surface.

  4. The mixture will immediately begin the harden as it cools. Set aside until it does.

  5. Next, grab the ingredients for the Dalgona coffee mixture and combine into a mixing bowl. Using a handheld mixer begin to whisk the ingredients until a creamy and frothy consistency forms (this will take a few mins). This should start to look similar in color to the candy garnish.

  6. Set aside and grab your ingredients for the milk punch. If you are making a Virgin version of this then skip the below steps and fill a glass with 3/4 full of your milk of choice and then spoon the coffee mixture top.

  7. If you made it to this step then you are ready for some booze for the coffee. Combine all of the milk punch ingredients into a shaker with ice. Give it a few vigorous shakes and taste. feel free to adjust ingredients to your liking. If you are content, then pour all contents into a glass, filling it 3/4 of the way full.

  8. Spoon the coffee mixture on top carefully, it should float just above the milk punch.

  9. If you are opting into the optional ombre layer the add the cool whip to the remaining coffee mixture and give it a quick whisk to get a lighter color of this coffee mix. Add that layer on top of the Dalgona Coffee mix in the glass.

  10. Grab the candy garnish and break into pieces and place a few on the top. Once you finish dressing the drink, it’s ready to be served!

DrinksKathy Bradhamcocktails, coffee, drinks, quarantineComment