Dalgona Coffee Recipe | Whipped TikTok Coffee

Spice up your morning coffee with this three ingredient whipped coffee. This cool new take on coffee is creamy, fluffy, and airy!

Dalgona coffee (also known as TikTok coffee or quarantine coffee) is honestly nothing short of magic! And what's just mind-blowing to me is the fact that NO heavy cream is used (which is what I originally thought gave it its airy and frothy texture!)

You'll only need 3 ingredients that you probably already have on hand to make this delight!

What is Dalgona coffee?

A quick look at the history: Thank you to a lovely reader for pointing out the origins of Dalgona coffee! Here's a quick little recap from what I've learned: The original concept of whipping coffee into a creamy, frothy gorgeous cloud of deliciousness came from a cafe in Macau - created by Leong Kam Hon.

It was traditionally referred to as "hand beaten coffee" before gaining the "Dalgona" title thanks to South Korean actor Jung Il-woo. The Dalgona portion of its name comes from the fact that Jung Il-woo likened its taste to "dalgona" - a honeycomb toffee that's popular in South Korean (which you may also famously know from Squid Games).

This homemade Dalgona coffee, also called whipped coffee, is a combination of instant coffee, sugar, and hot water whipped up to make it light and frothy. After it's whipped, it's dolloped on top of milk (which can be hot or cold, dairy or dairy-free).

Dalgona coffee not working? Here's what may be going wrong:

There are a few tips I have for avoiding some troubles that may pop up when making this whipped coffee:

Tip # 1: Don't add too much water. Water is important for dissolving the sugar and instant coffee, but too much and the mixture may be too soft and runny. The best ratio is a 1:1:1 of water, instant coffee, and sugar.

When you add your water, it may seem like it's not nearly enough for the amount of coffee and sugar, but don't be tempted to add any more. It'll be just enough to melt the sugar and instant coffee together, without making the mixture too soft.

Tip # 2: Keep whipping. My first time making this, I was very tempted to stop whisking a number of times.

There are going to be a few stages in the whipping process where nothing really seems to be happening. Then there'll be a point where it starts to get bubbly and foamy on top.

Then BAM! The coffee will start lightening up and doubling in size. So you need some patience when whipping up the coffee.

Tip # 3: Use granulated sugar. I've found that granulated sugar whips up the best and quickest when compared with other types of sugar. It also dissolves very well into the mixture, which helps avoid having a layer of sugar along the bottom of the bowl (which can encourage the mixture to deflate later on).

Tip # 4: Use boiling hot water. Hot water is used for making sure the sugar and coffee are fully dissolved. Using boiling hot water as opposed to just warm water is important because we're not going to be adding a lot of it.

Since it's going to be such a small amount, the hotter it is, the better it'll be at dissolving everything without the need for too much water. Leaving large granules of sugar and instant coffee will encourage the mixture to deflate.

Tip # 5: Try not to let the mixture sit out for too long. Another important note for whipping up some Dalgona coffee (pun intended) is to try to whip it as close to when you want to serve it as possible.

While the whipped coffee does hold its shape for a good amount of time, it will start to deflate and liquefy when it sits out for too long.

Mine started to deflate after around an hour and a half out at room temperature.

Dalgona coffee by hand:

CAN you make Dalgona coffee by hand? Yes (and I've seen some tough people do it!)

But SHOULD you?? Preferably no! I really recommend using a handheld mixer, if you can. The mixer will finish whipping the coffee in less than half the time it takes by hand, and even then it takes about 5 minutes.

If you do want to give it a try whipping it by hand, I'd recommend using a whisk because it'll help you get the mixture whipped faster than if you use a spoon! (I really don't know HOW people do it with a spoon!)

Dalgona Coffee Milk Substitutes:

For me, Dalgona coffee is so amazing because of the simplicity of its ingredients. The magic of this recipe is all in the technique.

Since there are only 3 ingredients in the recipe itself, there isn't much wiggle room in terms of substituting the water, sugar, or coffee. Where you can really customize this is how you serve the whipped coffee.

I chose to use my Dalgona coffee to top some cold, 2% milk because I love iced coffee (and an iced Dalgona coffee is even better)! But, you can serve Dalgona coffee with almost any type of milk you like.

Some alternatives to regular 2% milk can include almond milk, coconut milk, skim milk, soy milk, oat milk, and whole milk.

How to drink Dalgona coffee:

Dalgona coffee is usually served as a topping for a glass of milk. You could also opt for a glass of espresso and cream or milk for some extra coffee flavor! Before drinking the whipped coffee, it's usually stirred into the milk to give a marbling effect.

When it comes to the milk (whichever you choose), you can either make this a hot or a cold drink. The whipped coffee compliments cold milk really well, and it also holds its shape surprisingly well when added on top of hot milk. I personally like having Dalgona coffee with some iced 2% milk.

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Enjoy!

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I would love to hear any tips you’d like to add to this post and how your Dalgona coffee turned out in the comments below!

Have any questions? Any ideas to improve this recipe? Feel free to comment for that as well.

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