It would appear that staying at home creates the perfect environment for micro trends to explode into virality.
Banana Bread, Sourdough, matching sweat suits (for those lucky enough to be sheltering in place in locations that permit the sale of loungewear), tie dye, handstand challenges, pillows as outfits and Dalgona coffee have permeated every corner of the interwebs over the last two months.
I have not made banana bread (would recommend this recipe if you are that way inclined). I have been freezing my bananas for smoothies instead (would recommend this guide to the perfect smoothie bowl).
I have been on the sourdough train for years, every now and again making a new starter that inevitably dies right after I bake a subpar loaf of bread. I’d like to give sourdough another shot; but I’m currently running a croissant experimentation and am so close to the perfect flaky pastry. Priorities.
I would be wearing a matching sweat suit if I had planned correctly (I did not); am about to hop on the tie dye trend; have done the handstand challenge and well it’s winter and I live in a South African (un)insulated home. I am prancing around in multiple layers with a hot water bottle attached to me, not as a human pillow sandwich.
I discovered Dalgona coffee a few weeks back. It also goes by the name of Tik Tok Coffee and whipped coffee. It originated in South Korea and has made its way around the globe at an astonishing speed. It involves 4 ingredients: instant coffee, sugar, hot water and milk. The instant coffee, sugar and hot water get whipped until they are light, fluffy and thick. It then gets spooned into a glass of milk with ice cubes.
Sounds lovely, unless you are dealing with cold temperatures and prefer your coffee hot.
I Prefer my coffee hot and so instead of pouring the whipped coffee over cold milk, I poured it over steamed milk. Whether the taste is worth the effort is debatable. The first time I made it, it was meh; but when whipped a little longer and poured over steamed oat milk, which is the creamier and richer of the dairy alternatives, it’s much better. It’s a relatively easy and fast way to zhush up a cup of coffee. It’s slightly OTT and indulgent; but in a time of a global pandemic, sometimes you need a ridiculous drink to whip up and provide a few moments of distraction and indulgence.
If you’re intrigued by Dalgona coffee, below is how I make it – with steamed milk. If you want to go the original route, use cold milk and a few ice cubes instead. I used OKJA oat milk, which is the best oat milk I’ve tried locally in both taste and price. It’s available here.
Dalgona Coffee For Those of Us Who Like Our Coffee HOT
Ingredients
- 2 tsp instant coffee
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp boiling water
- 1 C oat milk
Instructions
- Add your instant coffee, sugar and boiling water to a bowl. Using an electric hand beater whisk together until it becomes light in color and thick in texture (you’re looking for medium-stiff peaks). Set aside.
- Warm milk on a pot on the stove until hot.
- Add hot milk to a glass and top with the whipped cream.
- Stir in and enjoy!
