Frugal Homemade Caramel Frappuccino with caramel syrup and topping. Easy to make and costs only pennies. Perfect to start the day or treat yourself.
I love to sip a steamy hot cup freshly pressed Americano in the morning but how to drink it safely with an active baby around? I just could not sip it peacefully and before I knew it was lukewarm. And this equals spoiled to me. Anyway, after attending a First Aid for Toddlers-Course I’m totally biased when it comes to hot drinks and little ones. (They showed real-life example photos.)
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Falling in Love with Caramel Frappuccino
After a night of preparing milk bottles and calming the little one I just had to have a nice coffee! Especially, as we get up quite early.
Here is how I fell in love with Iced Coffee. I love the first cold sip and the way the ice cubes jingle in the glass. I love the subtle sweetness of a pinch of syrup smoothing the bitterness of extra strong espresso. I embrace it dearly on those extra early mornings.
But we had a rough start.
I started to get myself a nice Caramel Frappuccino on the go as I picked up the habit of going for long walks with my little girl. Snuggled into a baby carrier on my chest and being carried around was the only way she would stop crying.
But after a while, my new coffee habit got quite expensive. Guilt would soon give me a sting in the heart and didn’t blend in well with the extra strong espresso. I rather wanted some change left to save away in my change trap.
While not giving up this delicious, caffeinated refreshment!
Caramel Frappuccino Experiments
When I stumbled upon an old package of vanilla ice cream that was sitting in the freezer and that nobody wanted to eat anymore I had an idea. I didn’t want to throw it away. Instead, I started experimenting with espresso and ice cubes. It turned out I could not bring together a nice ice cream parlor style iced coffee.
Ok, then let’s leave out the ice cream. Let’s take plain old sugar.
Well …
No breakthrough here either. And in addition, you had to mix everything really good to make the sugar crystals disappear.
Oh, there are those syrups they use in coffee shops. I ordered a set of 6 different tastes online. Unfortunately, none of them really rocked the coffee glass. (Ok, I did not even try the coconut one…) They were either just sweet or had some rather artificial taste.
Search some more. Find caramel syrup.
Now we’re talking! Finally, I found a way to make my iced coffee nice. But the store-bought syrup was a little bit expensive, given the fact that it was actually not more than plain sugar.
Caramel syrup the frugal way
Caramel. That’s melted sugar. How hard could it be to make it yourself? Well, not too hard. Yet not too easy for an impatient person like me. But in the end, I mastered it. I will let you in on my secrets of sugar melting if you want to stop paying a fortune for melted sugar aka caramel.
But first, let’s get back to that Caramel Frappuccino.
Homemade Caramel Frappuccino – the Recipe
(Find a recipe printable below)
For a nice big glass of Frappuccino use:
- double shot of espresso (50 ml, appr. 2 fluid ounces or a 1/4 cup) or strong coffee
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) cold milk
- ice cubes (I take 3 large ones)
- 1-2 tbsp syrup of your choice, (homemade syrup or store-bought)
- whipped cream (optional)
- caramel drizzle sauce (optional)
I start with brewing the espresso and let it sit to cool down a bit while I prepare breakfast. Then I add the ice, the cold milk and at last the syrup. Mix well and enjoy. If you want some extra yum top it with whipped cream and drizzle it with caramel sauce. Voíla, Caramel Frappuccino coffee shop style!
Ah, happily ever after. Once I had found my secret formula I jump out of bed to have my morning iced coffee.
In addition, I found the perfect cup for my drink: It can be closed with a lid and has a straw. I will not spill my coffee if my toddler is running around me or we play on the floor. Yey! And it goes into the dishwasher.
No more stingy guilt mixing with those dear espressi.
What about you? When is your best time for Caramel Frappuccino?
Homemade Caramel Frappuccino
Ingredients
- 50 ml 1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee
- 180 ml 3/4 cup cold milk
- ice cubes
- 1-2 tbsp syrup of your choice
- whipped cream optional
- caramel drizzle sauce optional
Instructions
Prepare the coffee and let it cool a bit.
Put ice cubes into a tall glass and pour coffee over them. Add milk and syrup and mix well.
If you want to top the iced coffee with whipped cream and caramel sauce.
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