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Author:
Franco Salzillo
The Starbucks Blond Flat White with Coconut Milk is one of the best ways of using your coconut milk. The plant-based milk is quite creamy and thick, and texturally, it’s the closest thing to milk compared to other vegan alternatives.
The flat white is in perfect balance between warm milk and milk foam. It is, though, a bit tricky to make at home, mainly because we don’t have an espresso machine to foam our milk — and milk foam is critical here.
There are several ways for foaming milk at home. You can use a foam maker if you have one, but most of us don’t. So, you can either blend your warm milk (really!), or you can use an electric hand mixer. The aim is the same: getting as many air bubbles in the milk as you can, and while coconut milk is similar to regular milk, it doesn’t foam as well.
Once you foam your coconut milk, you’ll still get lots of un-foamed milk on the layer below and a hefty layer of foam above. We’re pouring both over our coffee for a nice Blonde Flat White.
The only other ingredient in today’s recipe is coffee, but this is no regular coffee. We need two ristretto shots. What’s a ristretto, anyway? A ristretto is a short espresso shot, but it’s not only less coffee; it’s more concentrated.
The easiest way of getting a decent ristretto shot at home is with a ristretto pod. I’ve also noticed a proper moka pot Italian espresso, which you make in minutes on a stovetop, is super concentrated and could pass for a ristretto with ease.
I like the second method because you get to choose what coffee to use. Coffee pods don’t have that versatility. Go for a medium roast coffee; beautiful, golden beans roasted just above the first crack to get some caramel flavors and a few hints of coffee berries; it’s the best type of coffee for creamy drinks.
For today’s Blonde Flat White with Coconut Milk, we’re using 1.5 ounces of concentrated espresso, so this creamy and frothy drink packs a caffeine punch. Other than that, if you’ve selected your frothing method, you’re ready to go. Who said blondes weren’t interesting?
Heat your coconut milk in the microwave until steamy.
Blend the milk at medium speed or froth it with an electric hand mixer until foam forms.
Pour your coffee in a glass and top it with your milk, including the milk foam. Stir gently.
Sweeten to taste with sugar or any low-carb sweetener.
