I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but a young friend introduced me to a McDonald’s frozen blend – a Caramel Frappe. I loved the taste, but a little investigation into the nutrition and ingredients left me colder than my ice headache! With summer approaching, I knew I had to come up with a reasonable substitute: My Frozen Fake Frappe.
McDonald’s Copycat Frozen Frappe
My Frozen Fake Frappe still has calories and fat, but considerably less than the McDonald’s version, and mine uses recognizable ingredients. And sorry, no drive through convenience, although if you have frozen coffee ice cubes in your freezer, these Frappes take seconds to make.
Luckily I had a few guinea pigs, because I did a lot of experimenting: I tried food processors, ice cream makers, blenders, different sweeteners and ratios and finally “got it”. I used a home-made drizzle from my Intensely Chocolate Syrup, but I can’t wait to try one with my Old Fashioned Butterscotch Sauce.
McDonald’s Copycat Frozen Frappe
The only way I could find to get the richness and body I wanted was to use condensed milk; you will need to plan ahead for the frozen coffee ice cubes. I think you’ll like my Frozen Coffee Frappes, but feel free to experiment – see Put your Own Spin on It, below for some ideas.
Oh, yeah, the cost? About $1.12 for two including the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle…That’s around 55 cents for 12 ounces, which certainly beats McDonald’s price of $2.79 a piece.
McDonald’s Copycat Frozen Frappe
Frozen Frappe
- 1 cup strong coffee, frozen into cubes
- 1/2 can of Condensed Milk
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup 2% Milk
- 1/4 cup fluid whipping cream, which equals 1/2 cup whipped
- Chocolate, Caramel or Butterscotch Drizzle
Place all ingredients into a blender and whiz away. Start with the lesser amount of milk, and only add the rest if your blender needs it to mix. It might be helpful to open blender and stir, then blend some more.
Serve right away – remember, there are no strange ingredients or stabilizers in this, and it will melt. Serving in a frosted glass would be ideal on a hot, summer day.
A whipped cream garnish with a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce over the top is a wonderful addition. This is one place where I might, for convenience sake, consider using a premade squirtable whipped cream because it could be used over a period of time.
Makes about 3 cups, or two 12 ounce servings.
Notes:
- My ice-cube tray holds two cups of liquid, and one cup is therefore 8 cubes.
- I remove coffee cubes after they’re frozen so the aroma of coffee won’t linger in the plastic.
- These coffee cubes are difficult to remove – I run hot water over the bottom of the tray, then put the whole tray into a plastic bag and twist. This helps to avoid the cubes from skittering around the kitchen – they melt quickly and it saves cleaning off anything they happen to touch.
- Store the extra cubes right in the plastic bag in the freezer. They do look a little disgusting, but it’s so nice to have them on hand when the mood hits.
- This is an ideal use for left over coffee, and the coffee cubes are great to have on hand if you happen to have a little left over whipped cream from something else.
Let’s talk about how to save money/time on this recipe:
- Use a coupon matching site! Do not discount the savings! I check a site every week, even if I don’t “need” to go to the store and often find bargains I can’t pass up.
- Follow my 12 Strategies – You’ll see them on the upper drop down menu of every page and how I apply them, below.
- Don’t get discouraged if your prices don’t match mine! Keep shopping at the best prices and your fridge/freezer and pantry will be stocked with sales priced ingredients.
- Read {Strategies Applied} for additional tips as well as throughout the recipe, for saving time and managing food.
Nutrition:
Servings 2; Amount Per Serving: calories 215, % Daily Value; Total Fat 13 g 20 %; Saturated Fat 8 g 41 %; Monounsaturated Fat 4 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g; Trans Fat 0 g; Cholesterol 50 mg 17 %
Sodium 141 mg 6 %; Potassium 425 mg 12 %; Total Carbohydrate 16 g 5 %; Dietary Fiber 0 g 1 %; Sugars 14 g; Protein 8 g 17 %; Vitamin A 3 %; Vitamin C 0 %; Calcium 9 %; Iron 0 %
The McDonald’s Frappe of the same size is 450 calories.
Put your Own Spin on It:
- Toppings – don’t limit yourself to whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel or chocolate, although you can’t go wrong there – try some shaved chocolate, crushed candies, dulce de leche, butterscotch or your favorite flavor.
- Flavors – why not make these any flavor you want? Mocha, would be the addition of chocolate, but think about other flavors of coffee, different syrups, your favorite extracts or make an adult version – with a liquor. Hazelnut with Frangelica comes to mind.
Frozen Fake Frappe made May 2012, but priced in February 2014 for about 55 cents.
Chopsticks work great to get stuff out of the bottom of the blender; they don’t get caught in the blades like a spoon or spatula and they’re long.
11 thoughts on “Frozen Coffee Frappe Goodness”