How to Make a Caramel Frappuccino at Home with Only a Blender

Are you a Caffeine person? Then, I bet you’ll love to know how to make a caramel Frappuccino at home. Or would you prefer to spend five or seven bucks at Starbucks every day, which, by the way, is like twenty-forty miles away?

Anyway, it’s very easy to make a Caramel Frappe at home. And not only will you save a few dollars, but also you can tweak the recipe however you like. So, you can even make it fat-free, sugar-free, and or with few calories, while still keeping it creamy and delicious.

Is it a Must I use a Vitamix for Frappuccino?

Just like Starbucks breaks it down, a Caramel Frappuccino is nothing more than a combination of milk, coffee, ice, and caramel syrup. Then, topped with whipped cream and more caramel sauce. Therefore, it’s something as easy as to make chocolate milkshakes without ice cream.

Speaking of ice, you’ll need to have a nice blender for Frappuccino to be, you know, Frappuccino. In the recipe, we’ll be using ice cubes to bring out the refreshing chill, as well as enhance the slushiness/ chunkiness. So, a blender’s a must-have to pulverize the solid frozen blocks and have them drinkable.
Needless to say, any blending machine with enough power and strong blades should be able to do the trick. So, it’s not a must you have an expensive Blendtec or Breville Super Q or Vitamix to have the caffeine treat.

How to make a Caramel Frappuccino at Home with a Blender

As was mentioned, a caramel Frappuccino is very easy to make from your home kitchen. And I’m not only speaking of the process itself but also everything else.

If it’s the coffee, milk, ice, and whipped cream, these are some items you can’t lack from the icebox or kitchen cabinet. The same goes for caramel if you savor ice cream, milkshakes, cookie bars, and other desserts a lot.

In any case, every of your recipe needs to be precise to get the right results. Therefore, to make a basic caramel Frappuccino…

You’ll Need to Have:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups strong coffee cubes
• ½ cup (about 8 tablespoons) caramel syrup
• ¼ cup sugar (or more/ less depending on your taste)
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Tools: a blender

What You Need to Do:

• Place the milk, sugar, caramel syrup (4 teaspoons), and coffee ice cubes in a blender
• Turn the machine on and ramp-up to the highest speed
• Blend the mixture until consistently thick and smooth
• Now drizzle about half a tablespoon caramel syrup down your serving glass
• Then, pour your caramel Frappuccino mix until it reaches near the top of the glass
• Next, top with whipped cream, followed by even more caramel syrup.
• Finally, grab your straw and enjoy!

Important Notes:

Starbucks’ trademarked Frappuccino usually contains xanthan gum as an emulsifier, or rather prevent the mixture from separating. So, you could squeeze some amount (if available) in Step (1) to enhance the consistency of your Frappe even more.

When making milkshakes, I also realized regular ice cubes tend to make the texture thin and weak. Hence, the reason I’ve opted for frozen coffee, which is already part of my recipe. As such, our Caramel Frappuccino will have the slushy texture we need while the coffee flavor remains strong.

Another thing, in case you’re wondering, two cups are around 12 to 14 ice cubes, albeit it will depend on the size of the tray. Also, you should let the cubes sit for like 15 minutes after you remove them from the freezer to soften, especially if using any of the regular blenders under $100. Alternatively, you can defrost the ice in the microwave for about 40 to 45 seconds as long it doesn’t melt.

Recipe 2: How to Make a Copycat Starbucks Ultra Caramel Frappuccino

If you would want your cold coffee treat to have even better deliciousness, the Ultra Caramel Frappuccino should do the magic. It consists of a good amount of cream and caramel, all layered perfectly to ensure every sip you make is as good as the last.

However, I would like us to make this recipe as cheapest as possible. So, we’ll also use a homemade caramel syrup, assuming you have a few minutes to make some. It’s yet simple to make, and the best part is that we’ll only use three ingredients in your cupboard right now.

A. Making the Caramel Syrup

Like any other recipe, the first step of the process is to gather the ingredients you need. So, have some water, sugar, butter, and heavy cream on the table. We’ll also have a bit of heating and mixing to do. So, a medium saucepan (preferably heavy-bottomed) and whisk will be our tools in this part.

Directions:

Once you have everything on the table…

• Put some water and sugar in a saucepan, then heat over medium heat
• Whisk constantly to dissolve all the sugar
• Once the mixture starts to bubble, increase the heat to bring it to a boil
• After it starts to boil, you can stop stirring and allow it to turn a beautiful amber-gold color. The process will take about 8 minutes for the mixture to attain this texture, but it could be more depending on your amount of ingredients.
• Now add the heavy cream to the golden sugary mixture and whisk gently
• After the mixture starts to bubble, mix in the butter carefully (one cube at a time) until everything combines completely
• Once done with that, remove your pan from the heat and allow your homemade caramel syrup to cool for the next recipe.

Note, you could add some salt when making your caramel to give it a signature taste. Moreover, don’t cook your recipe for too long to avoid having a burnt state, which, of course, will also ruin your Ultra Caramel Frappuccino sweetness.

B. Making the Ultra Caramel Frappuccino Treat

In the following recipe, you should get about two servings, but you can add or reduce the ingredients based on your number of guests.

What You Need:

• ½ cup (about 115ml) milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• ½ cup (about 115ml) heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup (or 43g) white chocolate, melted
• 5/8 cup (about 145ml) brewed coffee, strong
• 5 tablespoons homemade caramel syrup
• 12 to 14 ice cubes (regular)
• Tools: a blender, piping bag, hand mixer

What To Do:

1. While using a hand mixer and a bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use a hand whisk instead
2. Next, add the white chocolate, 1 tablespoon caramel syrup, and 2 tablespoons brewed coffee into the bowl with cream. Then, continue mixing until it forms stiff peaks
3. After you notice the peaks, stop mixing and transfer your whipped cream mixture into the piping bag. Then, put it in the fridge for the time being to prevent melting
4. Now combine milk, sugar, remaining coffee (half cup), 3 tablespoons of the remaining caramel syrup, vanilla, and ice cubes in a blender.
5. Then, turn the machine on high speed and blend until thick and smooth
6. Remove your whipped cream from the fridge and pipe a big swirl into your serving glass/es
7. Drizzle in about a half tablespoon of the remaining caramel syrup over the cream
8. Pour over the homemade Frappuccino mix until it almost reaches the top of the glass
9. Top with another big swirl of the whipped cream followed by the remaining half tablespoon or even more caramel syrup
10. Finally, grab a straw and enjoy!

Please Note:

The regular ice cubes we’ve used in this recipe are all frozen water. So, they can weaken the coffee flavor when overused. For this, I won’t recommend adding more ice cubes to make the Ultra Caramel Frappuccino thicker. Instead, you can have some frozen coffee cubes, which will help improve the slushiness while retaining the strong coffee taste.

Recommended Product: Vitamix Pro 750 Series Countertop Blender

Key Features:

• 2.2-peak horsepower
• Five preset programs
• Universal functionality
• Dedicated pulse switch
• 64-ounce low-profile jar
• Noise dampening design
• 10 variable speed control

While I’m growing fond of Ninja blenders, Vitamix’s still the best blender for blending frozen stuff. If it’s the Pro 750, it blends from the heart (motor) but still has sharp and hard stainless blades. Thus, providing a super-smooth and consistent snack without leaving any chunks or even tiny grains.

What I like more about the blender is that it support automated blending, unlike my Vitamix 5200 that has only a manual operation. The base also features an improved base design, with noise and vibration dampening technology to ensure a quieter environment.

Sad to say, though, the Vitamix 750, just like other creations from the local maker, is relatively expensive. But again, the machine has extended warranty protection, which guarantees free replacements and repairs without even paying the shipping fees.

Enjoy with Caution:

At this point, it’s safe to safe that you necessarily don’t need to drive forty miles or spend twenty-five dollars at Starbucks. If you have a good blender, you can make a caramel Frappuccino at home in less than ten minutes. Even better, you can prepare more than one serving and put the remainder in the fridge to drink later on. However, make sure you use it within the next 24 hours as some creams, especially natural ones, tend to spoil faster.

Furthermore, your homemade Frappuccino may still be loaded with fat, sugar, and calories. So, you’ll need to drink in moderation if you need to keep your health meter in check. As was mentioned earlier, you could even make your Frappuccino “healthy” by switching the main ingredients with healthier options.

For instance, you can use Almond milk instead of dairy, sugar-free caramel sauce, sugar-free caramel creamer, and fat-free whipped cream