I just did a bit of research - the Starbucks Chocolate brownie Frappuccino is simply a Mocha Frappuccino with bits of chocolate brownie mixed in. Should be easy enough to replicate at home.
Here are a couple threads from this forum that discuss making frozen blended frappuccino style drinks. Making a coffee frappuccino into a mochas is as simple as adding the desired amount of extra chocolate sytrup (notice that the original clone recipe for a regular coffee frappuccino does call for a small amount of chocolate syrup but not enough to really taste the chocolate - you need to add more for a true mocha). Get some decent home-made or store bought brownies, break into chunks and toss into the blender in the final stages of blending or perhaps midway through the process. I think it should yield the desired result.
1) espresso ice cubes made from strong cafe Americano (about 3 parts espresso to 2 parts hot water) sweetened with a small amount of raw sugar (turbinado)
2) Premade liquid mixture made of the following ingredients per each 20 oz or so total volume of liquid
a) a pinch of salt - 1/8 teaspoon or less b) small amount of vanilla - a 1/4 teaspoon or so c) simple syrup to taste - equal parts raw sugar and water cooked until sugar is totally dissolved and then stored in fridge as a sweetening syrup (store bought chocolate syrup is sweet - I use less simple syrup when making mocha's because there's extra sweetness in the chocolate syrup) d) a teaspoon of chocolate syrup for regular frappuccinos or a hefty dose (3 tablespoons or even a bit more) of chocolate syrup e) two double shots of espresso (four shots total) f) 1% milk to bring volume to 20 oz or so (skim milk just doesn't work but if you're trying to limit fat grams this tastes very good with 1%)
I make the mixture of the first ingredients and add the hot espresso then stir briskly to dissolve. Then I add the milk. Stir and pour it into a jar for storage in the fridge. Keeps for about a week if the milk is fresh.
When I'm ready for a drink I just add four or five cubes to the blender, shake the jar of mixture well to belnd settled ingredients (the chocolate settles) pour some in the blender and then add about 1/8 teaspoon of carageenan for a 16 or 20 oz drink while the blender is running. The brownie chunks could be added at the same time. Be careful not to overdo the carageenan as too much is nto a good thing.
kleinekatze Senior Member Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 4 Expertise: Beginner
Posted Sat Aug 16, 2003, 8:09am Subject: Re: chocolate brownie frappuccino?!?!
About carageenan...I have also heard that it can be harmful, and that the high density stuff you buy for food usage can cause problems when it is broken down into low density by your body. But, considering that this was information on the internet, and rarely do more than a few sites agree on anything, there is no way of knowing if this is true or not. Also, in some of the clinical trials, they inject absurdly high dosages into the lab rats and then remark that they experience adverse affects. Anything will cause adverse affects if you inject the animal with 1/2 of its body mass worth if it. But, if you are still worried about carageenan, you can try using 1-2 teaspoons of instant pudding mix. I have been doing this forever, because I could never find a small amount of carageenan, and, being a college student, couldn't store a large amount. Depending on what flavor pudding you use, it can mean a small sacrifice in taste in non-coffee fraps, but you really can't tell if you have a strong coffee flavor. I usually blend pudding mix in with the milk a bit before adding the other stuff. Anyway, if you are really worried, it's worth a try.
Thanks for the recipie Owen. I just got some carrageenan and it worked very nicely for thickening. In fact, the drink's texture totally matches that of a real frap. at Starbucks.
...Now, I just have to get it to TASTE like the real thing. So it's back to the drawing board.
Regarding the health effects of the carrageenan, I read about it too. It was on a questionable web site that is totally against drinking milk
Maybe this belongs in its own thread, however I'd like to continue with how to use carageenan, since I need some help!
I have made 2 attempts of a frappacino with carageenen and must be either adding too much, too little, blending too much, blending too fast, or too slow. I get the liquid at the bottom and this fluff mixture on the top. Actually, the first time I must have blended too long or added too much carageenan because I had a huge layer of fluff. In my next attempt, I added the carageenan right at the end on the blender's lowest speed. I still got some fluff and question what I'm doing wrong. I guess I expected a texture of a shake/malt which is pretty thick. I'm currently getting liquid on the bottom and light useless fluff on the top.
I've heard of others adding the carageenen into a milk mixture the night before and then using that milk mixture the next morning for their drink. Is 1/8tsp enough? Should I let it set in a milk mixture for several hours? Would a cheap-o blender have anything to do with this? What blender speed is best for carageenan? Any other tricks?
My "current" frappacino recipe is: 4oz Toddy coffee concentrate 2 tbsp chocolate syrup 1 packet Equal (I may end up using a simple sweet syrup I've read about, but this is what I'm using now to limit sugars in this drink) 6oz 1% milk 6oz ice cubes (I tried precrushing them today so minimal blending was needed) 1/8 tsp salt 1/4 tsp vanilla 1/8+ tsp caragennan, added at the end with a slow speed on the blender
I'd start by making one with just a pinch of carageenan and blending normally - throw the carageenan right in with the other ingredients initially before blending. The excess fluff can be a problem and I've run into that. I use about 1/8 teaspoon for a liquid amount that makes two full 16 oz drinks after blending.
Also - if trying to control sugar, try making some simple syrup from Splenda - I think it can be done if I recall correctly.
My carageenan came with instructions to mix it in advance. I found that it clumps together in the blender the first time I mix it, so I leave it in the fridge overnight and the clumps kinda dissolve.
I tried using it immediately (once) and although I got the clumps to dissolve, I could not tell that the carageenan made any difference in the texture.
I'm keeping a jug of pre-mixed "frap base" (milk, carageenan, sugar) in the fridge, and it works great.
OK, I was able to try several things as well as get a new blender. This recipe works and was designed to make a 16 oz drink (it actually makes 19 oz, but oh well).
4 ounces whole milk (or use half-and-half with skim milk mixed in) 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 packets Equal® sweetener 2 tablespoons chocolate flavored syrup (Da Vinci or Torani) 4 ounces frozen coffee concentrate (i.e. 4-5 ice cubes of Toddy coffee) 6 ounces ice cubes -- crushed 1-2 tablespoons chocolate chips
1) Add all ingredients into blender 2) Blend on Medium for 40 seconds
NOTES: I use 4 oz of Toddy coffee because that equivalates to the same amount of caffeine that's in a 16 oz cup of coffee
I use Equal sweetener because I want to limit the amount of sugars in the drink that will essentially slow me down (after the inital sugar high)
The ratio of frozen stuff to liquid in this recipe is crucial. This is why I use frozen coffee concentrate. Too much liquid in this recipe causes the liquid to separte from the ice mixture. You could maybe use frozen espresso or strong coffee, however you may have to increase the amount of coffee in the recipe.
I used to use Carageenan but no longer do since I didn't think it make a huge difference and I think it gave me a slight stomach ache. If you use whole milk or add half-and-half and have frozen coffee concentrate, then it has more of a milk shake consistency than liquid.
I add cholocate chips because they give a nice milkshake texture when drinking it. This is a recent addition to my perfecting the recipe. Just remember to keep the blender on long enough otherwise the chips won't be small enough and will not go through the straw.
I use a decent blender. My previous blender didn't appear to handle the job too well, and this may have an effect on the consistency of the drink and ability to crush the ice.
Lastly, per recommendation of another guy at CoffeeGeek.com, I use a double-insulated plastic cup with permanent straw from Starbucks. Keeps it cold and holds 16 oz.
ihatecoffee Senior Member Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 66 Location: Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Jan 22, 2005, 1:25pm Subject: Re: chocolate brownie frappuccino?!?!
I realize that this is an extremely old thread, but if you want this recipe, go check out my Full Frappuccino Guide thread. It has carrageenan free recipes for all the frappuccinos.
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