Shakes, Floats and Frozen Drinks
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 2
Chapter 7 · Shakes, Floats and Frozen Drinks
Skill goal
Make four frozen drinks and choose the ratio that gives the thickness you like.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Ice cream is also a drink ingredient. This chapter is about ratios: how much ice cream, milk, fruit or fizz gives the thickness you like. It is a lighter chapter than the others, with quick recipes that use the ice cream, sorbet and granita you have already made.
The method
- Ice cream first, liquid second. Three scoops (about 200 g) to 100 to 150 ml of cold milk makes a thick, spoonable shake.
- Add the milk a little at a time. Thin a shake with milk; thicken it with more ice cream.
- Blend in short bursts and stop as soon as it is smooth. Long blending warms it and makes it thin.
- Chill the glass in the freezer for 10 minutes: a cold glass keeps the drink cold and thick.
- Pour fizz slowly down the side of a tilted glass, then add the second scoop.
| Drink | Ice cream | Liquid | Thickness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thick shake | 3 scoops | 100 ml milk | Spoon it |
| Standard shake | 3 scoops | 150 ml milk | Sip with a wide straw |
| Thin shake | 2 scoops | 200 ml milk | Drinkable |
| Float | 2 scoops | 250 ml fizzy drink | Bubbly, drink and spoon |
| Slush | 4 scoops sorbet | 300 ml sparkling water | Spoonable, sippable |
Blender, fizz and cold drinks
Blender safety: put the lid on firmly before switching on, keep hands and spoons out while it runs, and unplug it before cleaning the blades. Don't blend anything hot, and don't overfill: frozen mixtures need room to move.Fizzy drinks: pour fizzy drinks slowly down the side of a tilted glass, because they foam up fast over ice cream and can overflow. They are also high in sugar, so keep floats and slushes for treats.
Straws and small children: thick shakes can block a thin straw, and sipping cold drinks quickly causes a short, sharp head pain (often called brain freeze), which is harmless but unpleasant. Use a wide straw or a long spoon, and drink slowly.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Classic milkshake
Ice cream plus cold milk, blended just until smooth. The ratio is the whole skill: start with less milk than you think, because you can add more but you cannot take it out.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream (about 200 g)
- 120 ml cold whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 tall glass, chilled in the freezer
- Put the ice cream in the blender first, then pour in half of the milk and the vanilla.
- Blend in short bursts of about 10 seconds, until smooth. Check the thickness and add the rest of the milk a splash at a time if you want it thinner.
- Pour into the cold glass and serve at once with a wide straw.
Blender, small children and serving
Blender safety: put the lid on firmly before switching on, keep hands and spoons out while it runs, and unplug it before cleaning the blades. Don't blend anything hot, and don't overfill: frozen mixtures need room to move.Straws and small children: thick shakes can block a thin straw, and sipping cold drinks quickly causes a short, sharp head pain (often called brain freeze), which is harmless but unpleasant. Use a wide straw or a long spoon, and drink slowly.
Serving: shakes, floats and slushes are made to be drunk at once. Don't store them or refreeze a melted shake. Chill the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes first.
Allergens: ice cream usually contains milk (cream, condensed milk), and often egg, nuts, peanuts, soy (in some chocolate and cookies) and wheat (cookies and cones). Check labels, and never serve a nut-containing ice cream to someone with a nut allergy without telling them. Coconut cream or oat cream can replace dairy cream in some recipes, but the texture changes.
Level 2 · Flavour
Malted or fruit shake
Fruit and malt add flavour but also liquid or powder, so the shake changes thickness. A ripe banana makes it thick and creamy; strawberries make it fresher and a little thinner. Use less milk when you add fruit.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream
- 1 ripe banana, or 100 g strawberries
- 100 ml cold milk
- 1 tbsp malted milk powder (optional)
- 1 tsp honey (optional)
- Peel and slice the banana (or wash and hull the strawberries). Put it in the blender with the ice cream, then pour in two thirds of the milk.
- Add the malt powder and honey, if you are using them. Blend in short bursts until smooth.
- Taste and add the rest of the milk only if needed. Serve at once in a cold glass.
Blender, fruit, malt and allergens
Blender safety: put the lid on firmly before switching on, keep hands and spoons out while it runs, and unplug it before cleaning the blades. Don't blend anything hot, and don't overfill: frozen mixtures need room to move.Fruit: wash fresh fruit before use. If you use frozen berries, heat them until boiling and simmer for a minute before using them cold, as is usual UK advice for frozen berries (general guidance: check the pack).
Malted milk powder: malt is made from barley and usually contains gluten, and the powder contains milk. Check the label, and leave it out for anyone with a gluten or dairy allergy.
Knife safety: cut on a stable board (a damp cloth underneath) and tuck your guiding fingertips back (the claw). Cut a banana or mango in a way that gives a flat side to rest on.
Level 2 · Float
Ice cream float
Cold ice cream, fizzy drink and a long spoon: the cream mixes into the bubbles as it melts. The skill is the pour, because the foam builds fast when the drink hits the ice cream.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
- 250 ml cold ginger beer, cream soda or cola
- 1 tall glass, chilled in the freezer
- 1 long spoon and wide straw
- Put one scoop of ice cream in the bottom of the cold glass and pour in about a third of the drink very slowly, down the side of the tilted glass.
- Wait for the foam to settle, then add the second scoop and top up gently.
- Serve at once with a long spoon and a wide straw.
Fizzy drinks, sugar and serving
Fizzy drinks: pour fizzy drinks slowly down the side of a tilted glass, because they foam up fast over ice cream and can overflow. They are also high in sugar, so keep floats and slushes for treats.Straws and small children: thick shakes can block a thin straw, and sipping cold drinks quickly causes a short, sharp head pain (often called brain freeze), which is harmless but unpleasant. Use a wide straw or a long spoon, and drink slowly.
Serving: shakes, floats and slushes are made to be drunk at once. Don't store them or refreeze a melted shake. Chill the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes first.
Level 3 · Slush
A sorbet or granita slush
A frozen drink with no dairy: sorbet from Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 1, chapter 4, or a granita from chapter 2 of this course, softened with sparkling water into a spoonable, sippable slush. Add the liquid a little at a time so it stays thick.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 4 scoops of lemon or raspberry sorbet
- 300 ml cold sparkling water or lemonade
- 1 lime, in thin slices, to serve
- 4 tall glasses, chilled in the freezer
- Put a scoop of sorbet (or a heap of granita crystals) in each cold glass.
- Pour in about 75 ml of the cold sparkling water or lemonade slowly, down the side of the glass, and stir gently once.
- Top with a slice of lime and serve at once, with a spoon and a straw.
Fizzy drinks, small children and serving
Fizzy drinks: pour fizzy drinks slowly down the side of a tilted glass, because they foam up fast over ice cream and can overflow. They are also high in sugar, so keep floats and slushes for treats.Straws and small children: thick shakes can block a thin straw, and sipping cold drinks quickly causes a short, sharp head pain (often called brain freeze), which is harmless but unpleasant. Use a wide straw or a long spoon, and drink slowly.
Serving: shakes, floats and slushes are made to be drunk at once. Don't store them or refreeze a melted shake. Chill the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes first.
Experiments
Experiment
Ice cream to milk ratio
Thick, standard and thin.
- Make three shakes with 3 scoops of ice cream and 60, 120 and 200 ml of milk.
Look for: The first is so thick it needs a spoon; the middle is the classic; the last is thin and quickly warm. Pick your favourite ratio and note it down.
Experiment
Blend time
10 seconds or a minute.
- Blend one shake for 10 seconds and another for a full minute.
Look for: The short-blended shake is thick and cold; the long-blended one is warm, thin and foamy. Short bursts keep it thick.
Experiment
Glass temperature
Chilled or room temperature.
- Serve the same shake in a freezer-chilled glass and a room-temperature glass and time how long each stays cold and thick.
Look for: The chilled glass stays thick and cold for longer, while the warm one melts the shake at the edges. Chill the glass.
Experiment
Thickness by amount
Change the ice cream.
- Keep the milk at 120 ml and change the ice cream to 2, 3 and 4 scoops.
Look for: More ice cream gives a thicker, colder shake; less gives a thin, milky one. The ice cream is the body, and the milk only adjusts it.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic milkshake | ||||
| Malted or fruit shake | ||||
| Ice cream float | ||||
| Sorbet slush | ||||
| Ice cream to milk ratio | ||||
| Blend time | ||||
| Glass temperature | ||||
| Thickness by amount |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Shake too thin | Too much milk or over-blended | Add another scoop of ice cream; blend less |
| Shake too thick to sip | Too little milk | Add a splash of milk and pulse once |
| Float overflows | Poured too fast or onto warm ice cream | Pour slowly down the side; chill the glass |
| Icy, chunky shake | Ice cream too hard | Stand it for 5 minutes before blending |
| Shake separates | Left standing | Drink at once, or stir and re-blend briefly |
| Flat float | Fizzy drink not cold | Chill the drink well before pouring |
Blender and allergens
Blender safety: put the lid on firmly before switching on, keep hands and spoons out while it runs, and unplug it before cleaning the blades. Don't blend anything hot, and don't overfill: frozen mixtures need room to move.Malted milk powder: malt is made from barley and usually contains gluten, and the powder contains milk. Check the label, and leave it out for anyone with a gluten or dairy allergy.
Allergens: ice cream usually contains milk (cream, condensed milk), and often egg, nuts, peanuts, soy (in some chocolate and cookies) and wheat (cookies and cones). Check labels, and never serve a nut-containing ice cream to someone with a nut allergy without telling them. Coconut cream or oat cream can replace dairy cream in some recipes, but the texture changes.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can blend a shake to the thickness I want.
- I add the milk a little at a time.
- I pour fizzy drinks slowly down the side of the glass.
- I chill the glass first and serve at once.
- I use the blender safely.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Ice Cream 2, chapter 8 is A Frozen Dessert Table: planning several frozen desserts for guests.