If you like to taste cappuccino in your favorite coffee shop, know that it is quite possible to reproduce this delicious drink at home, without any special equipment!
And yes, you are not a barista and you may not have all the paraphernalia needed to make perfect espresso and milk froth. It doesn't matter, it's not what we want here. We just want to have fun and make the best we can, a homemade cappuccino . We will be able to treat ourselves and our guests while saying to ourselves “I made it! ".
The ingredients for a successful homemade cappuccino
Unlike many recipes, the homemade cappuccino recipe requires only a few ingredients. To do this, you will simply need:
- 1 shot of espresso (50cl)
- 1 dose of milk
- 1 dose of milk froth
Don't panic, in fact, you really only need 2 ingredients: espresso and milk. We are going to see together how to froth the milk to obtain the dose of milk froth that gives all its gluttony to this caffeinated drink!
Coffee
To make your homemade cappuccino, the ideal is to have an espresso machine. Thus, whether you have a grain or capsule machine, you can obtain the base in which you will then place the milk and the milk froth.
Be careful though, although an espresso is ideal for preparing your cappuccino, it is also possible to use another coffee preparation, such as a French press for example.
But in this case, the coffee must be strong enough so that the milk does not take over when you taste your drink. It would be a shame if your homemade cappuccino didn't taste like coffee!
Milk
The second element necessary for the preparation of your cappuccino is milk. Here, if you use classic (cow's) milk, I invite you to favor whole milk. Whole milk is by definition more fatty and will behave much better when you want to make a nice milk froth ! You will more easily achieve a silky and smooth result.
Of course, it is quite possible to choose other types of milk, such as almond milk for example. Here is the result I got recently with almond milk.
The essential equipment to make your cappuccino
Now that you've gathered the ingredients to make your drink, it's time to break out the necessary equipment. Don't worry, it doesn't need much!
To make a homemade cappuccino, all you need is:
- 1 cup (160ml will be ideal, but you can adapt!)
- 1 milk frother OR 1 French press coffee maker OR 1 airtight container (an empty jam jar for example)
And that's all !
The cup will logically be used to receive the coffee, then the milk and the milk froth.
To froth your milk, it is possible to use a dedicated milk frother like the 2 below.
The ingredients for a successful homemade cappuccino
Unlike many recipes, the homemade cappuccino recipe requires only a few ingredients. To do this, you will simply need:
- 1 shot of espresso (50cl)
- 1 dose of milk
- 1 dose of milk froth
Don't panic, in fact, you really only need 2 ingredients: espresso and milk. We are going to see together how to froth the milk to obtain the dose of milk froth that gives all its gluttony to this caffeinated drink!
Coffee
To make your homemade cappuccino, the ideal is to have an espresso machine. Thus, whether you have a grain or capsule machine, you can obtain the base in which you will then place the milk and the milk froth.
Be careful though, although an espresso is ideal for preparing your cappuccino, it is also possible to use another coffee preparation, such as a French press for example.
But in this case, the coffee must be strong enough so that the milk does not take over when you taste your drink. It would be a shame if your homemade cappuccino didn't taste like coffee!
Milk
The second element necessary for the preparation of your cappuccino is milk. Here, if you use classic (cow's) milk, I invite you to favor whole milk. Whole milk is by definition more fatty and will behave much better when you want to make a nice milk froth ! You will more easily achieve a silky and smooth result.
Of course, it is quite possible to choose other types of milk, such as almond milk for example. Here is the result I got recently with almond milk.
The essential equipment to make your cappuccino
Now that you've gathered the ingredients to make your drink, it's time to break out the necessary equipment. Don't worry, it doesn't need much!
To make a homemade cappuccino, all you need is:
- 1 cup (160ml will be ideal, but you can adapt!)
- 1 milk frother OR 1 French press coffee maker OR 1 airtight container (an empty jam jar for example)
And that's all !
The cup will logically be used to receive the coffee, then the milk and the milk froth.
To froth your milk, it is possible to use a dedicated milk frother like the 2 below.
Discover the manual milk frother
Discover the electric milk frother
But don't panic if you don't have this at home! You can replace the frother with a French press , which will do the same job as the first frother above.
Otherwise, if you don't have any of this, all you need is a container that you can close well and a little elbow grease..!
Steps to prepare homemade cappuccino
I detail all the steps just below. If you're in a hurry, here's what to do:
- Run your coffee (espresso, filter, etc.), about 5cl
- Pour 10cl of milk into a container suitable for the microwave oven
- Heat the milk (30 seconds to 1 minute)
- Froth the milk using the frother (or by shaking the jar vigorously)
- Pour the milk into your cup
- Enjoy your homemade cappuccino!
make the coffee
The first thing to do is your coffee. For that, I don't teach you anything, you just need an espresso, or otherwise the type of coffee of your choice. Be careful, however, that the coffee is strong enough if you use a gentle method such as a drip coffee maker.
Also, do not use more than 5 or 6 cl of coffee if you use a cup of the size indicated (160 cl) in order to be able to respect the doses (1/3 of coffee, 1/3 of milk and 1/3 of foam of milk).
Prepare the milk froth
Then, simply heat 10cl of milk in the microwave. The milk should be hot, but not hot.
If you're using a manual milk frother or a French press, go back and forth until you feel slight resistance. Open to check the texture of the foam. It should not be too liquid, but it should not be too thick, with too big bubbles.
If you're using an electric milk frother, submerge the nozzle in the milk, but don't immerse it completely. Try creating a swirl and stop when the milk froth feels silky enough.
Finally, if you opted for the jar (or the airtight container), you just need to shake it enthusiastically for about 30 seconds. There will normally be a few more large bubbles than with the other solutions, the result may not be as silky. But that's okay, your homemade cappuccino will still be delicious!
In any case, it is possible to destroy the biggest bubbles on the surface of the milk by tapping the container on the table.
The goal is therefore to try to obtain a smooth and silky milk froth which will partly mix with the coffee. The ultimate goal is to achieve the 1/3 espresso, 1/3 milk and 1/3 milk froth to make the perfect homemade cappuccino !
Although the result will probably never be as magnificent as a real coffee shop cappuccino , I think that with a little practice this result can clearly be achieved 😋
Good tasting !