Recreate this famous dish by the iconic New York restaurant right in your own kitchen in just five minutes! A variety of cocoa powders blend together with creamy milk and crushed ice for a crisp, refreshing drink. Generously pile on the whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings for the ultimate treat!

According to pop culture lore, Serendipity 3 in New York City has been serving up this ice cold, chocolaty treat for over 80 years. Moreover, the restaurant has been featured in at least two different major Hollywood movies, including Serendipity, where the two main characters fall in love over splitting the restaurant’s signature frozen hot chocolate.

Although the exact frozen hot chocolate recipe from Serendipity 3 is a heavily-guarded secret that utilizes a specific blend of specialty cocoa powders, my version remains accessible by using ingredients you can easily find in any supermarket. Best of all, you can make a few servings in just 5 minutes, leaving you prepared for any heatwave this summer!

What is Frozen Hot Chocolate?

Most people understandably get confused when they hear the oxymoronic, “frozen hot chocolate”. Some incorrectly theorize it’s simply chocolate milk with crushed ice, while others think it’s a looser milkshake. In reality, frozen hot chocolate has a very similar texture to a Frappuccino from Starbucks. The crushed ice keeps the drink colder for much longer, and delivers a thick, satisfying feel on the pallet that feels instantly refreshing.

Why Chocolate Lovers Make This Recipe

Innovative summer treat — if you’re in a summer rut and tired of the hum-drum of ice cream cones and milkshakes (can’t relate, sorry), then a frozen hot chocolate might be just the thing to spice up your summer season again!

Famous dessert — as mentioned above, frozen hot chocolate is a classic dessert many will recognize from Serendipity 3 in New York, or even just from the movie, Serendipity.

Ready in minutes — no prep work required for this recipe! Simply combine all ingredients in the order listed into a blender and serve. What could be better?

Homemade — skip the Starbucks frappes and instead blend your own iced drink at home, leaving you with full control over the ingredients you want to use and their respective amounts. Plus, your wallet will thank you for saving tens to hundreds of dollars you would have otherwise spent for the same drink at a coffee shop.

Ingredients and Variations

This drink blends up in just 5 minutes and with ingredients I can guarantee you have on hand right now. Some notes on key ingredients include:

Unsweetened cocoa powder — the bulk of the chocolate flavor in this recipe, unsweetened cocoa powder has less of a “bite” than the Dutch-processed variety, reminiscent of how milk chocolate is less bitter than dark chocolate.

Dutch-processed cocoa powder — Serendipity 3 uses a blend of cocoa powders to intensify the chocolate flavor in their original version. This recipe uses just one tablespoon of Dutch-processed cocoa powder for it’s richer color and deeper chocolate notes, but without making the final drink too bitter. If you don’t have it on hand, you can substitute by using 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder instead; just know that the final product might be more like chocolate milk.

Whole milk — using whole milk provides the creamiest finish, but you can easily substitute non-dairy alternatives.

Powdered sugar — sugar provides a touch of sweetness in this recipe, and is a common ingredient found in most commercial hot cocoa mixes. Powdered sugar is the easiest to dissolve in liquids due to its super fine nature, but you can use granulated sugar in a pinch.

Storage Instructions

Since this recipe is largely composed of ice, it is best to make frozen hot chocolates as-needed, rather than attempting to make a large batch in advance. Fortunately, this drink comes together in less than five minutes, making it an easy and flexible way to cool off when you need it most!

High-quality chocolate ice cream blends with heavy cream (instead of milk) to create a thick, decadent milkshake that is totally customizable!

My love of chocolate knows no season. While everyone else might only let themselves indulge in a milkshake during the hotter summer months, I bask in my inappropriateness of either ordering or whipping up my own milkshake any time of year. And yes, this works the opposite way as well, where I can be found drinking a piping hot mug of hot chocolate in scorching summer heat.

No, you’re weird!

But I quickly grew weary of the fast-food style milkshakes that use a gritty, premade mix that really lacks in flavor. I keep waiting and waiting to be hit with that pow! of chocolate, but it never hits that crescendo. And while I have luckily found some amazing restaurants in my area that do milkshakes right (read, thiccccc and creamy and exploding with chocolate flavor), I don’t always have the time for a sit-down experience.

Enter: my own recipe for the thickest, creamiest shake I could produce that has a real cocoa taste and a smooth, decadent mouthfeel. I promise, you’ll be looking for any excuse to whip up this recipe once you try it!

What is a Milkshake?

Arguably one of the easiest desserts you could make, a milkshake is a combination of milk and flavored ice cream that is blended into a rich, creamy consistency that you can sip through a straw. Enjoy a shake as-is, or feel free to dress it up with toppings and flavors of your choosing. Blend up frozen fruit, squirt in some flavored syrup, pile high with whipped cream — the only limit is your imagination!

How to Make a Chocolate Milkshake

As mentioned above, while you can use any flavor of ice cream and toppings to make a shake, I of course prefer mine to be as chocolaty as possible! Therefore, I recommend using a high-quality chocolate ice cream combined with a full-fat dairy product that provides the thickest texture.

I personally omit any use of any syrup or sauce in the milkshake itself since I find that this actually detracts from the premium flavor of the ice cream. I will instead liberally drizzle a homemade mocha syrup overtop the whipped cream that caps my milkshake, but go ahead and include any sauce in your milkshake if you like.

How Do You Make a Thick Milkshake?

Most people prefer a thick milkshake that is just barely drinkable using a straw, and I’m no exception to this rule. In fact, rather than using milk (as the name even suggests), this recipe substitutes heavy cream for milk due to its higher fat content, which lends to a creamier mouthfeel than milk alone.

Another tip is to make sure your ice cream hasn’t already begun to melt. The more melted your ice cream is, the thinner and runnier your shake will be.

Reasons to Make This Recipe Today

• Saves you money — a gallon of milk and a gallon of ice cream can make LOTS of milkshakes for the same cost as 1-2 shakes from a restaurant.
  
• You don’t have to leave your home — you won’t have to leave your house to satisfy that craving!
  
• Customize to your precise taste — when you make your own shake, you have complete control over its texture, add-ins, and toppings.
  
• Great for all occasions — whip these up for a party with friends, a night in with the family, or for when you just need something indulgent.

Ingredients and Variations

At their core, milkshakes are comprised of just two ingredients, with various toppings being optional.

Chocolate ice cream — one of the most crucial ingredients! Use a high-quality ice cream since they are made with less artificial ingredients are lend a fuller cocoa taste. Plus, I have found an ice cream like Haagen-Dazs doesn’t melt nearly as quickly, which helps preserve that thicker consistency.

Heavy cream — heavy cream has three to four times the fat content of whole milk, making it an excellent choice for achieving a superior thick and creamy texture. If you don’t have heavy cream, you can easily substitute 1:1 with whole milk, which has a higher fat content than skim or nonfat milk for a creamier texture.

Toppings — add any toppings of your choice! Go for whipped cream, syrup, sprinkles, candy, cookies and wafers, or anything else you like.

Storage Instructions

Since ice cream is never the same once it is refrozen, we don’t recommend making these ahead of time. Instead, prepare and serve immediately.