 |
| The Finished Copycat Starbucks Orange Cream Drink |
Introduction
A drink balancing the freshness of citrus with the fattiness of lipids is an idea as old as juice itself and still widely applied in the design of drinks. This new take on an orange cream drink uses a drink you might find at a season-specific gourmet shop or at a high-end coffee shop as its inspiration. This drink has the bright citrus note of cold-pressed orange essential oils at its highest note, with a warm and grounding note of real vanilla beans in the form of their macro-carpels in the bottom of the flavor, and rounding it all out with the sweet note of the milk’s lactic acids and sugars and the fat of the milk.
The texture of this beverage is as important as the flavor. So many drinks are comprised of ice and water that by the time you take your first sip, the flavors have all separated and you are left with a diluted, watery drink. The method for making this drink uses a culinary emulsification that creates a smooth, velvet-like texture. By first mixing the freshly squeezed citrus juice with a dense sucrose-based simple syrup and then adding in the micro-aerated dairy, we are able to create a suspension that stays together even after it has been poured into a glass. This is the perfect summer afternoon drink for a matinee show, a special brunch with friends, or as an elegant non-alcoholic digestif for after dinner.
Ingredient Deep-Dive & Smart Substitutions
Fresh Navel or Cara Cara Oranges
When selecting fruits choose those that are heavier for their size as they contain more water. Also make sure the skin has a fine tight grain and is deep orange in color. There should be no soft spots and the skin should not be covered in white, powdery mold.
Function: The peel and juice of the fruit supply Volatile Aromatic Oils in the flavedo (outer skin / peel) as well as (structurally important) Citric acid in the juice. The Citric acid cuts through fat or lipids in food to combat them and keep them from becoming too overwhelming.
Substitutions: Blood oranges, with their deep red to reddish purple color and sweet-tart flavor with notes of berries are a great alternative. And for the really busy, you can also use a high-quality pasteurized not-from-concentrate (NFCH) juice, such as 100% orange juice. But then you will not get the aroma of fresh zest.
Whole Vanilla Bean or Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
When purchasing whole vanilla pods, select fresh ones that are firm and plump. These will store longer than slimmer pods and have a slightly oily appearance. If using a vanilla paste, make certain to see the actual seeds of vanilla and not a mixture of vanillin and other fillers. The pure seeds will give a more intense flavor than any synthetic vanillin solution.
Function: A natural flavor enhancer, aroma bridge, and the primary emulsifier in this recipe to balance and contrast the citrus with a “creamy” impression without any actual addition of fat.
Substitutions: Use of High-quality Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract (1:1 ratio by volume).
Heavy Whipping Cream (36% Milk Fat)
Pasteurized and Non-Ultrapasteurized Heavy Cream: Organic: Fresh heavy cream made from organic milk is the best choice for peeling and frothing. Heavy cream that has been ultra-pasteurized has been heated to a very high temperature which changes the proteins in the milk. When these changed proteins are whisked they are not able to form a stable and delicate micro-foam that holds its shape well.
Function: This component is often included in beverage creations in order to provide a luxurious mouthfeel and to create a fat matrix, to balance out astringency of citrusy notes.
Substitutions (Dairy-Free/Vegan): Full-fat coconut cream which should be chilled well before use and then whisked up thoroughly to create the desired consistency of foam; alternatively a barista-grade oat milk which is specifically designed for high-density foaming and creates a lush and rich foam when used in this way.
Whole Milk (3.25% Milk Fat)
For this challenge we used Fresh, cold whole milk as our base for the dairy component of our new drink.
Function: The milk helps to dilute the cream to a suitable consistency for drinking, to avoid it becoming too rich and overpowering.
Substitutions (Dairy-Free/Vegan): Unsweetened almond milk or soy milk.
Organic Cane Sugar
To best achieve this vareity of purposes in creating the simple syrup, I selected to use Fine-grain organic cane sugar. The sugar dissolves very cleanly in the water and does not have a strong molassesy aftertaste.
Function: The sugar in simple syrup acts as a sweetener and chemical as a stabilizer, increasing the syrup’s viscosity to hold the emulsion together.
Substitutions (Lower-Sugar): Allulose or erythritol blends can be used to sweeten at a 1:1.3 ratio (sweetness index of sucrose) while avoiding the typical glycemic load of sucrose.
Precise Measurements
- Fresh Orange Juice: 1/2 cup / 120 mL
- Fresh Orange Zest: 1 tbsp / 6 grams
- Heavy Whipping Cream: 1/4 cup / 60 mL
- Whole Milk: 1/2 cup / 120 mL
- Organic Cane Sugar: 1/3 cup / 65 grams
- Filtered Water: 1/3 cup / 80 mL (for syrup)
- Vanilla Bean Paste: 1 tsp / 5 mL
- Orange Blossom Water (Optional): 1/4 tsp / 1.25 mL
Essential Equipment
Microplane Grater: The only tool that can shave the flavedo of an orange to use for the oil in your drinks while discarding the bitter pith. Heavy-Bottomed Small Saucepan: The small saucepan ensures that the syrup is heated evenly. Large hotspots can scorch the sucrose molecules and cause the syrup to develop an unpleasant flavor.
Handheld Milk Frother or Immersion Blender: Introduces the tiny air bubbles that form the dairy portion of the drink into a structural foam that will not collapse rapidly.
Lewis Bag and Mallet (or High-Speed Blender): This piece is used to create pebble or crushed ice for the drink. The pebble or crushed form of ice has a greater surface area than typical ice cubes, thus quickly chilling the drink.
Step-by-Step Professional Method
1. The Aromatic Citrus Oleo-Syrup Extraction
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1/3 cup (65 g) of can sugar, 1/3 cup (80 ml) of water, and 1 tablespoon (6 g) of fresh orange zest. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved in the water. The mixture should go from a cloudy suspended sugar in water to a crystal clear syrup. It will be straw-colored. Remove syrup from heat and add in the vanilla bean paste and the orange blossom water (if using). Allow syrup to steep for 10 minutes, or until it has developed an extremely floral and warm aroma. Strain syrup through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the spent orange zest, and then chill syrup to 40°F (4°C).
2. Cold-Pressing the Citrus Base
Squeeze fresh oranges for their juice until you end up with 1/2 cup or 120ml of liquid. Press the juice through a medium sieve to get rid of the bigger bits of pulp. Allow the juice to get chilled in the fridge at the same time as the syrup.
3. Engineering the Aerated Dairy Cap
In a chilled glass beaker or clear tall highball, combine 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream, 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk and 1 tbls (15 ml) of cooled orange-vanilla syrup. Place frother just below surface of liquid, and tilting frother slightly to create a vortex, froth mixture for about 20-30 seconds. The drink should have a wet-paint like consistency, holding soft, ephemeral waves and not being too stiff and forming peaks.
4. Construction and Layering
Fill two highball glasses completely with crushed or pebble ice. Next, pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the newly juiced orange into each glass. Follow with 1.5 tablespoons (22.5 ml) of the remaining chilled citrus syrup and stir the mixture and the ice in the glass a few times with a bar spoon. As you do this, a very thin layer of frost will begin to form on the glass’ surface. Now slowly pour the aerated dairy mixture down into the center of the ice matrix. The liquid will flow down through the interstitial spaces and form a beautiful marble-like visual gradient of cream and color. Finish by placing a fresh, expressed orange peel twists on top of each drink.
The Science Behind the Recipe
Mixing citrus and dairy is challenging because of protein coagulation. Milk contains a preponderance of casein proteins, which are negatively charged and repel each other in stable solutions keeping them in solution as a liquid. However, when you add the citric acid found in orange juice, it lowers the solution’s pH until it reaches the casein’s isoelectric point (pH 4.6). At this point, the casein’s negative charge is neutralized causing the protein molecules to clump together in a number of different forms, collectively referred to as curd.
To prevent these proteins from linking together we use two methods to prevent the curdling of mixtures of citrus and dairy:
- Viscosity Manipulation: By using simple syrup that is highly concentrated in sugar, the molecules of the sugar interfere with the proteins, slowing down their coagulation.
- Temperature and Fat Buffering: The liquids used in the combination are kept at very low temperatures in order to reduce the molecules’ mobility and thereby slow down the chemical reaction. The heavy cream used in the combination has a high fat content. The fats in the heavy cream act as a physical structure in the mixture, and they cover the proteins with a layer of fat, which in turn prevents the proteins from coming into contact with the acid ions in a premature stage.
Pro Tips for Success
Express the Flavedo: Before adding the orange twist garnish to the glass, pinch the skin of the twist to release the oil from the oil glands. Hold the twist skin-side down over the beverage and release the oil in the form of a mist which will settle on the surface of the drink and release aromatic terpenes when the drink is sipped.
Pre-Chill the Glassware: Place the glassware you intend to use to serve your drink in the freezer for 10 minutes before you intend to assemble the drink. The small amount of air trapped in the glass as a micro-foam will help preserve the structure of the drink and prevent the formation of large amounts of ice in the glass before it is enjoyed. As the drink sits in glass, ice will melt forming a dilute structured emulsion or soup. The goal of the glass type selected should be to prevent this from happening as quickly as possible.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using Bottled, Reconstituted Juice: Reconstituted juices have pasteurization induced sulfur notes and are generally flat in acid definition which gets lost against the fat of the cream.
Over-Aerating the Dairy: Be very careful not to over-aerate the dairy. If you aerate the milk or cream for too long it will become stiff Chantilly like foam that sits on top of the ice like a cap as opposed to melting and blending with the juice in a homogeneous, layered fashion. Stop when the mixture begins to resemble fluid, shiny satin.
Culinary Safety & Hygiene
Make sure to scrub all of the citrus thoroughly with warm water and a produce brush prior to zesting to remove any agriculture waxes from the surface as well as any pathogens. Keep all of the dairy refrigerated at temperature below 40°F (4°C) until just before use in the final assembly of the cocktail. Store the simple syrup in an airtight glass container that has been sterilized.
The Perfect Pairing
The richness of this beverage can be cut by foods with crunchy texture and moderate salinity. The beverage pairs beautifully with warm, flaky sea-salt croissants, traditional shortbread, and a light frittata made with goat cheese and fresh herbs. The salty/savory characteristics of these items will provide a beautiful contrast to the sweet/orange/vanilla characteristics of the beverage.
Storage & Reheating Excellence
The finished drink is very unstable and will deteriorate quickly as the ice melts and dilutes the emulsion. Although the finished drink should be consumed within 20 minutes and the elements that make up the drink are best prepared just before use, the individual components can be prepared in advance and stored.
Orange-Vanilla Syrup: This syrup should be stored in a clean, sterilized glass bottle in the refrigerator and can last up to 3 weeks. Due to the make up of this syrup it should not be frozen as it may crystallize and turn into a chunky textured syrup that is not smooth.
Separation Management: This iced beverage will separate into layers over a period of 5 minutes. Allow to settle and then reconstitute slowly with the straw or bar spoon, as before, and remaining micro-foam will collapse within the reconstituted drink.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What made my copycat version of the orange cream drink curdle immediately?!
Curdling occurs for 2 reasons: Warm or diluted orange juice or syrup, and the use of skim or low-fat milk instead of heavy cream. The high fat content of the heavy cream protects the dairy proteins from the adverse effects of the citric acid. These proteins could coagulate with the citric acid to form lumps if they are not coated by the fat. All components must be ice-cold for mixing.
Can I make this beverage entirely sugar-free?
Yes, you can use a high quality, sugar-free, plant-based sweetener to make this sugar free orange cream drink. Using a sweetener such as allulose, or an erythritol and monk fruit sweetener blend (example Swerve Sweetener) for example, that has the same density as sugar is important. Sugar free sweeteners come in many forms and because they have such different physical properties (such as melting point) some work so much better in recipes than others. For example allulose is fantastic in meringues for example and works similarly to sugar. The sweetener needs to have the same viscosity as sugar in order for the drink to stabilize as a proper dairy emulsion.
How can I make this recipe vegan-friendly?
To make a vegan version of this drink, use equal parts of chilled coconut cream (full fat) and barista-style oat milk. Mix as instructed with your frother (handheld) in the method above.
Nutrition Facts
GORGEOUS Layers in emulsion drinks! Have you tried this high end method of creating emulsion drinks? We’d LOVE to see your creations and how they’ve turned out all dripping with gorgeous layers. Share your pics of the preparation of your emulsion drinks and also share with us your favorite seasonal citrus juices that you have used for these creations. Did you opt for the intense complexity of blood orange or the sharpness of a great Valencia?
){kind=link}