What’s Christmas without a Gingerbread frappe? Or even better a DAIRY-FREE Gingerbread Frappe? 

I love when Starbucks brings out their Christmas coffee range! Here in New Zealand we usually only get 3 flavours and occasionally a 4th. The ones we always get are Toffee Nut, Candy Cane and of course Gingerbread. I always get so excited and rush out to try them all even though I know what they taste like because I have them every year. 

However it’s summer here in New Zealand at Christmas yet I opt for the latte version rather than the frappe. I know I can get the latte with soy milk and skip the cream, but I’m unsure if I could get the frappe dairy free so it’s just easy to get the hot version. I somehow also always forget how much sugar is in Starbucks’ Christmas coffees. It’s not until I have that first sip, and then I’m like “oh wow, I’m probably not eating lunch today” because I know it’s going to send my blood sugars through the roof!

So my recipe for a dairy-free Gingerbread Frappe, fixes both the problem of dairy and the problem of sugar. It uses any plant milk you like (I’ve made this with both soy and coconut milk and both work well), whipped coconut cream on top – yep you don’t have to skip the whipped cream! And instead of lots of sugar I’ve just used 1 tablespoon of granulated sweetener. You could use more if you tend to like things quite sweet. I haven’t tried it but I’m pretty sure liquid sweetener would work too seeing as this is a liquid. You may have to adjust the amount though. 

The other great thing about a homemade Gingerbread latte is you don’t need to go out to get one, you can just whip one up yourself at home, plus they’re way cheaper! They’re so easy to make too – just put all the ingredients (except for the whipped coconut cream) into a blender then pour it into a glass, top with the coconut cream and you’re good. 

What goes in a dairy-free gingerbread frappe?

To make it dairy-free you will need some kind of plant based milk. It really doesn’t matter which type of plant milk you use, the other flavours in this drink overpower most strong flavoured plant milks. I have made this with soy and coconut and both worked really well. If you want to stick to lower carb I would avoid using rice milk or oat milk. 

Now that we’ve got the milk sorted, it’s time for some gingerbread flavour. You will need ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg as well as a bit of vanilla extract or essence. For sweetness without the carbs and calories you’ll need a granulated or powdered sweetener. As usual I opted for Natvia. I like using Natvia as it’s really easy to find in the supermarkets and it’s also natural and is made from a mix of stevia and erythritol. Oh and of course we need coffee! It wouldn’t be a frappe without it! Brew it in advance as you’ll need it either cold or at room temperature. No one wants a weirdly warm frappe.  If you are not a fan of coffee or you want to skip the caffeine you could either use decaf coffee or just leave it out and add an extra ½ cup of milk. The only other thing left to add is ice cubes, so make sure if you’ve made some up and have them ready before you start on your frappe. 

Once you have blended all of this up and made your frappe, just pour it into a glass and if you like top with a big dollop of whipped coconut cream and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon. 

How to whip coconut cream

Now if you haven’t whipped coconut cream before it’s not quite as simple as whipping cow’s cream. You do need to do a small amount of prep in order for it to actually whip. You will need to put a can of coconut cream into the fridge ideally overnight or for at least 4-5 hours. The reason you need to do this (and trust me you NEED to do this) is because unlike cream which is from a cow, coconut cream has a really large amount of water content and a lot less fat than what is in cow’s cream, and you need the fat for it to whip well. Putting the can in the fridge means the fattiest part will rise to the top of the can while the water will stay down at the bottom. So when you open up the can, just spoon off only the really thick part at the top and leave the water behind (you can save for later and put in smoothies etc if you like). Put this thick coconut cream into a bowl and whip until thick. I also recommend adding a small amount of sweetener. Coconut cream is a bit heavier than cow’s cream too so just be careful when you’re putting it on top of your frappe as if you put too much on it could sink. 

What kitchen tools will I need?

As I said, this recipe is super easy! And that means you don’t need a lot. You’ll need:

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Blender, I used my NutriBullet

If you are whipping coconut cream to go on top you will also need some electric beaters and a good mixing bowl.

This is a really fun, tasty and easy recipe to get you into that Christmas spirit and ready for the festive season! If you’re after more Christmas recipes check out my Stuffed Pumpkin, and make sure you’re also subscribed to my newsletter as I’ll be releasing more!