Freakshakes: The Drink-Dessert Trend Taking Instagram By Storm
These milkshake-meets-dessert-mashups are piled astonishingly high with cakes, popcorn, cream and a cornucopia of other treats, making them an instant hit with sweet-toothed diners, and restaurants, bars and cafes across the world are scrambling to create their own take on the irresistible freakshake trend.
But what are freakshakes, and where did the trend emerge from? More importantly, how can you introduce freakshakes in your restaurant? We take a closer look at the fandom for freakshakes below – you’ll be reaching for your ice cream scoop to experiment in no time!
So, what is a freakshake?
Imagine your most-loved milkshake flavour in a huge mason jar glass, piled high with whipped cream, topped with lashings of a scrumptious sauce and studded with sweets, then dusted with sprinkles and perhaps heaped with crumbles of your favourite biscuits or chunks of meringue. Sounds good? Well, then imagine plonking a wedge of your favourite cake, cheesecake or brownie, an entire doughnut, a chocolate bar, or a freshly baked cookie or two, or even more ice cream on top of all that.
What you’re left with certainly won’t be diet-friendly, but it would likely be a freakin’ awesome creation - and that is why it’s called a freakshake. Treats galore tower high on tasty freakshakes, the ultimate drinkable indulgence, which usually require both a spoon and a straw to consume!
Where did the freakshake trend come from?
A lot of magic can happen when drinks meet desserts, and we’ve already covered the alcoholic milkshake trend on the Lockhart blog. The popularity of freakshakes certainly goes hand-in-hand with this trend - and indeed, you may well decide to experiment with creating your own alcoholic freakshakes!
However, the freakshake drinks trend was firmly spawned by social media and fuelled by huge exposure on Instagram. Even a brief perusal of the #freakshake hashtag will leave you drooling with desire. The ultimate in sugar rush-inducing beverages, freakshakes are said to have originated in Canberra, Australia at the Patissez Cafe, and they first popped up on Instagram as recently as 2016.
The very best examples combine fresh-out-of-the-oven bakes layered atop decadent ice cream milkshakes, and feature edible decorations that are often a work of art. There’s no doubt that freakshakes are made to be photographed, and it’s thanks to snap-happy food lovers that the freakshake trend has travelled around the globe to become a huge success here in Britain.
Stack happy: How do you make a freakshake?
Want to have a go at making your own signature freakshakes for your restaurant? You’ll need to start with a good quality base ice cream to blend into a milkshake, perhaps with a few other ingredients such as fruit, sweets, or even chunks of cake.
Next, pick and mix plenty of scrumptious treats like sweets and biscuits to stack, with the aid of whipped cream to keep your freakshake piling high, and your choice of fudgy, caramel, coffee or chocolate sauce, fruity syrups, or even a drizzle of liquor to garnish.
Then comes the fun part: what will be the ‘finishing touch’ to your freakshakes? Whether you plan to pop it on top or stick it around the glass, the more extravagant the dessert, the better. You could use:
• Cookies – freshly baked, or chunks of cookie dough
• Cakes - anything from carrot cake to a wedge of chocolate fudge cake
• Cupcakes – these look even better if they’re decorated decadently
• Brownies and blondies – use a slice to top, or sprinkle on chunks
• Candy floss – perfect for adding fun colour and texture!
• Doughnuts – complete with their own colourful toppings
• Popcorn – salted caramel goes gorgeously gooey when added to cream
• Luxury sprinkles – chocolate chips, hundreds and thousands, marshmallows, meringue chunks, pieces of fudge or sweets…the possibilities are endless!
• Cereal – go grown-up with granola, or heap on spoonfuls of kids’ cereals
• Cheesecake – a slice of cheesecake is the ultimate indulgent topping
• Macarons – make a colourful yet sophisticated shake addition
• Ice cream sandwiches – because you can never have too much ice cream, right?
• Honeycomb – great for adding texture and caramel notes
• Fruit – fresh strawberries, raspberries, mango slices – go bananas!
• Chocolate bars – you may want to build your shake around a classic bar, or offer a choice
You may also want to consider making your menu inclusive by creating dairy-free and vegan freakshakes, using plant-based milk, vegan ice cream and bakes.
Making your shake shareable
Freakshakes may or may not be for sharing – at least, in the traditional sense of the world. When it comes to sharing them on social media however, your freakshakes need to be ready for their close-up at all times, to encourage customers to snap away and post their pictures of your most delectable creations to let the world know where to find you!
But first, you need to get the architecture of your freakshake right. This is a key consideration in the making of a freakshake - to keep your toppings from toppling, you’ll need to begin with a sturdy glass.
The original freakshakes were made in mason jar glasses, which we sell in 16oz and 24oz sizes. You can put your own stamp on the trend by opting for different glassware, but be sure to show off the lovely layers of your freakshakes by choosing clear glassware.
Serve with a straw that allows for serious slurping such as our smoothie straws, which are made for use with extra thick drinks – and don’t forget that your milkshake blenders will be set for some serious action, so you may want to consider investing in a high-performance beverage blender from our range that will easily stand up to commercial use and blend up even the chunkiest of ingredients quickly and efficiently.
What do you think of the freakshake trend? Are you embracing the gluttony in a glass, or do you prefer to serve your traditional milkshakes stripped back and simple? We’d love to hear your thoughts – as well as what ingredients you put in your freakshakes! Leave us a comment below or send us a tweet @BunzlLockhart.
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