Cook with Us #28: Strawberry : Was it a Milkshake or Freakshake?

Growing up I thoroughly enjoyed drinking a milkshake. My parents would make it in a very traditional way. They’ll get some fresh milk add in some almond extract or another flavour. They’ll then pour everything with a handy amount of ice in a blender and blend everything together. When mixture starts creating a thick and creamy froth on top you knew that the milkshake was ready to be consumed. My parents would then pour them into a glass with a straw and off I’ll go through several brain freeze sessions. I was nice and light and not overly unhealthy. Things have changed. Drastically. Dramatically to be more concise.

We’ve all had made and drank milkshake in some ways or another. However, I believe that few of is actually know the history behind the creation of such a drink. And I must admit that I had no clue how it was even invented. Milkshake was first created in the late 1800s. It was first made as an alcoholic whiskey drink. But roughly 15yrs after it first appeared, milkshake was referred to as drink made as a mixture of milk and fruits. At this stage I must locate the origin of this drink as being the United States. By 1922, milkshakes became a mainstream drink after a Walgreens employee in Chicago, Ivar "Pop" Coulson, took an old-fashioned malted milk (milk, chocolate, and malt) and added two scoops of ice cream. This is milkshake as we know it today! Soon this drink became very popular. And obviously the youngsters and young adults were the ones to queue up with the famous drink. From there, milkshake went through a lot of changes, including automation of the product. 

 

Nowadays, milkshakes have evolved substantially and are commonly referred to as Freakshakes. And believe it or not it is an Australian invention! You may wonder what is a freakshake? Well this article of The Guardian UK describes it best: “They are overindulgent, overloaded and over here… For the uninitiated, they are milkshakes topped with cream, topped with cake, topped with sauce, with a handful of sweets thrown in for good measure – a monstrous mashup of a drink and dessert.”

Most freakshakes are super-duper sweet treats and are guaranteed to indulge your inner sweet tooth. At their best – or worst – freakshakes are so over-the-top that they may even come with a mini burger or some other bizarre topping. But the best thing about freakshakes is that they’re so fun and easy to make. One good way is to add (or chuck Aussie slang) all the ingredients in a blender and top it all with a mountain of whipped cream. And it’s not a freakshake if you don’t add up as many other bits and pieces on top of the cream that one can possibly bear.

   

 Freakshakes shops have been popping up like mushrooms around my area. But the best comes undeniably from a little Mauritian shop in the suburb of Hampton Park by the name of SugarBun. They were amongst the first to follow the freakshake trend in Melbourne. The shop started their activities as yet another coffee shop offering all-day breakfast. They were generally only busy over the weekend. But then they decided to introduce freakshakes to their menu. And God they went all freakish on the milkshake! With the help of social media people started pouring in from all over the state. Some would genuinely attempt to drink the monstrously big and sugary and elegant beverage. Soon they were on the national News and more people came pouring in. When we finally decide to give it a try, we were surprised to discover that they actually had bollards in front of the shop to manage the huge influx of patrons. Eventually they bought the shop next door and expanded upstairs. Funny enough they don’t use the next door space to accommodate their customers. It is used by their personnel to create these amazing beverage.

 

When I went I ordered a salted caramel milkshake - it was still know as such last year. Needless to say that I didn’t manage to finish it. In fact, since we were sharing the drink, my husband didn’t manage to do so either. Casting an eye around the room not one patron managed to finish their drink. Instead most of them were busy taking pictures and posting them on social media. By the time I got home I was very high on sugar and for a little while was very energetic and lively. The kind of behaviour of a frantic kid. But it also gave the idea of trying to make a healthier version of this new type of milkshake by using nutritionally better ingredients and fresh fruits. Let’s put it this way: this was the intent! The end results is as decadent and rich as a freakshake should be. And let’s be honest there is more reason why you only have one of those drinks per year and it has nothing to do with their nutritional value.

I hope you enjoy it.

Bon appétit!

And good luck to everyone.

 

INGREDIENTS

• Strawberries
• Marshmallows
• Strawberry Sauce
• Mixed Berries IceCream
• Milk
• Chocolate Decorations
• Fairy Floss
• Waffles
• Musk Sticks
• Pocky Strawberry Flavour
• Berry Mousse Cake

   

METHOD

1. Bake Berry Mousse Cake(https://steemit.com/food/@foodforsoul/a-very-berry-mousse-cake) to serve as decoration.
 
2. Buy or make your own Fair Floss(https://steemit.com/cookwithus/@foodforsoul/cook-with-us-25-mango-parfait-with-coconut-sorbet-on-a-fairy-floss-bed) to serve as decoration.
 
3. Melt some white chocolate and add food colouring. Pour on a flat surface to cool down before creating some chocolate toppers for decoration.
       
4. In a blender, add milk, ice cream, and strawberries and blend well together.
     
5. On a black plate crumbs some biscuit and set as the base for the milkshake/freakshate.
   
6. Place the jar on top and add the strawberry sauce before pouring in the milkshake followed by some scoops of ice cream.
     
7. From there add in all the remaining elements in the order that suits you best in a creative and luscious way.