If you've ever wondered what drink pairs best with a psychedelic rainbow bagel or gold-encrusted purple doughnuts, we've found the answer: an over-the-top milkshake from New York City's Black Tap.
The restaurant's kooky frozen drinks are almost one-foot tall and they're tricked out with everything from small candies and chocolates to, as Natalie Morales quickly noted, whole slices of pie and cake.
"Did we get the Willy Wonka ticket?" asked Tamron Hall.
It all started when Black Tap's chef and co-partner Joe Isidori made the first iteration of the now Insta-famous Cotton Candy Milkshake for his wife, who loves the amusement park treat.
Here, Isidori shares some tips for how to create your own over-the-top milkshakes at home:
1. Think about how you can transform your favorite dessert into a shake and let your imagination run wild. "You have to have fun with it," he says. Use vanilla ice cream and milk as a base, then think about if you need a touch of chocolate syrup or some crushed cookies to get the flavor you want. Blend the ingredients together and pour them into a tall glass.
2. Rim the glass with something sticky like frosting, peanut butter, cookie dough or caramel. You need this layer so the fun bits will adhere to the glass properly.
3. Stack your favorite sweet treats on top and don't hold back. From cake to pie—anything goes here!
To get you started, we got Black Tap's recipe for its amazing new Red Velvet Milkshake for Valentine's Day and a helpful step-by-step video on how to turn apple, pecan or pumpkin pie into a delicious pie milkshake. But first, for inspiration, here's some milkshake porn from Black Tap.
Cotton Candy Milkshake: A strawberry or vanilla-flavored shake that's rimmed with vanilla frosting, decorated with blue, pint and white chocolate pearls, then topped with cotton candy, rock candy, a lollipop and whipped cream.
Red Velvet Milkshake: A chocolate milkshake that's rimmed with chocolate frosting, decorated with Hershey Kisses and red M&Ms, then topped with a slice of double-layer red velvet cake and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Sweet N' Salty Milkshake: A chocolate or caramel milkshake that's rimmed with chocolate-peanut butter, decorated with M&Ms and peanut butter cups, then topped with a Sugar Daddy, a pretzel rod, an M&Ms-and-chocolate-dipped pretzel, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Oreo Birthday Milkshake: A vanilla-and-crushed-Oreso milkshake that's topped with whipped cream, marshmallows and Oreos.
Candy Apple Milkshake: A vanilla milkshake that's rimmed with caramel sauce, topped with a caramel-dipped apple with nuts, whipped cream and an apple slice, then served with caramel chews.
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake: A vanilla milkshake that's topped with whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs and a slice of pumpkin pie. Rum can be added to make this a boozy pumpkin pie shake.
Candy Cane Milkshake: Served during the holidays, this festive shakes was topped with whipped cream, candy canes, Oreos and peppermint.
Cookie Milkshake: A vanilla milkshake that's rimmed with vanilla frosting and cookie crumbles, then topped with a frosting-filled cookie sandwich (called a "cookiewich"), crumbled cookies, chocolate chips, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
Birthday Cake Milkshake: A strawberry or vanilla milkshake rimmed with vanilla frosting then topped with rainbow sprinkles and a slice of birthday cake.
Candy Milkshake: A Fruity Pebbles cereal milkshake that's topped with two lollipops, rainbow sprinkles and a sour gummy rope. The shake is served in a candy necklace-wrapped glass and sipped through a straw that's wrapped in gummy peach rings.
Black Tap's Red Velvet Milkshake
Recipe by Joe Isidori, Chef/Co-Partner at Black Tap
Ingredients:
Milk
Chocolate syrup
Vanilla ice cream
Red velvet layer cake
Hershey Kisses
Red M&Ms
Chocolate frosting
Directions:
1. In a blender, combine the milk, chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream. Pour the mixture into a milkshake glass
2.. Coat the rim of the glass with chocolate frosting. Attach the Hershey Kisses and red M&Ms to the chocolate frosting.
3. Top the milkshake with a slice of red velvet layer cake.