This Black Cat Frappuccino copycat is a dark, cocoa-heavy blended drink with whipped cream on top and two little chocolate “cat ears” stuck in it. You blend milk, ice, cocoa, sugar and a bit of vanilla, then pipe the ears from melted chocolate while the blender’s going. About 10 minutes, and most of that is the chocolate setting in the freezer.
Starbucks put the real one out on 22 October 2026 for Halloween, grande only, and said it’s around while it lasts through the 31st. Not every store has it, and it’s not cheap. So if you’ve been seeing the cat ears all over your feed and can’t get one, or just want five of them for a Halloween party, this is the one to make at home.
Black Cat Frappuccino at a Glance
- Time: 10 minutes (5 hands-on)
- Makes: 1 big drink, about 16 oz like a grande
- Tastes like: a brownie you drink through a straw, more or less
- Gear: a blender, and a zip bag plus some baking paper for the ears
- Party trick: make the cat ears a day ahead and keep them in the freezer
Jump to: What it is · Ingredients · Cat ears · How to make it · Copycat vs Starbucks · Twists · Tips · FAQ
So What Is the Starbucks Black Cat Frappuccino, Anyway?
Going by Starbucks, it’s their Creme Frappuccino base with cocoa blended through, whipped cream on top, and a pair of chocolatey cat ears poking out. A Creme Frappuccino is just the no-coffee version: milk, ice and their sweet base syrup. So there’s no espresso in it unless you ask.
The reviews have been fun to read. Food Network’s taster said it tastes a lot like Brooklyn blackout cake in liquid form, very sweet and rich. Tasting Table paid $6.75 for a grande in Pennsylvania and listed it at 430 calories with 60 g of sugar. That’s a lot of sugar. Ours has less. Want even less? Go for it, it still works.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Nothing fancy. Most of it’s probably already in your kitchen.
- Whole milk, 3/4 cup (180 ml). Cold. Any milk works, but whole gives the creamiest drink. Oat milk is the best plant swap.
- Ice, about 1 1/2 cups (200 g). Regular cubes are fine.
- Cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons. Dutch-process gives a darker colour. Want it properly black? Use black cocoa, the stuff that makes sandwich cookies look the way they do.
- Sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons. Or chocolate syrup, see the notes.
- Vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon, and a tiny pinch of salt.
- Xanthan gum, 1/8 teaspoon. Optional. It’s the secret behind that thick, smooth coffee-shop texture and stops the ice separating.
- Whipped cream for the top. Shop-bought is fine, or try our homemade whipped cream.
- Dark or semi-sweet chocolate, 30 g, for the ears.
How to Make the Chocolate Cat Ears
This is the bit that makes it look like the real thing, and kids love doing it. Do it first, so the ears are hard by the time the drink’s ready.
- Microwave the chocolate in short 15-second goes, giving it a stir in between. A few lumps left? Stop there. Stirring melts the rest, and it won’t go grainy on you.
- Scrape it into a zip bag. Snip off the teeniest bit of one corner.
- On baking paper, draw little triangles about 3 cm high, then fill them in. Do 4. One will snap, it’s the law.
- Freeze for 10 minutes. They’ll peel right off.
No piping bag? Cut a chocolate wafer cookie or a sandwich cookie in half, then cut each half into a triangle. Less cute, still recognisably a cat.
How to Make a Black Cat Frappuccino at Home
- Load the blender. Milk first, then cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt and xanthan gum. Ice goes in last, on top.
- Blend. Start low, then go to high for 30 to 45 seconds until it’s smooth and thick, no crunchy bits of ice.
- Taste it. More sugar? More cocoa? Now’s the time, give it 5 more seconds.
- Pour into a tall glass. A swirl of chocolate syrup inside the glass first looks great.
- Top with a big swirl of whipped cream and press the two cat ears into it, a little apart. Serve straight away with a wide straw.
That’s it. Drink it quick, though. Frappés start to melt and separate after about 10 minutes, especially without the xanthan gum.
Homemade vs Starbucks: How They Compare
| Starbucks (grande) | This copycat | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 16 oz, grande only | About 16 oz, any size you like |
| Price | $6.75 + tax (reported, PA) | Roughly $1 to $1.50 in ingredients |
| Calories | 430 | About 400 (estimate) |
| Sugar | 60 g | About 50 g, easy to cut |
| Coffee | None, unless added | None, or add a shot |
| Available | Limited time, select stores | Whenever |
Is it an exact clone? No. Starbucks uses its own base syrup and its own chocolate. But the look is spot on and the taste is in the same family, deep cocoa, creamy, sweet.
Fun Twists to Try
- Mocha cat. Cold espresso shot in, or a teaspoon of instant coffee. The grown-up one.
- Cookies and cream cat. Throw in 2 chocolate sandwich cookies before blending.
- Mint cat. Tiny splash of peppermint extract, like 1/8 teaspoon. Hello, after-dinner mint vibes.
- Lighter cat. Skim or almond milk, 1 tablespoon sugar or a few drops of sweetener, skip the cream and stick the ears straight in the drink.
- Party batch. Blend in two lots, never more than the blender’s halfway line with ice. Have the cream and ears ready on a tray.
Hosting on the 31st? This goes nicely with our Halloween snacks for kids and the Halloween potluck ideas.
Tips for the Best Texture
Watery frappé? Too much milk for the ice, or the blender ran too long and warmed it up. Go with less milk next time, and just blend until smooth, no longer.
Gritty cocoa is the other common one. Cocoa doesn’t love cold milk. What fixes it? Two tablespoons of hot water, stirred into the cocoa and sugar till it’s a paste, before it hits the blender. No more grit.
Bit of a planner? Freeze milk in an ice cube tray the night before and use those instead of ice. Then when it melts, it’s just… more milk. Not water.
If you like copycat coffee drinks, our caramel apple pie coffee is another easy one.
Black Cat Frappuccino FAQ
Does the Black Cat Frappuccino have coffee in it?
Nope, zero coffee, it’s a Creme Frappuccino underneath. Want a kick? Ask the barista for a shot. At home, tip one in.
What does it taste like?
Chocolate. Lots of it. Sweet and creamy too, and pretty much every review ends up saying chocolate cake or brownie.
Until when can I get it at Starbucks?
Starbucks launched it on 22 October 2026 and says it runs through Halloween, while supplies last, at participating stores. Check the app for your local shop, Canada included.
Mine’s brown, not black. Help?
Black cocoa. Swap 1 tablespoon (or all of it) of the regular cocoa for black cocoa and it goes nearly black. A drop of black gel colouring works too.
No blender. Am I out of luck?
Sort of, sort of not. Jar, lid, milk, the cocoa paste, ice, shake like mad, pour over crushed ice. It’s more iced chocolate than frappé. Nobody’s complaining though.
Can I make it ahead?
The drink, no, it separates. The ears? Totally. Pop them in a little tub in the freezer, they’re good for a week.
Black Cat Frappuccino Recipe
Black Cat Frappuccino (Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate (30 g), chopped
- 3/4 cup cold whole milk (180 ml), or oat milk
- 2 tbsp Dutch-process or black cocoa powder (10 g)
- 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar (30 g), to taste
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum optional, for a thick coffee-shop texture
- 1 1/2 cups ice cubes (200 g)
- 1/2 cup whipped cream
- 1 tbsp chocolate syrup optional, for the glass
Method
- Melt the chocolate in 15-second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag or zip bag and snip a tiny corner.
- Pipe 4 small triangles (about 3 cm tall) onto parchment paper, outlining first and then filling in. Freeze for 10 minutes until firm.
- Add the milk, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, salt and xanthan gum (if using) to the blender. Add the ice on top.
- Blend on low, then on high for 30 to 45 seconds until thick and completely smooth. Taste and adjust the sugar or cocoa.
- Drizzle chocolate syrup inside a tall glass if you like, then pour in the frappuccino.
- Top with a swirl of whipped cream and press in 2 chocolate cat ears. Serve right away with a wide straw.
Nutrition
Notes
- For a darker, almost black drink, use black cocoa for some or all of the cocoa powder.
- Gritty cocoa? Stir the cocoa and sugar with 2 tbsp hot water into a paste before blending.
- Mocha version: add 1 shot of cooled espresso or 1 tsp instant coffee.
- Cat ears keep in the freezer for up to 1 week. The drink is best served immediately.
- Nutrition is an estimate with whole milk, sugar and aerosol whipped cream.
