The food influencer behind some of those viral whipped milk drinks shares her secret to making them perfectly fluffy

• Flavored whipped milks, inspired by dalgona coffee, have taken social media by storm in recent weeks.
• The woman spearheading some of the trend is Valentina Mussi, a 21-year-old influencer who has 265,000 followers on her Instagram account Sweet Portfolio.
• Mussi told Insider that the key to a successful whipped milk is whisking for just the right amount of time.
• She has developed 13 different whipped drink recipes, and thinks she has consumed 30 of them over the past month.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A couple of months ago, very few people had heard of dalgona coffee. But as much of the world went into lockdown, the whipped coffee drink took social media by storm.

It was only a matter of time before a myriad other whipped milk drinks inspired by dalgona coffee were popping up all over social media feeds, and the woman spearheading the trend is Valentina Mussi, who runs the 265,000 follower strong Instagram account Sweet Portfolio.

21-year-old Mussi, a full-time content creator based in Miami, has sent foodies into a frenzy with her whipped milks that verge on freakshakes.

Strawberry, chocolate, Nutella, peanut butter, s'mores, matcha, turmeric, Fruit Loops, Biscoff ... whatever you're craving, Mussi has probably made it into a whipped milk that will risk you drooling on your phone screen.

Her creations generally involve whisking heavy whipping cream with various add-ins, and simply dolloping that mixture on to a glass of iced milk. Simple, in theory.

But as many people try and fail to make their own whipped drinks, Mussi told Insider her secrets that result in such amazing-looking creations — and it's all about whipping for the perfect amount of time.

'Whisk until your arm goes numb'

Getting that time right "depends on if you whisk by hand or with a mixer, and what you're using as a base," Mussi explained.

"For the heavy whipping cream base it takes about 2-3 minutes of non-stop whisking by hand, while with an electric mixer it takes less than a minute."

It's essential, according to Mussi, that you "don't stop whisking."

"When you are whisking by hand, try to not stop," she said. "As I have been saying, whisk until your arm goes numb."

However, there is such a thing as too much whisking.

"You have to be careful to not over-mix or else you'll start churning your cream and making butter," Mussi advises.

If you're making a plant-based version of a whipped milk using coconut whipping cream, the process is a little different.

"Rather than incorporate air while you mix, you are trying to soften the cream," Mussi said.

"Coconut cream is very thick and you just have to whisk for about 30 seconds to get the right consistency. It's not as fluffy as the dairy counterpart, though."

Once you've nailed the whisking, Mussi recommends you get creative.

'The sky is the limit' when it comes to toppings

"Look through your pantry and try to come up with a new flavor," she advised. "You can add any sort of syrup, candy, cereal, nut butter, or topping. When it comes to desserts, sky is the limit!"

Despite already having created over a dozen whipped milks, Mussi said she still has "a whole list of flavor ideas."

"Some easier to execute, others a bit more challenging. I am working on a key lime flavor at the moment!" she said.

Her favorite of all of them, however, is the strawberry whipped milk made with Nesquik powder.

"I grew up drinking strawberry Nesquik so I feel like the nostalgia factor plays a big role when picking a favorite," Mussi said. "Plus, to me, it's the prettiest with its pink color."

'Whipping drinks is the only workout I'm getting'

Mussi first decided to experiment with flavored whipped milks after posting a dalgona coffee video back in March and receiving some requests from followers who weren't coffee fans but wanted to try something similar.

"They were bummed there weren't any other options for whipped fluffy drinks," Mussi said.

"I myself do love coffee, but cannot handle caffeine very well so I thought making a whipped cocoa would make sense. I used heavy whipping cream as a base and the rest is history."

She never imagined her creations would take off in such a big way.

"They have gone completely viral, my pink whipped strawberry milk has over 692,000 likes and over 25 million impressions!" Mussi said.

"The other versions have gotten thousands of likes and shares too, it's so exciting to see that people are enjoying my recipes and making them at home.

"I have been receiving so many photos of people following my recipes and making the whipped drinks at home. It has been amazing!"

Despite not being able to drink the peanut butter whipped milk due to her peanut allergy, factoring in all the failed versions and her Instagram Lives, Mussi estimates that she has consumed about 30 whipped milks over the past month.

"I really hope this is making my arms stronger," she said. "I haven't really exercized while being quarantined, so whipping drinks is the only workout I'm getting. I make sure to use both arms for balance."

Read more:

Whipped strawberry, chocolate, and Nutella milks are the new, easier dalgona coffee

If you love dalgona coffee and Reese's Pieces, you can now make whipped peanut butter milk

Disappointing photos show people's failed attempts at dalgona coffee