Is the viral Frrrozen hot chocolate really worth £18? We try making the celeb-approved drink at home for just 30p to find out if it's really worth splashing out on the real deal

 Femail's Ellen Manning put the famed Serendipity 3 chocolate drink to the testREAD MORE:  Is hot chocolate Gen Z's alcohol among sober curious youngsters?

Ever wanted to tuck into a dessert that will make you feel like you're living the life of Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian or Selena Gomez?

Well, you can now. Thanks to the arrival of the famous 'Frrrozen hot chocolate' at a Knightsbridge hotspot. And it'll only set you back £18….

Or, you can do what I did and make it at home - saving yourself a journey into London and costing about 30p.

The famed 'dessert' - if we can go so far as calling it that - started out at Serendipity 3 in New York.

It opened in 1954 and has apparently been a favourite with celebrities since then, counting Marilyn Monroe, Cher and Joan Rivers among its fans, while today they've been succeeded by the likes of Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian, along with Selena Gomez who's a co-owner.

Apparently it's also on Oprah's bucket list of things to drink before you die. Go figure.

The famed 'dessert' was a favourite among celebrities when it first opened with Marilyn Monroe, Cher and Joan Rivers among its fans

All of them have tucked into the so-called Frrrozen hot chocolate, which basically is a kind of chocolate slushy, served with a mountain of whipped cream, and sometimes various toppings. Think McDonald's milkshake without the paper carton cup, and a bit more bouji.

Until now if you wanted to get your hands on this strangely simple but somehow coveted creation you'd have had to get yourself to the Big Apple, but it's now being served for a limited time at Serendipity 3's sister restaurant, Sette in Knightsbridge.

As much as I'd love to pretend I can live it up with the best of them, and adopt the lifestyle of the A-listers on the odd occasion, I can't quite bring myself to travel from the Midlands into central London just for some icy chocolate - no matter how famous it is - so I decide to recreate it myself without leaving the house. After all, how hard can it be?

The recipe is apparently 'closely guarded' - but from what I can see, it's basically cold hot chocolate with ice. And like with anything, there are enough videos online and helpful versions from influencers, that I reckon I can do a pretty close copy in my own kitchen, without needing to part with quite as much of my hard-earned cash as if I went and tried to grab the real thing.

Like so many of these trendy dishes that go big on the internet, it looks pretty simple, including the ingredients list which I have at home - bar a can of squirty cream which is easy to grab.

I reckon I can do a pretty close copy in my own kitchen, without needing to part with quite as much of my hard-earned cash as if I went and tried to grab the real thing

The original recipe is 'closely guarded' but pretty much just consists of chocolate and ice

While women seem to be the biggest fan of the original Frrrozen hot chocolate, my chocoholic husband is keen to get in on the action and is quickly heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder into the blender, along with cubes of ice, milk and milk powder.

I point out that it's meant to be crushed ice but he counters with the fact it really doesn't matter given it's about to be blended. An excellent point, frustratingly.

We debate how to sweeten it, and decide powdered sweetener is preferable to sugar purely for the texture. It also dawns on us that using powdered hot chocolate might have been even simpler since it's ready-sweetened, but we're down the cocoa route and sticking to tradition so on we go.

The first whizz produces a promising result. We eagerly taste it and try to work out if we've got it right.

Influecncer Pawitra Theabrat is seen trying out the drink in New York

John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale try the drink in 2001 film Serendipity

Serendipity 3 which opened in 1954, has long been a celebrity hotspot. Today the likes of Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian frequent the restaurant (pictured with her pal Jonathan Cheban)

It's less rich and creamy than a milkshake - perhaps explaining why Serendipity 3 don't call it that - and we can only sum it up as tasting of icy chocolate.

We decide it needs to be sweeter. And chocolatey-er. And thicker. So in goes more cocoa, more sweetener and more ice. The blender grinds to a halt, and opening the lid reveals that, yes, we've gone too far.

So in goes more milk to thin it down, promptly meaning we've over-filled the blender and have to decant some of it out to make space.

Whizz number three is successful. We open the lid to find a thick, rich, icy mixture that seems to resemble the creations we've seen online.

Sundae dishes aren't a thing in our house, but margaritas are so I use one of those as my receptacle and half pour, half spoon our chocolatey mix into it.

The hybrid dessert-drink could be dished up to friends at the end of a meal, or slurped with your partner snuggled on the sofa

The homemade version of the frrrozen hot chocolate will only cost around 30p compared to £18 at the popular Knightsbridge spot

There's a fight for the squirty cream can, because who doesn't want to be the one to do the glorious decoration finished with a flourish, but I win.

It's a glorious moment, and we finish it with gratings of chocolate on the top and the obligatory straws.

Apparently Sette do a few different versions - including a S'mores offering, complete with roasted marshmallows, digestives and chocolate, but we're keeping it simple here with the classic one.

It's pretty impressive, to be fair. The stuff of Instagram dreams, and a nice mix of sweet and refreshing. A hybrid dessert-drink that you could dish up to friends at the end of a meal, or slurp with your partner snuggled on the sofa.

That is, of course, unless you'd rather rush to the capital to spend £18 on the real deal from Sette. Where you'll even get a card with '10 things you didn't know about 'Frrrozen hot chocolate' along with your drink.

But… as boring as it sounds, I think I'd rather save my pennies and time, and opt for the version that costs pennies, not pounds, and takes a few minutes. I'll leave the hard work to the celebs.