Caramel Brulee Latte Syrup

The first winter the caramel brulee latte came to the Starbucks menu, I couldn’t stop buying them! Then, I realized just how much I had spent at the drive-through and knew that I had to figure out how to make a Caramel Brulee Latte Syrup at home.

It takes just five simple ingredients — brown sugar, water, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and a pinch of salt — and about 25 minutes, most of which is the syrup simmering. One batch makes enough for 14 lattes. At my local Starbucks a caramel brulee latte runs $5.95. The ingredients for a whole jar of this syrup costs me about $5.55 at my grocery store — less than one drink, and it makes fourteen.

It’s rated 4.93 stars by the readers who’ve made it, and the thing they mention most is that it tastes like the real one! There’s a cold foam version further down, which is honestly the way I make it now.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Save money – Skip the Starbucks drive through and save money by making your favorite holiday latte at home! A latte can be upwards of $7 these days and you can make this whole jar for less than that!
• Versatile sauce – Use this sauce for more than just lattes!! Drizzle this sweet caramel sauce over pancakes, waffles or even ice cream sundaes.
• Give as a homemade gift – I love giving jars of this syrup to friends as a simple homemade gift. Pour it into a glass jar, add a ribbon and a tag with a recipe for a homemade caramel brulee latte!

What it costs vs. Starbucks

Making your own latte syrups at home is a real money saver especially in the long run. You can see the cost breakdown below:

You still have to include the cost of coffee and milk, but you break even before you’ve made 2 lattes at home! I love making a big batch of my homemade cold brew coffee and I top it with caramel brulee cold foam and it is honestly better than Starbucks. I’m saving money and consuming better ingredients.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• ½ cup brown sugar — this is where the “brulee” comes from, so don’t swap it for white sugar. Light or dark both work; dark has more molasses and gives you a deeper burnt-sugar edge. Coconut sugar will work if you’d rather use it, though you lose a little of that caramelized depth.
• 1 cup water — thins the condensed milk into a pourable syrup. Tap water is fine.
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk — the body of the syrup and what makes it cling to the inside of the cup instead of sinking. For a dairy-free version, sweetened condensed coconut milk works straight across; it leaves a faint coconut note that I don’t mind at all.
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract — stir it in off the heat so it doesn’t cook off. Vanilla bean paste is lovely here if you have it.
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt — not optional. Salt is what keeps this from tasting like plain sweet caramel and pushes it toward the slightly bitter, just-torched flavor of the real drink.

How to get the crunchy caramel brulee topping

The little crunchy bits on top of the Starbucks version are caramelized sugar, and yes, you can make them at home by cooking sugar to hard crack and shattering it. I’ve done it. It takes twenty minutes, it makes a mess, and it does not taste meaningfully better than the shortcut.

So here’s what I actually do: I buy a bag of toffee bits — the kind sold in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips — and keep them in the pantry all season. They’re caramelized sugar and butter, which is exactly what you want, and they hold their crunch. Use about a teaspoon per drink, sprinkled over the whipped cream or cold foam right at the end.

How to make Caramel brulee latte syrup

Step 1: Whisk ingredients together

To begin, place brown sugar, water and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk together until a smooth mixture remains.

Step 2: simmer caramel Brulee syrup

Then, bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, whisking frequently.

Clumps will form if you do not whisk vigorously enough while simmering so be sure to keep whisking. After 15 minutes, remove from heat and mix in vanilla extract and salt. 

Step 3: Cool and transfer to a jar

Allow the syrup to cool in the sauce pan whisking occasionally as it cools taking time to whisk out any clumps

Finally, transfer to a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to one month.

Caramel Brulee Latte Recipe

• 2 shots of espresso
• 2 tbsp caramel brulee syrup
• 1/3 cup milk of choice – I prefer dairy milk like half and half, but you can use oat milk, almond milk or soy milk too

Brew 2 shots of espresso over the caramel brulee syrup and mix together. Froth milk using a milk frother or whisk steamed milk using a handheld whisk. Pour frothed milk over the sweetened espresso and top with whipped cream and a drizzle of the syrup.

Caramel brulee cold foam

One of my favorite ways to enjoy this copycat recipe is to mix 2 tbsp of the syrup with 1 tbsp of heavy cream and 2 tbsp of whole milk to create cold foam. You can froth the milk mixture with the syrup using an electric hand whisk or you use a milk frother on the cold foam setting.

I like to pour the cold foam over cold brew or iced coffee.

Frequently asked questions

How much syrup equals a Starbucks caramel brulee latte?

Two tablespoons per 12-ounce drink gets you about the sweetness of a grande. Use a tablespoon and a half if you like your coffee less sweet, or three for a venti-sized cup.

Can I use it in iced drinks and cold brew?

Yes, and it’s better in cold drinks than most homemade syrups because the condensed milk keeps it from sinking straight to the bottom. Stir it into the coffee before you add ice. In cold brew it doubles as the sweetener and the cream, so you can skip the milk entirely.

Can I make it without sweetened condensed milk?

Not really — the condensed milk is the body of the syrup and what makes it cling to the cup instead of thinning out into the milk. For a dairy-free version, sweetened condensed coconut milk swaps in one for one. If you leave it out altogether you’ll end up with brown sugar simple syrup, which is good, but it isn’t this.

Why did my syrup turn grainy or separate?

Almost always too much heat. Condensed milk will split if it comes to a hard boil, so keep it at a bare simmer and whisk every few minutes. If it looks grainy, the brown sugar probably hadn’t fully dissolved before the pan came up to temperature — warm it gently and whisk, and it usually comes back together.

Storage

I recommend storing your latte syrup in a glass jar in the refrigerator. It will be good in the fridge for up to 1 month. If you’re making this, it’s worth making a second syrup in the same session — the pan is already out and both keep two weeks in the fridge. My gingerbread latte syrup, sugar cookie latte syrup and peppermint mocha latte syrup are all great options for festive holiday drinks!

If you want to give a homemade caramel brulee latte syrup as a gift, you can store it at room temperature for a couple of days. Just write “please store me in the fridge!” on the gift tag to remind your recipient.

The syrup will thicken slightly in the fridge, but it will still be good. If you want to thin it slightly, run it under warm water in the jar before using.