Caramel Brulée Latte

Do you dream about Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte during the off-season? With my easy recipe, you can prepare the toasted and sweet latte at any time of year, even if you might only be able to obtain it around the holidays!

What happens when the year’s best season comes to an end? The Christmas cocktails are no longer available for purchase at Starbucks.

Seasons dictate which drinks are suitable. In the summer, most people wouldn’t want to sip on an iced gingerbread chai. A Sugar Cookie Latte also pays homage to the holiday season.

But what about the Latte with Caramel Brulée? Like me, you long for it whether Santa Claus is in town or not.

Unfortunately, following the holidays, Starbucks will no longer provide the Caramel Brulée Latte. But you could create a duplicate at home!

What is a Caramel Brulée Latte

If you haven’t had Starbucks Caramel Brulée, you may be wondering what ingredients it contains. It’s quite simple!

According to Starbucks, the beverage is created with their “signature espresso, steamed milk, and rich caramel brulée sauce finished with whipped cream and a supreme topping of even more caramel brulée bits.”

If you like coffee with milk and a sweet, toasted caramel flavor, this is the latte for you.

How is caramel brulée sauce different than caramel sauce?

Any straightforward taste test would undoubtedly reveal that the Caramel Brulée Latte tastes a little different from a typical caramel latte or macchiato.

Similar to the caramelized sugar on top of a crème brûlée, the brulée is almost scorched and has a deeper flavor. I also think it has a richer, caramel flavor.

I always consult Starbucks’ ingredient lists when creating recipes, and the listings for the two caramel sauces are brimming with useful tips.

The only ingredient in the caramel brulée sauce is skim milk powder, as opposed to their caramel sauce, which uses cream or milk.

I chose to try making a caramel sauce without liquid dairy even though I had never done so before. All OK, about twenty-five tries. To make this sauce taste as much like the Starbucks version as possible, I prepared a ton of it!

Why you’ll love this recipe

This recipe will let you prepare the Caramel Brulée Latte whenever you want or if you miss it during the off-season.

Since you’ll probably need to make the caramel brulée sauce at home rather than purchase it, this drink recipe is a little more difficult to make than the standard Starbucks copycat.

But once the sauce is ready, you can have a latte whenever you want in just a few minutes! Additionally, it tastes exactly like the coffee shop version.

Ingredients

With relatively basic ingredients, this latte is really simple to create, especially once you have your caramel brulèe sauce. The drink will taste great whether you use store-bought toffee or omit the handmade caramel brulée topping.

Everything you need to prepare the drink is listed below (for exact recipe directions and ingredient quantities, see to the recipe card at the bottom of this post):

• Espresso or freshly made strong coffee
• This post offers a recipe for caramel brulée sauce, or you may buy it at the supermarket. Starbucks employs caramel brulée sauce, which is often a bit more expensive than regular caramel sauce but isn’t as easily accessible. This Dulce de Leche Syrup is an excellent substitute. A few drops of this caramel brulée flavoring can also be added to ordinary caramel syrup or sauce.
• 2% milk or your preferred dairy or non-dairy substitute
• Adding whipped cream as an embellishment
• Use store-bought toffee bits or the recipe for caramel brulée topping in this post.

How to make caramel brulée sauce

Since the caramel brulèe sauce is the trickiest part of the entire recipe, let’s start with it. But it should be easy for you if you have made caramel before!

In a small bowl, first mix the boiling water and milk powder. To fully dissolve the milk powder, give it a good shake. Put aside.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, place the granulated sugar and bring it to a medium boil.

Yes, do not add water or any other ingredients.

Continuously stir the sugar until it melts and takes on a rich golden hue.

It should take roughly seven minutes to complete this process.

For a deeper, more toasted flavor, I prefer to let my sauce darken a bit more than I do with traditional caramel sauce.

Now reduce the heat to low and gradually add the water and milk powder to the caramelized sugar.

Pour carefully since it will steam and boil vigorously. If you continue to whisk, the mixture will return to a smooth sauce even if it begins to seize.

After another two to three minutes of heating and stirring, turn off the heat and mix in the vanilla extract.

Before putting the caramel sauce in a mason jar or other heatproof container, let it cool in the saucepan for a few minutes.

The cooler it gets, the thicker it will get.

You can store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Before using it in the latte, you’ll need to reheat it in the microwave to thin it out a little because it will probably freeze in the fridge.

Hint: drizzling this caramel sauce over ice cream is equally as delicious!

How to make caramel brulée topping

Sometimes called caramel brulée crumbles or caramel brulée topping, the crunchy topping of the Starbucks Caramel Brulée Latte is formed of caramelized sugar.

I’ve found that you can create yours with just sugar and water, while Starbucks uses both sugar and corn syrup.

You can use toffee bits instead of the topping if you don’t like it.

First, line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Put the granulated sugar and water in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat to make the topping.

Gently stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is entirely moistened.

Stop stirring and let the mixture boil once the sugar has dissolved. To guarantee uniform caramelization, you can gently swirl the pan. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the mixture is dark amber in color.

Take off the fire and rapidly apply a thin layer of the hot caramel on the baking sheet that has been prepared. Allow it to cool until it forms, about 30 minutes.

When the caramel has set, break it up into little pieces or shards using your hands, a knife, or a small mallet.

The slices of caramel brulée can keep for two weeks at room temperature if stored in an airtight container.

How to make Caramel Brulée Latte

Finally, the drink that brought us here is ready to be made! This is quite simple.

Simply fill a heatproof coffee mug with espresso and stir in the caramel brulée sauce.

Steam milk in a microwave, stovetop, or electric frother. Pour over espresso.

Add the whipped cream and caramel brulée topping pieces on top now.

And once more, welcome to Starbucks for the holidays. all the way through August.

This is a warm, pleasant beverage. For some reason, it makes me think of a bonfire on a chilly night.

The flavors of the brulée somehow amplify the caramel flavor, and the milk wonderfully counterbalances it to create a delightfully creamy and sweet dessert. I could even prefer my handmade beverage over the one from the coffee shop!

In my opinion, Starbucks should continue serving the Caramel Brulée Latte all winter long. But since you can now build your own at home, I suppose it doesn’t really matter because

Can I make this an iced drink?

And that leads us to a crucial query. You may make this into an iced latte, cold brew, or shaken espresso if you like the caramel brulée latte but don’t like hot beverages in the winter.

Simply make it with cold milk (or your preferred dairy substitute) and a large amount of ice cubes.

You may prepare a Caramel Brulée Cold Brew using the same method as in my cold brew recipe. Simply replace the syrup with the caramel brulée sauce. The cold foam can even be topped with sauce!

Variations on recipe

It’s really easy to make this seasonal beverage if you have all the ingredients. You can change the latte and add other ingredients to make it even better.

Here are a few humorous suggestions:

• Add more caramel brulée sauce for a sweeter, richer drink.
• Try adding cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, or cocoa powder to enhance the flavor.
• Add the caramel brulée sauce and a pump or two of your favorite syrup flavor. I recommend vanilla syrup, caramel, brown sugar, or cinnamon dolce.
• Pour more chocolate syrup or caramel sauce over the drink.
• In a blender, combine the ingredients, ice, and a tiny bit of xanthan gum powder to create a Caramel Brulée Frappuccino.
• To gently vary the flavor, you can select from a wide variety of dairy and dairy-alternative milk options. You can use coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk. For the 2% milk, you can substitute whole milk, skim milk, or 1% milk. For a creamier drink, add a small amount of heavy cream!
• For additional caffeine and a more coffee-forward beverage, add extra shots of espresso.
• Try topping the latte with frothed milk rather than whipped cream.