Copy-Cat Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
October 22, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Chocolate
Yep.
They can’t keep something that good to themselves. Give this a try and let me know if you think it is close. I made it a little more chocolate-y by adding the bittersweet chocolate, you could go with dark or a mixture.Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Copycat Recipe
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (the best you can afford)
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar crystals
- 1/4 cup whipped cream
- 2 tablespoons caramel syrup, divided (recipe at the bottom of that page)
Bring the milk, sugar, and cream to a simmer. Keep it just under a boil and stir in the chocolate until melted completely.
Add one tablespoon of the caramel syrup to a warm mug and swish it to coat the inside of the mug.
Carefully pour in the chocolate. Top with whipped cream, add a drizzle of caramel, a sprinkle of the salt and a dusting of the turbinado crystals.
Enjoy the fact that while Starbucks *may* stop making this delicacy you never have to!
Image:Marye Audet


















sounds yummy.
Not sure if I should say something here or on the Starbucks blog….I went in to have one after my Dr visit Tuesday.
Since my toe was starting to lose it’s numbness I decided to get it to go. Didn’t want to be out in public if the predicted pain occured.
The barrista was about to serve me, took one look at my cup, said something unpublishable, opened the lid and started scooping something out. ….So I have no idea what actually went on top.
The hot chocolate part was to die for. I don’t recall any caramel or salt.
I think you are right . it must be done in a real cup at a table….if only to keep the barrista honest!
One question.. where do you get turbinado sugar?
Whole foods, natural food stores, some upscale grocers.
eww Ginger..I am not sure I would have had the where-with-all to drink it after that!
Hmm… there is a place in Mystic that might have it then. Thanks
I’m going to Starbucks tomorrow morning for a homeschool treat with my oldest daughter and plan on trying one of these delicacies then…if I love it (and I imagine I will) then I’ll likely be heading to the store for sea salt and Sugar in the Raw.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve bookmarked it!
sure Gina..hope you like it.
This sounds amazing, but how many servings is it supposed to make?
Tbird…for me? One. Just one luscious high calorie creamy treat all for me.
Holy moley! Well, kudos to you! Unfortunately, this is as many calories as I am allotted for more than 2 days
If you ever come up with a diet version, I’d love it!!
So Just cut it in half or fourths…I only eat once in awhile so I use the average calories for the week method….
Smart. Thanks!
Actually starbucks makes it with skim milk standard so it can be made lite…
not when they make it for me. I can’t stand lite or low fat in hot chocolate and request half and half and whole milk…
with extra whipped cream.
I was able to sample one of these a few weeks ago at Starbucks. I wasn’t crazy about it, so I took the sample to the car for my husband. He didn’t like it either. lol At first, the flavor seemed interesting, but then tasted weird. I know we all have different tastes though.
I have yet to try a Chai tea. Can you tell me what is unique and great about it? I’d like to know before I purchase one. Thanks.
KAren,
If you like gingerbread and spicy things you will like chai.Think of it as a gingerbread milkshake with a tea base..only hot.
there..that helped, didn’t it? LOL! I have a recipe on here somewhere for chai I am sure of it. Basically it is black tea brewed with cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cloves, and otehr spices.
Thanks Marye. I think I’ll stick with my venti extra hot stirred caramel macchiato. Yummm! I had one of those tonight. My mom thought it was crazy that I was spending $4 on a beverage, but then I reminded her that it was less than she spends on Diet Coke and she realized it was ok. hahaha Our closest Starbucks is about 50 minutes away, so you don’t have to worry about me spending the $4 very often. All we have is a locally owned shop, but it’s still 20 minutes from my house. I don’t make it over there very often either. That’s probably best for my pocketbook.
I tend to make what I like here at home too.
I made this recipe today…when do you add the regular sugar? anyway, I used skim milk and light cream and while it wasnt exactly like starbucks, you could tell it was trying to be. It tasted really good, though.
Jordan- generally when you change the fat content the taste changes as well. Fat carries flavor. Glad you liked it!
The sugar goes in with the milk and cream
This is my favorite of all the flavors at Starbuck’s. I made your recipe and I LOVED IT. I made it for my niece and she loves it. I passed it on to her since she doesn’t have a Starbucks near her.
Thanks Christina!
I want to try this as a christmas treat for my family. I have a couple of questions; Instead of chopping the bittersweet & semi-sweet chocolate, can they be melted and poured into the milk, sugar & cream? Also how many cups does the above recipe make? (I have a lot of kids) Thanks.
Bill, By stirring the chocolate into the cream the results are better. YOu can do it the other way if you wish but the final product will not be as creamy. It makes one cup. 1/3 cup cream + 2/3 cup milk= 1 cup hot chocolate. All the other ingredients just melt in.
I really like the Salted Caramel hot chocolate; the flavor makes me think of the combination of hot chocolate and caramel corn. I definitely detect a buttery popcorn-y taste. Also, I have no trouble drinking it from a go-cup; still yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Jo- I hadn’t thought of caramel corn..I thought chocolate covered pretzels..but you are right.
I can’t handle the feel of the to go cups. :/
thanks so much for this recipe! I didn’t realize this was a blog until you touched base. I hope its okay that I linked it up! If not, let me know.
No it is fine, Val! I appreciate the links! I hope you come back.
I love this hot chocolate! Apparently they use an English Toffee syrup in it. I ask for a pump or 2 less to cut back on the sweetness and add a shot of espresso and ask for EXTRA salt topping. YUM!
Starbucks uses non-fat milk.
The cream, whole milk, and the chocolate adds way too much fat and sugar to it.
No offense tho, it’s exstreemly hard to make a copy-cat recipe and you did a good job.
Connor- I know that..But personally speaking…I like my version better, fat and all..when I splurge I liek to splurge big.
You do it your way and I will do it mine.