homemade pumpkin spice latte
The coziest of the cozy autumn drinks. And it won’t cost you a pound of flesh!
Once upon a Wednesday dreary I ventured over to one of my favorite coffee haunts in the city, hyped to pick up my first PSL of the season. The seasonal fave started floating around in late August at several spots, but I have a hard and fast rule of not touching the flavor until the start of September.
Well, friends, September arrived, Green Day fell asleep, and I sauntered into the shop ready to slurp the PSL of my dreams.
Only to have my dreams dashed.
Turns out, this particular location hadn’t unveiled pumpkin yet, so I stuck with my usual soy cappuccino and decided the next day I’d whisk up my own pumpkin syrup and go to town with homemade sips. I played around with one recipe, liked it quite a bit, made a few tweaks, and voila! A star, the Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte, was born.
The syrup is made of accessible ingredients and no weirdass fillers and flavorings and whatever other witches brew slithers into a certain store’s formula – so you know exactly what’s flowing around in your body. Tastes way better, too. Customize your drink with the milk you prefer, throw on some maple whipped cream (or not, if you’re vegan or just don’t care).
Faster than a drive thru, tastier too. Guaranteed.
PSL is the MVP
For the pumpkin syrup, we use plenty of real-ass pumpkin puree, as well as both light brown sugar and regular sugar for the sweet base. Then, throw down some pumpkin pie spice and vanilla to flavor the shit and give it that ole autumnal razzledazzle.
The syrup comes together quickly on the stovetop, so start here. Grab a little sauce pot and whisk your ingredients, as well as 1 cup of water, until combined. Bring to a hard simmer and warm for 5-10 minutes. The shorter duration yields a thinner syrup, but the longer you go, the saucier the mixture becomes.
When the viscosity is to your liking, move the pot off the heat and stir in vanilla.
Spoon some syrup into your choice mug. Keep in mind that a) you will have leftover syrup, and b) the amount you use is totally up to you. I like 2 tablespoons for myself, but play around and see what’s best for your tastebuds.
Heat some milk on the stovetop (or you can microwave it, or steam it on your espresso machine’s wand). Use what you like to drink. I typically keep soy around, but anything is great. If you’re using the stovetop method, just be sure the milk doesn’t start to boil, else it’ll scald and taste funky. A nice waft of steam does the trick.
I use espresso shots in my latte since I have a Breville machine at home – a double is my standard. If you do not own an espresso machine, 1/2 cup hot, strong-brewed coffee will do just fine. An Aeropress or Moka pot will give you the closest result, but if you own just a plain ole brewer, it’ll work, friends. Your cuppa will resemble a cafe au lait more than a latte, but will taste fab all the same.
Pull your shots on top of the syrup, give it a little mixy mix, then pour in your milk. Finish with a dab (or a big scoop) of whipped cream and some ground cinnamon.
I like to do a homemade maple whipped cream when I can: just blitz up some heavy cream with maple syrup and vanilla until firm peaks form. I also own a can of salted caramel whip I bought an embarrassingly long time ago, and I like to float that atop my drink sometimes too.
The pumpkin syrup will last you a couple weeks in the fridge, so plenty of pumpkin spice lattes come of one batch. You can also present a cutely-wrapped jar as a gift for someone. Perhaps nestled within a coffee-themed housewarming or holiday gift basket?
Hey, the season of presents lays not too far off. Might as well start brainstorming now!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Autumn cozies:
Molten Tahini Coconut Hot Chocolate
homemade pumpkin spice latte
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, or milk of choice
- 2 shots espresso (see note)
- whipped cream and cinnamon, to garnish
Instructions
- Make the syrup. In a small saucepot, whisk the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and water until combined. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and warm for 5-10 minutes until the granules dissolve and the sauce thickens. For a thicker syrup, leave on the burner longer. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- In a separate sauce pot, warm the milk until steaming (but not boiling else you've scalded it oh no), about 5-8 minutes.
- Measure about 2-3 tablespoons of the pumpkin syrup (use to taste) into a cute mug. Pull your espresso shots overtop, then add the milk. Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon, as desired.
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