Espresso over cold milk with homemade salted caramel syrup, a dessert-level cold coffee drink that is completely irresistible and ready in under 8 minutes.
Introduction
Salted caramel has been one of the most enduringly popular flavour combinations in food culture since Parisian chocolatier Henri Le Roux popularised the combination of caramel and flaky salt in the 1970s. Applied to a cold coffee drink, the combination of the bitter, roasted coffee, the sweet, slightly bitter caramel, and the amplifying contrast of the salt produces a drink that satisfies multiple flavour desires simultaneously in a way that single-note sweet drinks cannot.
The homemade salted caramel syrup in this recipe is the element that most distinguishes the home version from a cafe version. Commercially produced caramel syrups, while convenient, typically use artificial flavourings and high fructose corn syrup that produce a flat, one-dimensional sweetness without the genuine caramel depth of a properly made sugar-based syrup. Ten minutes of careful sugar cooking produces a syrup with genuine caramel flavour that makes every drink made with it taste significantly better.
The salt in salted caramel serves a flavour function beyond mere contrast. Salt enhances sweetness perception, making sweet things taste sweeter, and suppresses bitterness, making bitter things like coffee taste more pleasant. This is why a pinch of salt in coffee is recommended by many baristas and coffee professionals as a way of improving the flavour of a slightly over-extracted or slightly bitter espresso.
History and Background
Salted caramel as a recognised flavour combination was popularised by Henri Le Roux in Brittany, France in 1977, who created salted butter caramels using the local fleur de sel sea salt. The combination attracted attention and won awards in France before gradually spreading through European and American patisserie culture in the 1980s and 1990s.
Salted caramel became a mainstream global flavour phenomenon in the 2000s and 2010s when it appeared simultaneously in chocolates, ice cream, cocktails, baked goods, and coffee drinks across the world. Starbucks introduced the Salted Caramel Mocha in 2009 and it became one of their most popular seasonal offerings, cementing salted caramel as a coffee flavour with mainstream appeal.
The combination of salted caramel with cold coffee drinks became particularly popular through the cold coffee boom of the 2010s as cafes sought seasonal and flavoured cold coffee options to expand their summer menus beyond simple iced lattes.
Salted Caramel Iced Latte
5
servings8
minutes13
minutes220
kcalIngredients
2 shots espresso
150ml cold whole milk or oat milk
Lots of ice
For salted caramel syrup: 100g white sugar, 60ml water, 60ml double cream, 0.5 tsp flaky salt
Whipped cream to top optional
Extra flaky salt to finish
Directions
- Make syrup: heat sugar and 2 tablespoons of the water in a small pan without stirring until deep amber.
- Remove from heat. Carefully add cream and remaining water. Stir until smooth.
- Add flaky salt. Cool completely. Store excess in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Pull 2 shots of espresso. Allow to cool slightly.
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Add 2 tablespoons of salted caramel syrup to the glass.
- Pour cold milk over the ice and syrup.
- Pour espresso over the milk.
- Top with whipped cream if using. Sprinkle flaky salt.
- Stir and serve.
Tips
- Do not stir the sugar while it is caramelising. Stirring causes crystallisation. Swirl the pan gently if needed to distribute heat but never use a spoon until the cream is added.
Watch the caramel very closely. It goes from pale amber to burnt in seconds. Remove from heat the moment it reaches a deep amber, the colour of dark honey.
Add the cream carefully and from a distance. The caramel is at extreme temperature and will bubble violently when the cold cream is added.
Cool the syrup completely before using. Hot syrup melts ice instantly and dilutes the drink. The syrup improves in flavour over the first 24 hours of refrigeration.
The flaky salt at the end is a different application from the salt cooked into the syrup. It provides visible salt crystals that dissolve gradually, creating evolving saltiness.
Make the syrup in larger quantities. It keeps refrigerated for 2 weeks and transforms every coffee drink it touches.
For a stronger caramel flavour cook the sugar to a very deep amber just before it would burn. The darker the caramel the more bitter and complex it becomes.
Variations
Make a salted caramel cold brew latte using cold brew concentrate instead of espresso for a smoother, less acidic version. Add a shot of bourbon to the finished drink for a salted caramel bourbon iced latte. Replace double cream in the syrup with coconut cream for a dairy-free caramel syrup. Make a salted caramel mocha by adding a tablespoon of chocolate sauce alongside the caramel syrup. Add cinnamon to the caramel syrup for an autumnal spiced caramel version.
Storage and Serving
Serve immediately in a tall glass with a straw. The salted caramel syrup keeps refrigerated for 2 weeks in a sealed jar. The assembled drink does not keep. The whipped cream topping deflates within 10 minutes. Add it at the very last moment before serving.
FAQs
Q: My caramel crystallised when I added the cream. What happened?
A: The cream was too cold or the caramel was not hot enough when added. Warm the cream slightly before adding and ensure the caramel is fully liquid when you pour the cream in.
Q: Can I buy caramel syrup instead of making it?
A: Yes, Monin and Torani produce good quality salted caramel syrups. The homemade version has better flavour but the commercial version saves time.
Q: Why does my caramel taste bitter?
A: The sugar was cooked too dark. A very dark amber produces bitterness. Aim for the colour of dark honey rather than dark treacle.
Q: Can I use brown sugar for the caramel?
A: Brown sugar caramel is slightly different in flavour due to the molasses content. It works and produces a deeper, more molasses-forward caramel.
Q: How much syrup per drink?
A: Two tablespoons produces a moderately sweet drink. Adjust to taste. The syrup is concentrated so start with less and add more if needed.
