Starbucks’ mocha sauce is made with nothing but water, sugar, cocoa, and natural flavorings, which means you can easily whip up a homespun copycat with four pantry staples. While you could turn to a store-bought bottle (we already took the initiative and taste-tested 10 chocolate sauce brands and ranked them worst to best for you!), it’s actually quicker to make it yourself.
You’ll need four simple elements to begin; coffee, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Brew your favorite coffee as normal and place it in a saucepan. Add in the sugar and cocoa powder and give it a good stir to eliminate any lumps. Turn on the heat and allow the mixture to come to a simmer as you continue to stir. Once the sauce has warmed through and the sugar has dissolved, switch off the heat and add a dash of vanilla. About 10 minutes later, you should have a rich, chocolatey sauce to use in your next homemade mocha.
The awesome thing about this recipe is it’s easy to remember the ratios — an equal amount of each ingredient (apart from the vanilla) will make the perfect sauce. For example, if you’re using a cup of brewed coffee, you’ll need a cup of sugar and a cup of cocoa powder. However, you can play around with the ratios by reducing the sugar, switching it for a natural sweetener, like honey, or increasing the amount of cocoa (Dutch-processed cocoa will produce a richer finish).
Skip the coffee for a child-friendly mocha sauce
For a coffee-free mocha sauce, simply omit the coffee and substitute it for hot water. That way you’ll eliminate some of the caffeine and be able to use it in kid-friendly cappuccinos, stir it through cupcake frostings, or pour it over desserts. You could also switch the vanilla for a dash of ground cinnamon or cardamom to give your sauce a warmer, spicier quality, and inviting aroma, or sprinkle in some salt for a salted caramel vibe.
If you want a guaranteed velvety smooth mocha sauce, consider whisking it with a handheld milk frother. As the frother rotates, it will whip air into the sauce, break up clumps of cocoa, and lend it heaps of luscious body. Plus, a small frother is much easier to maneuver in a saucepan than a larger handheld electric whisk.
Once cooled, add your copycat Starbucks’ mocha sauce to your favorite coffees to imbue them with a rich chocolatey flavor. Chocolate and coffee make a heavenly match because chocolate mellows out the natural bitterness of coffee beans — however, feel free to drizzle your mocha sauce over an ice cream sundae, a stack of fluffy all-American pancakes, or even a serving of fresh fruit. As your sauce doesn’t contain any dairy, it should keep well for a few days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
