Homemade Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha
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It’s officially summer time, and that means cold drinks all around! Woohoo! In Canada, it feels like the chilly weather never ends! When it’s finally hot out, it doesn’t last long, so we gotta enjoy the cold drinks while we can!
A new favourite of mine has become the Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha! I don’t know about you, but white chocolate is near and dear to my heart. I had some leftover white chocolate after making this drink and left it in the fridge. If you’ve never had white chocolate chilled… well you need to! You’ll love it! The texture is something like you’ve never tasted! ANYWAY…
If you love the Iced White Chocolate Mocha or never tried it before then this recipe is for you! Especially as the weather gets warmer (it’s 30 degrees Celsius at the time of writing this), you’ll want to cool down with cold coffee! I love iced coffee beverages because you get a good amount of sweetness while also getting that terrific caffeine boost! I could have a cold coffee every day, and I’m going to be totally honest - I do crave them every day!
Now you can conveniently make an iced mocha whenever you want with this recipe! Even if you don’t have a coffee machine, you can prepare this Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha with ease! This will totally become a favourite for summer, and you can satisfy that white chocolate craving while getting in your morning coffee! If you loved making this drink, you’ll probably love exploring other mocha recipes - hot or cold! As I discuss in my 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! free guide, having a theme can give you motivation to experiment and make some awesome new creations. This year, drinks were totally a fun theme for me, and I really had a blast making them! This is my first cold drink recipe of summer, and I totally want to do more. Sign up for the newsletter to get this free guide and my one-month Live to Cook challenge! If you try this out or just participate in the challenge in general, then be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see and share what you’ve made!
For a full picture of how to recreate this timeless Starbucks drink then don’t forget to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel! Don’t forget to hit the bell button on YouTube so you receive the notifications when the video recipes are premiering! I love to record the recipes to give you a full picture of what’s going on! Let’s get brewing!
What’s in an Iced White chocolate Mocha at Starbucks?
According to Starbucks, here is the official description of what’s in an Iced White Chocolate Mocha:
Our signature espresso meets white chocolate sauce, milk and ice, and then is finished off with sweetened whipped cream to create this supreme white chocolate delight.
source: Starbucks.com
In fact, Starbucks has its own recipe for you to make the drink at home! My recipe will contain these components, but I’m going to make everything from scratch, including the white chocolate mocha sauce, the whipped cream, and the millky espresso base! The best part is that you can make this Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha without a coffee machine! I’ll show exactly how to make our elements and how to put everything together for a delicious coffee shop favourite, and you’ll explore the fun of being a barista from the comfort of your own home!
Why Make This white iced chocolate mocha recipe
There are ton of reasons why you NEED to try this awesome Homemade Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha recipe! Send this to a Starbucks lover who orders way too often!
Easy: You just need to gather your ingredients, mix it up, and serve!
Quick: It shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes to get this together!
Customizable: You can adjust the sweetness, chocolateyness, coffee-ness all based on your preferences - you’ve got full control!
No espresso machine needed! Lots of recipes I’ve seen online just state “espresso” as one of the ingredients, but they don’t say how exactly to make espresso. I don’t have an espresso machine and I know many of you may not, so this recipe will guide you through how to make espresso and the drink itself with
Cheaper: Honestly way cheaper to make this drink yourself than paying close to $6CAD for only a grande! This recipe will yield about two grandes!
Saves time: You probably have to go the store, place the order, wait for your order (if not mobile ordering), and then pick it up. Just enjoy this whenever you’ve got a craving, you can be in pyjamas or make it outside of store hours! No limitations!
Make-ahead friendly: I’ll tell you later on in the post how you can keep this in the fridge and enjoy later! A coffee shop delight can be waiting for you as soon as you have that craving!
tips for the ultimate Iced white chocolate mocha
Before shaking the drink to mix, make sure it has chilled sufficiently otherwise the steam may cause the drink to splash during the shaking action.
You can add sweetener to the whipped cream topping if you want, for me, it was not necessary.
Make sure to stir the milk occasionally to ensure it does not burn while coming up to a simmer.
Be careful not to overheat the chocolate or milk, the chocolate may split if too hot.
The type and flavour of chocolate you use will change this drink - experiment!
Equipment for Starbucks Iced white chocolate mocha
We’ll need a couple pieces of equipment to make our Homemade Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha.
Saucepan: We’ll need a sauce pan to make our white chocolate sauce and to make the espresso base of the drink.
Whisk: We need a whisk to vigorously mix together the heavy cream and white chocolate chips for the white chocolate sauce.
Shaker: This is what the baristas use at Starbucks to make your espresso drinks! Just make sure the lid is on when you shake it up!
Frother: I’m using a handheld blender to froth the milk. You could also use a blender or use a coffee machine that steams and froths milk if you have it!
Measuring cup: If making your own whipped cream, you’ll want a cup to measure it out and I’m actually going to make my whipped cream directly in the cup! It’s much faster that way!
Squeeze bottle: Transfer the white chocolate sauce into a squeeze bottle so you can make a nice drizzle to rim the serving glass.
Spatula: I recommend you use a spatula to transfer the white chocolate sauce from the saucepan to the squeeze bottle.
Serving glass: Definitely use your favourite mug, but the coffee mugs I have are awesome because not only are they clear so you can truly appreciate your pretty Starbucks at home drink, but these glasses retain heat and keep your drink cool! You won’t feel the heat or coldness, so you can comfortably grab your cup and roam range!
Ingredients for Iced white chocolate mocha
Time to go over the ingredients we’ll need for our Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha. We’ll see what’s needed for the homemade white chocolate sauce and to make the actual white chocolate mocha drink. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD for all ingredients and their quantities! You can save the recipe for later and the recipe card will help you scale the entire recipe based on how many glasses you want to make - so you can make the recipe just for yourself or for a summer party!
For the white chocolate sauce
Heavy cream: Also referred to as whipping cream. Look for a cream that contains 30-35% milk fat, depending on the selection at your grocery store.
Chocolate chips: I’m using mini white chocolate chips, but of course regular white chocolate chips are fine too! You could use a chocolate bar, but I find to make the sauce the chocolate chips melt easier, with mini chocolate chips melting the easiest.
For the iced white chocolate mocha
Milk: Use your favourite kind of milk. The Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha standard recipe uses 2% milk. I used 1% milk because that’s what I had on hand, and that’s fine because we will be adding some heavy cream, so the creaminess won’t be sacrificed!
Chocolate: Your favourite high-quality white chocolate bar will work. I’m using Lindt white chocolate.
Whipped cream: You can use an aerosol can for whipped cream or make your own. I’ll be making my own whipped cream here, and I’ll show how to make it.
Ice cubes: The white chocolate mocha will actually start out being hot espresso, and the ice will transform it into a cold drink!
Espresso powder: To make the espresso. You can also use instant coffee.
Water: To make our espresso quickly.
Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste: A little bit to add some intense vanilla flavour that’ll nicely complement the white chocolate and enhance the mocha flavour! If you don’t have this, you can substitute with vanilla extract, and use double the amount to achieve a similar vanilla intensity.
Sugar: Just a standard sweetener. Add to taste.
How to make Iced white chocolate mocha
In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream until lightly simmering, about 5 mins
Add the chocolate and let it melt. Keep the cream on low heat and simmer gently until the cream has thickened slightly (about 5 mins). Let it cool down in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can store this in a squeeze bottle to garnish with before refrigeration.
Bring the milk to a gentle steam and simmer on low heat. Stir often to ensure it does not burn. Once steaming, add the chocolate and let it melt.
Add vanilla bean paste, mix well and taste and adjust for sweetness with your preferred sweetener.
Take the milk off the heat and let it cool while you boil about 4 Tbsp (for 2 drinks) of water.
While it is coming to a boil, add 2 tsp of instant coffee or espresso powder to your drink shaker.
Add half of the water to the shaker and let the coffee brew for 30 seconds.
Add half of the white chocolate milk and then 3-4 ice cubes.
Let the milk stop steaming and chill slightly before closing the lid of the drink shaker.
Shake well until everything is well mixed.
6. Add ice cubes to the serving glass, stain the sides of the glass with the white chocolate mocha sauce and pour in the drink. Repeat the same for the second portion and the remaining coffee and milk. Top with whipped cream and enjoy.
Questions You May have!
Can I use a store-bought chocolate sauce?
Sure, why not! Starbucks actually uses a store-bought syrup . Apparently Starbucks uses the Fontana White Chocolate Mocha sauce, but it’s a huge bottle and quite expensive! You could try this white chocolate sauce!
Can I use espresso or brewed coffee?
Yes, if you have an espresso machine you can definitely make espresso and use it in this recipe, as is done at Starbucks! Brew one small portion of espresso, and substitute that with the combo of espresso powder and water used in this recipe.
Brewed coffee also works, however I would recommend you go for a dark roast blend for a great flavour. About a 1/2 cup of coffee should do the trick when it comes to brewed coffee.
Is the Iced White chocolate mocha at Starbucks sweet?
Yes it’s sweet. I find my Iced White Chocolate Mocha recipe sweeter than Starbucks’ actually. This is because Starbucks is using a syrup, so you taste more syrup than actual white chocolate. Keep in mind you can sweeten to taste, so customize this recipe based on your preference!
Do you taste the coffee in this iced white chocolate Mocha?
No you don’t really taste any coffee in either my recipe or the Starbucks version. This is the perfect recipe for non-coffee lovers! A lot of my viewers, including myself, do not like coffee on its own. I really hate how bitter it is! But the sweetness of the white chocolate and the creaminess of the drink totally masks the coffee taste in its entirety! If you’re someone who does like a bit of coffee flavour, then feel free to use a very strong coffee or espresso or add more than I’m showing.
I want the drink but I really don’t want the caffeine!
No problem! You can use a decaf espresso powder and this will still taste amazing without the caffeine! You do need some sort of coffee to make this a “mocha”, so that’s why you can’t omit it altogether.
How can I Switch up my Iced White Chocolate Mocha?
This recipe was intended to replicate the standard Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha. However, feel free to get creative and switch things up! Here are some fun ideas you can make your own unique spin to the Iced White Chocolate Mocha!
Pair with difference sauces: You can mix and match the sauces by substituting or also including caramel sauce and/or my Starbucks Cafe Mocha Syrup!
Garnish with white chocolate: You can reserve some of the chocolate bar and/or white chocolate chips for garnish! If using the chocolate bar, you can use a peeler to shave the chocolate or you could chop it up!
Make it dairy-free: Use your favourite plant-based milk and whipped topping, and ensure that your chocolate is dairy-free.
Top with cinnamon sugar: It’s so easy to make cinnamon sugar! Just equal parts cinnamon and sugar. Mix that up and dust it over your whipped cream!
Switch up the sweetener: I used table sugar to sweeten the drink. You can experiment with other sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup and find out what you enjoy the most!
Can I make an iced white chocolate mocha ahead of time?
Totally! I actually made the drinks the night before! Because the Iced White Chocolate Mocha is a cold drink, it doesn’t really matter if you enjoy it right away or later. However, I wouldn’t keep it for longer than a day in the fridge or else the ingredients may split. All you have to do is pour your drink into your cup and cover with plastic wrap, or transfer the drink without toppings in an airtight container.
How to make a hot white chocolate mocha?
It’s really easy to do and a similar process to this drink! Check out my White Chocolate Mocha recipe for all the details!
Other Coffee Recipes!
Watch How to Make homemade starbucks iced white chocolate mocha here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!