Hello, friends! I’m very excited to bring you this recipe for white chocolate sauce. With this white chocolate syrup recipe in your arsenal, you’ll be able to make your very own homemade fancy seasonal mocha, and I guarantee it’ll taste better than the storebought ones!
We’ll break down what white chocolate is–and what it isn’t–and I’ll show you how to introduce the elements into your sauce even if you can’t find the high-quality stuff.
You’ll also learn some variations and I’ll give you substitutions where I can. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my chocolate syrup and butterscotch coffee syrup recipes.
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Watch my white chocolate coffee syrup web story here.
Certainly didn’t put it in a fancy smancy pitcher but here is my White Chocolate Sauce that tastes absolutely amazing. Just like the finest White Chocolate from a local Chocolatier.
Reader Jo-Anne
Thanks for a delicious recipe. You never disappoint.
Why You Need to Make This White Chocolate Sauce Recipe
If you’re looking for an excellent white chocolate sauce, you really need look no further than this recipe.
It contains all the elements necessary for good white chocolate–dairy, cocoa butter, and vanilla–separately.
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This is so you don’t have to rely on getting the high-quality stuff, which can be very difficult to find.
I based the ingredients on the ingredient list from a very well-known brand of sauce used in many coffee shops, so all the elements you love are there.
I did a side-by-side taste comparison of my homemade sauce and the national brand I purchased, and honestly, my recipe tastes like delicious, creamy, pourable white chocolate.
Their’s does…not. I found it had an almost tropical flavor that tasted nothing like white chocolate.
The Difference Between White Chocolate and White Baking Chips
You can make a very tasty sauce by melting high-quality white chocolate in hot milk or half and half.
The problem is, it is very difficult to find it in the store, and it’s almost non-existent in the baking aisle.
What you will generally find is almond bark or white baking chips.
To be classified as white chocolate, it must contain cocoa butter along with dairy, vanilla, and some stabilizers/emulsifiers (which do not contribute to flavor).
White baking chips generally do not contain cocoa butter. Even the very recognizable brand from San Francisco uses palm kernel oil and not cocoa butter, so it cannot be called white chocolate.
White almond bark is also made with a range of vegetable fats with no cocoa butter to be found.
To be called white chocolate, it must contain cocoa butter. Period.
How To Make White Chocolate Syrup
Now that we know what’s in white chocolate, it’s easy to see those elements in this recipe.
And while the national brand says that it does contain cocoa butter, it’s in such a small quantity that it may as well not be there at all.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients and Substitutions
- water: Like most syrups, this one starts with a simple syrup, where part of the sugar is replaced by sweetened condensed milk. So water is a must.
- sugar: I use white granulated, but for a deeper flavor, you could certainly use raw sugar or light brown sugar. I wouldn’t use dark brown as that much molasses might mask the delicate flavor of the cocoa butter
- sweetened condensed milk: You can use skim or regular sweetened condensed milk. If you want to make your sauce vegan, substitute sweetened condensed coconut milk and be sure to use vegan sugar. Do NOT substitute evaporated milk
- pure cocoa butter: Look for food or cosmetic-grade cocoa butter. I used the brand (affiliate link) Terrasoul and am very happy with the flavor and the way it melted into the sauce
- vanilla: Either extract or paste works well here. Use extract if you prefer not to have little specks of vanilla seed in your sauce
- salt: Just a pinch helps to round out and bring out the flavor in the cocoa butter and dairy
I keep this in my cabinet, and not only do I use it in my white chocolate sauce, it's also great in smoothies.
Unless you want visible chips of white chocolate in whatever you're making, adding cocoa butter--either melted or finely grated, depending on what you're making--is really all you need to do.
Procedure
As with most syrup recipes, this one is very easy to make, and probably easier than you might expect:
- Put water, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and salt in a pan.
- Heat to a boil and let boil for five minutes.
- Add the cocoa butter, and whisk in well.
- Boil for two additional minutes.
- Whisk in vanilla off the heat.
Tips for Success
To a great extent, the final texture depends on how much water evaporates during boiling. Use a wider pan for more evaporation and a thicker sauce. Use a taller pan with a smaller diameter for less evaporation and a thinner sauce.
Dairy likes to boil over. Use a pan that is taller/larger than you think you need. Watch it carefully and adjust the heat if it boils up too much for comfort!
Equipment You May Need
You won’t need much specialized equipment to make this recipe at all.
A good, heavy-bottomed saucepan and a whisk are really all that you need.
And, as always, I do recommend getting a good kitchen scale for accuracy in measuring.
Variations
This syrup is really excellent as-is, but a little bit of extra spice is never a bad thing.
It’s particularly good with a little shake of cinnamon in it.
You could also add 2-3 drops of peppermint oil for a white peppermint mocha that will be out of this world!
Short-Cut Version
If you can find white chocolate that actually contains cocoa butter (read the labels), you can substitute that for the sweetened condensed milk, cocoa butter, and vanilla.
Use 6 oz chopped white chocolate in place of the other three ingredients and pour 8 oz (1 cup) of heated (not boiling) milk over the chocolate.
Add the salt and whisk until smooth.
Visual How-To
Here are some short video clips to illustrate a few of the steps to making this coffee syrup.
I hope you find them helpful.
Stirring water, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and salt together.
Bring the sauce to a boil. You can control the thickness of the final sauce by keeping it at a low boil for thinner sauce and at a rolling boil for thicker sauce.
You can also use a narrower pan for less evaporation.
Chop the cocoa butter pretty finely. It’s very easy to chop it up.
Also, that is Sam, our ill-behaved foster cat.
Here’s what the sauce will look like once it is done.
White Chocolate Sauce Q & A
Since it contains dairy, I would only keep this sauce in the fridge for up to 10 days. It could stay good longer, but I wouldn’t push it.
Yes, you can freeze this. It may not freeze solid, but you can extend its u0022shelf lifeu0022 by storing it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge. If it has separated, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, and then blend it with an immersion blender or just whisk it really well.
As written, this recipe is gluten-free. To be double sure, check packaging to make sure none of the ingredients are manufactured on shared equipment.
How To Make The Best White Chocolate Mocha
- Make coffee or espresso to your desired strength.
- Add your homemade white chocolate syrup for sweetness and flavor, about 2 Tablespoons per cup of coffee.
- Top off with steamed/foamed milk.
- Top with some grated nutmeg or a dusting of cinnamon if you’re feeling fancy.
- Enjoy every sip.
For a caramel twist, consider adding some caramel syrup to your latte along with the white chocolate.
Serving Suggestions
Although I expressly made this sauce to be able to make a homemade mocha whenever I want, by no means should you limit its use to Just That.
Consider using this sauce on pancakes or waffles.
Pour it over ice cream. Or chocolate mousse!
Drizzle it over pound cake.
Use it as a fruit dip.
Try it as a sauce for bread pudding.
Make your own version of a dirty soda by adding a splash to your root beer float.
Whisk some into whipped cream and then put that on…whatever you want!
Questions
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
It will help me and other readers so much if you take a moment to rate and leave a review for this recipe.
You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
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Thank you so much for taking the time!
Recipe
White Chocolate Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 oz cocoa butter chopped finely
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour the water, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan.
- Add the salt.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. It will boil up, so keep an eye on it and regulate the heat so it doesn't boil over.
- Boil the milk mixture for 5 minutes. (See Notes)
- Off the heat, whisk in the cocoa butter as well as you can.
- Return to the heat and boil for 2 additional minutes. The agitation from the boil will help to emulsify the cocoa butter into the sauce.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- Pour into a heat-safe container and cool until just warm. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
To Control the thickness of the final sauce
Cook in a narrower pan for less evaporation and a thinner syrup. Cook in a wider pan for more evaporation and a thicker syrup. You can also control the thickness by keeping your sauce at a low boil for a thinner sauce and at a full, rolling boil for a thicker sauce.Storage
Keep in the fridge for up to 10 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.Short-Cut Recipe
Replace the water with milk. Replace the sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla with 6 oz chopped high-1uality white chocolate (check the label) Heat the milk and salt until steaming. Pour it over the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.Nutrition
Thanks for spending some time with me today.
Can’t wait for you to wow your friends with this fabulous coffee syrup.
Take care, and have a lovely day.
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Hello
I have a question. I am wondering if you might know if this would work with coconut sweetened condensed milk and a replacement for sugar call SWERVE? If you have any ideas, I’d appreciate them!
Hey, Gina. I would think it would, although I always defer to Carolyn Ketchum at All Day I Dream About Food in matters of keto cooking/baking. I will ask her and get back to you as soon as I hear. Thanks!
Thank you so much! I look forward to hearing from you! I made coconut sweetened condensed milk today with SWERVE granulated sugar and it is a bit grainy so I wonder if that would happen to this as well. Not that I mind a lot. It’s still the right consistency and for the purposes that I want to use it for, I think it will all just dissolve in the hot coffee!
Very true. I haven’t heard back from Carolyn, but if you’re just going to be putting it in hot coffee, it’ll dilute and dissolve any crystals. I say go for it, full steam ahead, and enjoy your fancy coffee, Gina! 🙂
Would this work for fondue? I’m having a hard time finding a vegan white chocolate fondue recipe.
Hey, Sarah. I think it would work fine, although I haven’t tried it that way. But dunking cake and fruit into this sauce seems like a great plan. You’d want to do it at room temp and not hot, because the sauce would be too thin when warm.
I cut the water by half, used the coconut sweetened condensed milk and added a cornstarch slurry and it was soooo good for fondue!
Oh, wow, sounds wonderful! I’m so glad you were able to make it work for fondue!
OH MY GOOODNESS!! This is so delicious! I’m such a fan of white chocolate and it doesn’t deserve a bad rap. YUM!
I agree! Good white chocolate is truly lovely with such a lovely, delicate flavor.
This is a recipe I can’t wait to try. Naturally gluten free and I can slather it on so many yummy desserts!
This is a recipe I can’t wait to try. Naturally gluten free and I can slather it on so many yummy desserts!
Jenni knows how to make it seem easy and still teach you all the things. I’m now a white chocolate lover – who knew?