Pumpkin spice is everywhere this fall as per usual, and while I love pumpkin, I'm a little sick of all the hype it gets in coffee drinks. If you're interested in a less common yet equally cozy and nostalgic alternative, try my carrot cake latte sauce! It's basically a simple syrup cooked down with carrots and spices, then blended into a sauce. I wanted it to be a sauce with carrot pureéd into the syrup because I wanted an extra carrot-y taste. 

I add this to a latte topped with cream cheese foam, and it literally tastes like a piece of carrot cake. Indulgent--more of a dessert drink this way. This recipe includes how to make the sauce, as well as how I assemble the completed drink. I prefer hot coffee drinks, but an iced version of this would taste great as well.

Sauce Ingredients

1 cup baby carrots

1 cup water

1 cup coconut sugar (could be swapped for brown sugar)

A pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp vegan OR dairy butter

3-5 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick OR 1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

2 vanilla bean pods OR 1 tsp vanilla extract

Sauce Instructions

Step 1: Combine sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Stir until dissolved.

Step 2: Add carrots to saucepan.

Step 3: Bring the syrup to a boil over low heat and cook until carrots are soft, about 20 minutes. About 10 minutes add in the vanilla, spices, and butter.

Step 4: Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Step 5: Process everything in a blender until ultra smooth (this took me about 10 minutes--don't skip). If it's too thick, add water to thin it out. It's a sauce, not a syrup, so it will be thicker.

Step 6: Funnel into a bottle and store in your fridge! 

 

Time to assemble the latte!

 

Latte Ingredients:

1 tbsp. carrot cake sauce

8 oz. coffee (or whatever you usually do)

2 tbsp whipped cream cheese

2 tbsp coffee creamer (I use Chobani zero sugar sweet cream)

 

Latte Instructions

Step 1: Add the carrot cake sauce to your favorite mug.

Step 2: Add coffee and combine with a frother.

Step 3: In a small bowl, froth together cream cheese and creamer.

Step 4: Top the coffee with the cream cheese foam, and an optional sprinkle of cinnamon or cardamom on top, and sip away!

 

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment letting me know! I hope you'll try it out--it's one of my favorites I've posted, and it's so easy to make. Subscribe to receive my bi-weekly newsletter for more fun recipes!