Easy Homemade Chocolate Syrup Recipe
Simple homemade chocolate syrup made from cocoa, sugar, water, salt, and vanilla. Refrigerate in an airtight container; keeps for at least a month.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cupgood quality unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cupgranulated sugar*
- 1 cupcold water
- 1/2 teaspoonkosher salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoonpure vanilla extract
Instructions
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 cup granulated sugar until evenly blended and lump-free.
- Add 1 cup cold water and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or less/more to taste) to the saucepan and whisk until smooth.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and whisk constantly. Heat just until the mixture begins to boil (small bubbles forming around the edges and occasional bubbling across the surface).
- Once boiling, continue to boil while stirring constantly for about 3 minutes, until the hot mixture has thickened slightly. (It will be fairly thin while hot and will reach a syrup consistency as it cools.)
- Remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract until combined.
- Taste the warm syrup carefully. If you want it sweeter, stir in additional granulated sugar a little at a time until dissolved; if you want more salt, add a small amount of kosher salt and stir to dissolve, tasting as you go.
- Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight glass container and refrigerate. The syrup will keep refrigerated for at least a month.
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
- Whisk
- airtight glass container
Notes
Notes
Consistency Tips
If it’s too thick, it cooked for too long. Try cooking for less time. If your current batch has thickened up too much, try heating the sauce gently and thin with a bit of water. If your syrup appears too thin, try cooking it for a bit longer, but if it’s coating the back of your spoon it’s probably the right consistency. Remember, it thickens a lot once it cools.
*Sugar/Sweetness Notes
Recipe as written makes a nice, dark, slightly less sweet chocolate sauce. Add up to 1/2 cup more sugar for a sweeter syrup. If you add the sugar after cooking the syrup, be sure to taste your chocolate syrup while it’s still warm and if it’s not quite as sweet as you’d like, add some more sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until it’s sweet enough for you. Be sure to let it cook a bit more so that the sugar dissolves!
Storage Tips
Store syrup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. The syrup should keep, refrigerated, for at least a month. I haven’t yet tried freezing/thawing this homemade chocolate syrup, but I think it would work fine.
I have had readers ask if they can can this recipe, and my answer is that I wouldn’t do it, just because you have to be really careful what you preserve via canning. I’m not sure the pH for the chocolate syrup would make it a safe candidate.
Consistency Tips
If it’s too thick, it cooked for too long. Try cooking for less time. If your current batch has thickened up too much, try heating the sauce gently and thin with a bit of water. If your syrup appears too thin, try cooking it for a bit longer, but if it’s coating the back of your spoon it’s probably the right consistency. Remember, it thickens a lot once it cools.
*Sugar/Sweetness Notes
Recipe as written makes a nice, dark, slightly less sweet chocolate sauce. Add up to 1/2 cup more sugar for a sweeter syrup. If you add the sugar after cooking the syrup, be sure to taste your chocolate syrup while it’s still warm and if it’s not quite as sweet as you’d like, add some more sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until it’s sweet enough for you. Be sure to let it cook a bit more so that the sugar dissolves!
Storage Tips
Store syrup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. The syrup should keep, refrigerated, for at least a month. I haven’t yet tried freezing/thawing this homemade chocolate syrup, but I think it would work fine.
I have had readers ask if they can can this recipe, and my answer is that I wouldn’t do it, just because you have to be really careful what you preserve via canning. I’m not sure the pH for the chocolate syrup would make it a safe candidate.