Whisk heavy cream and vanilla syrup using a handheld milk frother. Whisk until you get stiffer peaks, which should take about a minute. Make sure to move the handheld milk frother up and down to get air into the heavy cream. Set aside.
Pour chocolate syrup and espresso into a cup. Stir together.Use 2 Nespresso espresso pods or pull 2 shots from an espresso machine.
Add milk, then ice.
Top with whipped cream.Use a spoon to dollop the whipped cream on top of the drink.
To make a 16 ounce (grande) Starbucks drink, you’ll need 2 Nespresso espresso or ristretto capsules. You can also use 1 Vertuo double espresso.
With the Vertuo machine capsules, only use espresso capsules and not the coffee capsules that make 7.77 ounces.
Starbucks makes all their lattes with 2% milk but you can use any kind of milk you like.
Instant coffee can be used if you don't have a way to make espresso at home. Combine 1 tablespoon of instant coffee and ¼ cup hot water to replace the 2 shots of espresso in the recipe.
Good quality chocolate will make the drink rich and flavorful. The secret to my delicious homemade chocolate syrup is the cocoa powder I use. You can use the chocolate syrup to make hot chocolates too.
Like the whipped cream made at Starbucks, this copycat recipe is made with vanilla syrup in the whipped cream but you can easily swap out the vanilla syrup with 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Instead of buying Starbucks vanilla syrup on Amazon or Ebay (and pay more than double the price), get it at a Starbucks location by asking if they have any to sell. If they have extra in stock, they can sell it to you for about $14.