Creating a homemade pumpkin spice latte requires just three simple ingredients: pumpkin, spices, and a latte, offering an instant taste of autumn in the comfort of your home
The basis for pumpkin spice latte is pumpkin purée, which you'll find all over the U.S. in tins, ready for use in pumpkin pie.
Elsewhere, you can easily make it yourself by cooking and puréeing up some pumpkin. A good choice here is Hokkaido or butternut because of their mildly aromatic, nutty flavor.
You can double-check to see if whatever pumpkin you have is edible by tasting a bit when still raw: If it tastes bitter, it's not edible and should be thrown out – or carved up for Halloween.
For the puree, cut the pumpkin in half, spoon out the fibrous core, and bake it in the oven until the flesh is soft. Then let the pumpkin cool a little, cut it into small pieces and puree the flesh.
To give this latte its signature autumnal aroma, mix in some spices. Starbucks uses cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with vanilla syrup, but you can also include allspice and ginger and use honey instead of syrup.
Then froth up some milk or a milk substitute of your choice and stir in the spiced pumpkin purée. Finally, pour in a shot of espresso.
Now you can decorate the drink with a little cinnamon – optionally on a dollop of whipped cream like in Starbucks – and your pumpkin spice latte is ready.
