Spicy, tasty, easy to make: pumpkin spice latte

We all know that anything you make from scratch tastes better. So why buy an overly sweet and pricey pumpkin spice coffee from a certain famous coffee house with a green mermaid logo when you can make it yourself? I tried out this recipe for pumpkin spice latte recipe available on a German website dedicated to baking. Clasping a mug full of this goodness whisked me away to a verandah overlooking a golden-red forest. With a smile on my face, I warmed my mitten-clad hands and listened to the beautiful birdsong.

Okay, I may have got carried away a bit.

Pumpkin spice mix ingredients

All you need is a sprinkling of it, but it’s the most important ingredient of this hot beverage: the spice mix. The mix is available ready-made or you can make it yourself (recipe in German).

To make one jar of pumpkin spice mix, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom, optional
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric, optional

Turmeric and cardamom aren’t must-have ingredients, but I’m definitely adding them to my mix. Empty all the spices into a jar, screw the lid on and shake the whole thing until you have a uniform colour.

Other ingredients

For one cup of pumpkin spice latte, you’ll need:

• 60 g Hokkaido pumpkin (squash) or pumpkin puree
• ½ tsp of your pumpkin spice mix
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ½ strong espresso
• 150 ml milk (or oat milk)
  Optional:
• 50 ml cream, whipped
• ½ tsp icing sugar

Optional whipped cream

I don’t like cream, so I’ve skipped this step. But if you do, adding a dollop of sweet whipped cream to your pumpkin spice latte will definitely top it off nicely. Whip the cream together with the icing sugar until it’s stiff, scoop it into a piping bag and put it in the fridge to chill. Or, if that’s too much hassle, there’s always squirty cream.

Method

Cut the pumpkin into chunks. Place them in a pan, cover with water and leave to cook on a high heat for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the espresso. As soon as the pumpkin’s soft, drain the water and puree.

In a glass, mix together the espresso, sugar, spices and pumpkin puree. If, like me, you don’t own a milk frother, heat the milk in a pan and fill up the glass containing the other ingredients. You can now optionally top it off with the whipped cream and a sprinkling of your spice mix.