Go Back
–+ servings
Side view of an open swing-top glass bottle filled with dark brown Demerara syrup on a gray countertop. A small dish of demerara sugar is to the left of the bottle. In the background, a white saucepan is on the right on top of a cork trivet, and a tan colored linen is on the left along with some greenery. There is a dark brown wood wall in the back.
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Demerara Syrup

Demerara Syrup is a delicious sweetener for cocktails, coffee and more. Easy to make with just demerara sugar and water, it adds a warm caramel-like flavor to any drink.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Cooling Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert, Drinks
Cuisine: American, Caribbean, South American
Keyword: simple syrup, sugar, syrup
Servings: 10 ounces
Calories: 80kcal
Author: Kimberly Salem

Equipment

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making the Syrup

  • Combine the Demerara sugar with the water in a saucepan and stir together.
  • Place the saucepan on the stove over medium high heat.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low, so the mixture simmers.
  • Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat and place it on a heatproof trivet. Let cool to room temperature (30 to 45 minutes), or use an ice water bath.

Ice Water Bath Cooling

  • Optionally, you can speed up the cooling of the syrup with an ice water bath. Fill a large bowl or container ¾ of the way with water and place the bottom of the saucepan in the ice water, making sure not to get any of the water in the syrup.
  • Stir the mixture occasionally. You can use an infrared or other kitchen thermometer to check the temperature.
  • Once the syrup is at room temperature, you can move on to bottling and storing it. It should take less than 5 minutes to get to temperature as long as you have enough ice in the water bath.

Bottling and Storing

  • Place a funnel in the mouth of your storage bottle so you don't spill any syrup.
  • Pour the cooled syrup from the saucepan through the funnel and into the bottle.
  • Seal the bottle, and store it until you're ready to use. It will keep for about a month in the refrigerator. Discard at any sign of cloudiness or mold growth.

Notes

  • If you can't find Demerara sugar in your local store, you can purchase it online: Demerara sugar. You can also substitute in either Turbinado sugar or brown sugar, although the final result will have a different flavor, with more molasses notes rather than toffee/caramel notes.
  • If you want to make a rich Demerara syrup (2:1 ratio), just double the amount of sugar you use, and continue with the recipe as written.

Nutrition

Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 6mg | Sugar: 20g | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.1mg