A New York Chocolate Egg Cream is a classic New York City drink, made in minutes, with only three ingredients: U-bet Chocolate Syrup, ice cold milk and freshly opened ice cold seltzer water. This drink is bubbly and so refreshing; you’ll want to make it again and again. It's gluten free, nut free and eggless!
Is it a milkshake? Frozen hot chocolate? Ice cream float? No. This, my friends, is a New York Chocolate Egg Cream. If your extended family didn’t grow up in NYC in 1930s-1960s, you might have no idea what the heck this is. A Chocolate Egg Cream is a classic soda fountain drink that used to be served in candy stores and is still served at select places today! The name itself is very confusing because contains neither eggs nor cream.
For other classic New York City recipes, try my New York Crumb Cake, my NYC Black and White Cookies and Brooklyn Blackout Cake. And if you love chocolate drinks, try my Vegan Hot Chocolate.
Reasons to Love This New York Chocolate Egg Cream
- Allergy Friendly- This bubbly drink is gluten free, nut free, egg free!
- Refreshing- This drink is ice cold and bubbly! It's super refreshing!
- Easy to Make- The drink mixes up in a few minutes!
Ingredient Notes
- Milk- This refreshing drinks starts with ice cold whole milk. I have not tried it with vegan milk. I'm sure it would taste fine but I'm not sure you would still bet that foam layer on top.
- U-Bet Chocolate Syrup- True New Yorkers will say you can only use U-Bet Chocolate Syrup when making a chocolate egg cream. There was not much allergy information on the website so I contacted the company. The lady that responded to me said the syrup is gluten free (but is not labeled this way) and is made in a facility that is free of the top 9 allergens on the FDA list. Please always contact companies as they can change their policies and facilities at any time. You could also use Hershey's Special Dark Syrup as it is labeled gluten free.
- Seltzer Water- The brand Polar is labeled gluten free, kosher and vegan and they confirm this on the FAQ page on their site. Please always read labels as companies can change policies and facilities at any time. My uncle will tell you that any old seltzer water just won’t do and you need the old fashioned seltzer water. He used to make egg creams for the kitchen and wait staff at the restaurants he worked at in his early years. He told me a company by the name of Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, is the last remaining seltzer shop in the city. They actually deliver old-fashioned siphon bottles directly to your house. Their website even claims that they use triple filtered NYC tap water and they even sell an egg cream kit complete with u-bet chocolate syrup! I haven't used this due to potential cross contact but it's a cool idea.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
How to Make this a Vegan Beverage
- Use a vegan milk.
- Make sure the brand of chocolate syrup you use is vegan.
- Make sure the seltzer is also labeled vegan.
This recipe has not been tested with some of these substitutions and/or variations due to celiac disease and food allergies. If you change any of the ingredients, please let us know how the recipe turned out in the comments below!
How to Make a New York Chocolate Egg Cream
Here are the step by step instructions to make this chocolate beverage!
Step 1: Add the Milk and Chocolate Syrup
Add about 1 inch of chocolate syrup to the bottom of a pint glass (16 ounce glass).
Next, pour a little over ¼ cup of ice cold milk on top of the chocolate syrup. Once you fill the milk over the chocolate syrup, the glass should be just under half full. Do not mix the chocolate syrup and the milk yet! Very important!
Step 2: Pour the Seltzer
Open your seltzer and immediately pour it very aggressively into the glass.
You want to have it come crashing down into the glass like the jet of a soda fountain would do. This will help make it bubbly which is so important to a chocolate egg cream.
Fill with seltzer until the foam comes just above the top of the glass and some might spill over the top. That’s fine!
Step 3: Stir!
Immediately start stirring vigorously with a long spoon. I swirl and also I chop up and down with the spoon. You want to get that nice white head of foam at the top. Stick a straw in there and enjoy right away. If you let it sit, that foam head disappears.
Expert Tips
- Use Ice Cold Glass- You can freeze the glass ahead of time to help keep the seltzer and milk ice cold.
- Use Ice Cold Milk and Seltzer- Using ice cold ingredients help to keep the carbonation and to make the foamy top.
- Making the Foam- I swirl and also I chop up and down with the spoon. I like my foam white, some say it should be brown. If you want it brown, take some liquid from the bottom and pour it on top of the foam.
Recipe FAQs
No It needs to be made immediately before serving. The foam goes away very quickly.
Check out my sectioned entitled "substitutions and variations" for tips on making this drink vegan.
Please keep in mind it has not been tested vegan due to the allergens in our household.
There are lots of theories out there. According to an article by Rebecca Paul, most confirm the drink originated on the Lower East Side among Eastern European Jewish Immigrants. She goes on to say that one theory is that “egg cream“ is an Americanization of “echt keem” which is Yiddish for, “pure sweetness.”
Another theory states that A-grade milk was used to make the drink and the name went from Chocolate A Cream to Chocolate Egg Cream due to people mishearing “A” as “egg.”
Paul mentions a third possibility where a Yiddish theater pioneer asked a New York soda jerk to make a Parisian drink called “chocolate et creme,” and the name was lost in translation.
She then points out that Food historian, Andrew Smith, mentions that in the 1800s there was a popular drink made with raw eggs, cream, chocolate syrup mixed into soda water and the Egg Cream that we know, (without the eggs and cream), was made in the poorer neighborhoods where eggs and cream were too expensive to be used in a beverage.
But Rebecca Paul states the most popular theory is that a man by the name of Louis Auster who owned a candy shop on the lower east side, created the drink by accident and it became so popular that he sold thousands per day around 1900.
I would not store it. Drink and then discard whatever is left over.
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📖 Recipe
New York Chocolate Egg Cream
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons U-bet Chocolate Syrup (You may need more. You want about 1 inch of syrup on the bottom of the glass).
- ¼ cup milk , ice cold
- ¼ cup seltzer water , just opened and ice cold
Instructions
- Freeze a pint glass (16 ounces) for about 15 to 20 minutes if desired.
- Take a cold 16oz pint glass out of the freezer.
- Add about 1 inch of U-bet chocolate syrup to the bottom of the glass.
- Pour a little over ¼ cup of ice cold milk on top of the chocolate syrup. Once you fill the milk over the chocolate syrup, the glass should be just under half full. Do not mix the chocolate syrup and the milk yet! Very important!
- Next make sure you have a long spoon and your unopened seltzer water close by. You will need to pour the seltzer and immediately stir, so everything must be close. It needs to be unopened seltzer because you want it so so bubbly, as though it came from a soda fountain.
- Open your seltzer and immediately pour it very aggressively into the glass. You want to have it come crashing down into the glass like the jet of a soda fountain would do. This will help make it bubbly which is so important to a chocolate egg cream.
- Fill the glass with seltzer until the foam comes just above the top of the glass. Some foam might spill over the top. That’s fine!
- Immediately start stirring vigorously with the long spoon. I swirl and also chop up and down with the spoon. You want to get that nice white head of foam at the top. I like my foam white some say it should be brown. If you want it brown, take some liquid from the bottom and pour it on top of the foam. Stick a straw in there and enjoy right away! If you let it sit that foam head disappears.
Illume Eltanin says
I have only one disagreement here:
The head of an egg cream must always be white; if it's brown it is a chocolate soda. Made with only syrup and seltzer is a chocolate phosphate. And just seltzer is a New York Plain.
Lee says
I actually agree! Where I am from they only make the head white but I was reading some places do them chocolate.
Steve says
I was raised in Brooklyn. I really missed these. Thanks for sharing. Made my night!
Mike G says
Does any Metro New Yorkers remember a “ Spice Cake” round with chocolate cake and chocolate on the top?
It had a different taste!
Billy says
My roommate and I made this last night! So delicious. Much love from Brooklyn!!
Lee says
Thank you!