Do you want to add Sweet Cream Cold Foam to all the iced coffee drinks you make at home? This easy Starbucks copycat recipe shows you how to make Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam, but you can easily adjust it to make any flavor you desire!
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I have a confession to make: I don't love whipped cream. I can't fully explain why, but I do know that when I order a drink at Starbucks, I always order it without whipped cream.
Then, a couple of years ago, Starbucks introduced sweet cream cold foam. And though, yes, it's a bit similar to whipped cream, I was immediately attracted to it.
Maybe it's because the name made it sound so delicious and refreshing. Or maybe because I heard that it added awesome vanilla flavor to drinks. Whatever the case, I ordered a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew and absolutely loved it.
And when the Chocolate Cream Cold Brew came out, I immediately tried and loved that, too, and recreated it at home.
❓ What is sweet cream cold foam?
Sweet cream cold foam is essentially a frothed topping Starbucks adds to some of their drinks. They take sweet cream (the creamy liquid used in their sweet cream cold brews), froth it up, and top drinks with it.
So, to make the sweet cream cold brew, you'll first make the sweet cream. Once frothed, it's a bit lighter and foamier than whipped cream and, in my opinion, it has a sweeter and more vanilla-forward flavor.
In order to determine the perfect way to make the cold foam, I looked at the ingredients on Starbucks' website. They are listed as cream, milk, and vanilla syrup.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you love adding sweet cream cold foam to all of the drinks you order at Starbucks, you're going to love the ability to make it at home to add to all your favorite iced drinks!
This recipe is super easy to make, especially if you have an electric frother... But special tools are not necessary to whip (literally) this up; a simple mason jar will do.
🗒 Ingredients
You really only need 3 ingredients to make this sweet cream cold foam! However, I like to make my own homemade vanilla syrup for it and if you're doing that, too, you'll need a couple extra ingredients (and a bit of time for it to steep). Otherwise, you can just purchase a bottle!
Here's what you need (see recipe card at bottom of post for ingredient amounts and full instructions):
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla syrup (homemade or store-bought)
If you're planning to make your own vanilla syrup (it's easy!), here's what you'll need for that:
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla bean
👩🍳 How to make your own vanilla syrup
If you're making your own syrup, you should note that while it's super easy to make, it does need time to steep for maximum flavor. But you can make it well in ad if you wvanceant since it lasts for about a month in your fridge.
I have an entire post detailing the syrup-making process, but I'll also share the directions here.
Start by putting water and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture has thickened a bit.
Pour syrup into a heat-proof jar or container. Scrape out some of the seeds from the sliced open vanilla pod with a sharp knife and add them and the vanilla bean into the syrup.
Place syrup in fridge and let steep for at least 12 hours. Syrup will thicken more as it cools. If you want a more intense vanilla flavor, you can leave the bean in after 12 hours.
☁️ How to make sweet cream cold foam
Once you've either made or bought the vanilla syrup and you have your cream and 2% milk, you're ready to whip up the cold foam!
All you have to do is add the milk, cream, and vanilla syrup in a mason jar and shake to combine. If you don't have a mason jar, you can just stir all the ingredients together in a bowl.
This is your vanilla sweet cream! You can use this in coffee drinks if you want as it makes a delicious add-in, tastier than plain cream or milk.
Just be sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge if you're not using it right away.
But for the purposes of this recipe, we're turning that sweet cream into sweet cream cold foam!
You'll want to do this right before you're ready to use it for the ultimate freshness.
And you can do it with either an electric frother, hand mixer, or blender. Just add the sweet cream and froth, mix, or blend until the mixture turns into a foam.
If you don't have any of these devices, you can shake the mixture in the mason jar until it's frothy. This is good exercise, too!
And your sweet cream cold foam is ready to be used however your heart desires.
Isn't she pretty?? I love the little flecks of vanilla in it... that's one big benefit of making your own syrup!
Now, pour yourself a nice tall (or grande!) cup of cold brew with lots of ice.
And spoon the vanilla sweet cream cold foam over it.
Can't you just tell how much more awesome that cold foam is over whipped cream? Plus, it's packed with delicious vanilla flavor!
It couldn't be easier to make a cold brew topped with lots and lots of foam.
I love the way the cold foam sits on the top, but also starts to seep into the rest of the coffee, adding delicious flavor to it. If you wanted to, you could save some of the vanilla sweet cream and pour it into your coffee, as well.
You can use a straw to drink the coffee or you can just sip it right from the cold foam topping.
☕️ Other ways to use
Though Starbucks initially created their sweet cream cold foam for their cold brews, you can actually order it on any drink you want!
Of course, it's really only recommended that you top cold drinks with cold foam as it will just melt quickly into hot drinks. It's surprisingly very tasty on the Pink Drink and also the Strawberry Acai Refresher (I have recipes for both of these so you can make them at home!).
You can also use it in any iced macchiato or latte of any iced coffee you make at home! It makes the perfect addition to pretty much any iced drink.
🍫 How to change the flavor
Oh, and did you know you can make sweet cream cold foam in any flavor you want?? Vanilla is the standard, but Starbucks also makes a chocolate one for their Chocolate Cream Cold Brew. For that one, you add chocolate malt powder to the cream mixture.
But you can replace the vanilla syrup with any kind of syrup to create your own cold foam flavor (or you can keep the vanilla syrup in and add additional syrups).
I have tons of simple syrup recipes available for you and highly recommend using the strawberry for strawberry sweet cream cold foam.
Other great options include honey, caramel, pumpkin spice, and gingerbread.
💡 More Starbucks copycat recipes
Be sure to check out all of my Starbucks copycat recipes, including these most recent ones I've created! I pride myself on testing the recipes until I have them as close to the original as possible!
This sweet cream cold foam is going to totally up your at-home coffee game! It's quite possible that friends will soon be knocking on your door for their morning (and afternoon) coffee.
To what drinks do you like adding sweet cream cold foam?
📖 Recipe
Sweet Cream Cold Foam {Starbucks Copycat}
Ingredients
- ¾ cup 2% milk
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp vanilla syrup (store-bought or recipe below)
Vanilla Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Instructions
- Mix milk, cream, and vanilla syrup in a mason jar and shake to combine. Alternatively, you can stir all ingredients together in a bowl. If you're not using right away, keep in an airtight container in the fridge. You can use this vanilla sweet cream in coffee as is if you want.
- Turn mixture into cold foam right before using. You can either use an electric frother, hand mixer, or blender. Just add the sweet cream and froth, mix, or blend until the mixture turns into a foam. Alternatively, you can shake the mixture in a mason jar until it's frothy.
Vanilla Syrup
- Put water and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture has thickened a bit.
- Pour syrup into a heat-proof jar or container. Scrape out some of the seeds from the sliced open vanilla pod with a sharp knife and add them and the vanilla bean into the syrup.
- Place syrup in fridge and let steep for at least 12 hours. Syrup will thicken more as it cools. If you want a more intense vanilla flavor, you can leave the bean in after 12 hours.
- When vanilla syrup is stored in an airtight container in the fridge, it should stay good for about a month.
Notes
- Note that if you're making your own vanilla syrup, it will need about 12 hours to steep.
- Servings are dependent on how much you like to use in your coffee.
- Sweet cream should keep in your fridge in an airtight container for about a week. I recommend turning it into cold foam right before using.
- To make chocolate cream cold foam, simply add 2 ½ Tbsp chocolate malt powder. To make additional flavors, you can any flavor syrup you want instead of vanilla.
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Jess says
Made this with Torani vanilla syrup and a handheld frother and it came out just like Starbucks. I'm sure it's even better with Starbucks syrup or homemade and I will try that soon.