Ever tried making your own Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam at home? Don't worry coffee lovers, you can skip the Starbucks line. Make your own sweet cream at home in under 5 minutes with only 4 simple ingredients, and top your cold brew and iced coffees with this luscious treat!
We like making our own copycat Starbucks cold foam recipe at home. It's just so simple! Take your drinks up a notch, you deserve it. 😉
Add this creamy cloud with the consistency of melted ice cream to your favorite iced coffee drinks, or cold brew coffee recipe for the perfect sip.
If you're looking for more delicious coffee recipes, be sure to check out this delicious coconut latte, this rose latte, this strawberry latte, this iced white mocha, or this iced pumpkin spice latte.
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Simple ingredients. There are only 4 necessary ingredients needed for this recipe, and you most likely have them all on hand in your pantry and fridge. If needed, you can find all of these ingredients at your local grocery store.
- Quick & easy. This delicious coffee creamer substitute is ready in less than 5 minutes.
- No special equipment needed. You don't need an espresso machine or really any fancy barista equipment to make this yourself at home.
- Cheaper & tastier than Starbucks. This cost-effective alternative to Starbucks is just as tasty, if not tastier than the real deal. You can add more or less sugar to suit your personal preferences.
- Easy to customize for different diets. It's quite easy to customize this recipe to suit your dietary preferences, whether that be dairy free or vegan, sugar-free, and low-carb. We've included instructions for substitutions in this post.
🥛Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Heavy cream - The base of the cold foam recipe.
- Milk - Whole milk is what we used for a creamy and delicious texture, but thins out the cream a bit.
- Powdered sugar - This will mix up very nicely in the cream and milk mixture, and doesn't require being turned into a vanilla simple syrup beforehand like granulated white sugar would.
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this sweet cream foam recipe.
- Lower calorie - You can swap whole milk for non-fat milk or skim milk. We don't recommend swapping the heavy cream, as that's the key to giving this recipe it's creamy and foamy texture.
- Low carb and sugar free - Use a powdered sugar replacement, we love Swerve confectioners, as a 1:1 swap for powdered sugar. You may also want to swap the milk for a low-carb milk (our favorite brand is Fairlife) in place of regular whole milk.
- Keto - Follow all of the steps for low-carb and sugar-free above, and be sure to use unsweetened nut milk that is very low in carbs instead of whole milk.
- Dairy-free or vegan - Feel free to use creamy oat milk, full-fat coconut milk, or soy milk in place of regular milk.
- Sweetener of choice - This recipe can easily be made with any sweetener you choose, including honey, maple syrup, agave, simple syrup, stevia, and other sugar replacements.
🔪Prep work
- Make sure your heavy cream and milk are very cold very beginning.
- Measure out all remaining ingredients.
📋Instructions
Add whole milk (Image 1) and heavy cream to a mixing jar or container. (Image 2)
Add in vanilla extract (Image 3), and powdered sugar (Image 4), then stir to combine (Image 5). You've now made your vanilla sweet cream.
You can stop right here if you'd like, and store the mixture in the fridge until it's time to use. This mixture can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
When you'd like to enjoy some, add 2-3 ounces of the vanilla sweet cream to a jar. (Image 6)
Use a handheld frother to froth the mixture for about 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened, but not totally whipped like cream. (Image 7)
✨Pro Tip: When frothing, keep in mind that the mixture should be a little thick, but still pourable.
Pour over iced coffee, or cold brew, and enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Sweeten to taste. The best part about making Starbucks drinks at home is that you can adjust the sweetness level according to your preference. Like things sweeter? Add more sugar! If you don't like things very sweet, add less, and add more little by little until you're satisfied with the result.
- Use powdered sugar or homemade vanilla syrup. Granulated sugar won't dissolve properly in the cold cream and milk, which will leave grainy bits in your drink. For best results, use powdered sugar or homemade simple syrup, or vanilla syrup.
- Don't over whip the cream and milk. You want to make sure the vanilla sweet cream is still pourable, not make whipped cream.
- Make sure the ingredients are kept super cold before frothing. This will help develop a nice foamy texture.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
We don't recommend fully preparing your coffee drinks ahead of time, the drink itself should be enjoyed mixed fresh.
As mentioned, the vanilla sweet cream can be made ahead of time. Store the vanilla sweet cream in an airtight container like a mason jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. Do not freeze!
The vanilla sweet cream can be added to drinks on its own as regular coffee creamer. Make sure to whip vanilla sweet cream right before serving if you want to make cold foam.
Certainly! You may prefer to make a vanilla syrup to have on hand to make your vanilla sweet cold foam at any time, or to make other drinks. It will keep for weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. Here's how to make it.
- Combine 1 cup of water with 1 cup of white sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sweetener.
- After the mixture has dissolved, remove from the heat, and stir in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste.
- Allow to cool completely before mixing it with milk and cream to make vanilla cold foam, then froth until desired texture is reached. Enjoy!
Definitely! Just combine cold brew with freshly whipped vanilla sweet cream to taste, and enjoy!
You can place your cold vanilla sweet cream in a mason jar and shake it up vigorously until nice foam forms. You can also simply use a whisk in a bowl.
More Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Cream Cold Foam Recipe
Equipment
- milk frother (can use a mason jar to froth milk as well)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (or to taste)
Instructions
- Start by making the vanilla sweet cream. Combine milk, cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in a mixing glass and mix with a spoon to combine. This can be used on its own without being frothed like coffee creamer.
- To make the cold foam, add 2-3 ounces of COLD vanilla sweet cream to a jar or mixing container. Use a handheld frother or whisk and mix for 1-2 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. It shouldn't be whipped cream but should thicken and still be pourable.
- Add to top your favorite iced coffee or cold brew. Enjoy!
- Store vanilla sweet cream in the fridge for up to 7 days in an airtight container. Don't froth and then store, only froth when you are ready to enjoy it. Do not freeze.
Notes
- One serving weighs roughly 2.25 ounces.
- The sweet cream should be sweetened to taste. Feel free to add more sugar to suit your personal preference.
- Make sure your vanilla sweet cream is COLD before frothing it!
- If you don't have a milk frother, use a mason jar and shake the mixture vigorously for about 1 minute, until it's nice and foamy. A whisk can also be used.
Tiffany Fletcher says
For Keto, could you just use all heavy cream in place of the whole milk?
Briana says
Hey Tiffany! Sure!
Tiffany Fletcher says
Thank you!