How To Make Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam (Starbucks Copycat)

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I love me some Starbucks--especially a smooth and delicious cold brew with that velvety vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top.

What I don't love, however, is shelling out $6 every time I get a craving.

So what did I do? I made my own copycat vanilla sweet cream cold foam at home of course!

It may sound difficult, but trust me, this is one of the easiest recipes ever and it only takes seconds to make. All you need is milk, cream, vanilla syrup, and your favorite cold brew coffee!

You can make your own homemade vanilla syrup if you want (recipe below), but if you're short on time you can buy it at the store.

I'm telling ya, once you've made your own sweet cream cold foam, you'll never need a Starbucks again!

What is Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam?

Vanilla sweet cream cold foam is a combination of milk, heavy cream, and vanilla syrup blended (or frothed) until thick and creamy. At Starbucks they use a high powered blender to whip up the mixture into a foam.

The consistency is almost the same as whipped cream, but a little lighter. It's delightfully sweet, and adds a touch of vanilla flavoring to your iced beverages.

Starbucks Cold Foam, Sweet Cream Cold Foam, and Sweet Cream-What are the differences?

What is Cold foam?

The cold foam that you see at Starbucks is nonfat milk that is put through a special machine and whipped/frothed at high speed. It's whipped cold and is not sweetened or flavored typically.

What is Sweet Cream?

The sweet cream is a blend of heavy cream, milk, and vanilla syrup that's just poured into cold brew coffee for sweetness and creaminess. It's not frothed--it's like a coffee creamer essentially.

How is Sweet Cream Cold Foam different?

Vanilla sweet cream cold foam is the best of both worlds. The cream and vanilla sugar syrup from the sweet cream is combined with low fat milk and frothed at high speed, just like the cold foam. This makes a delicious light and airy foam, that is slightly sweet, with a touch of vanilla in every sip.

Sources for the above info are from the Coffee At Three Blog and Starbucks.

How To Make Homemade Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam

Makes enough for 1 16oz iced coffee

Ingredients for this recipe:

• 2 tablespoons of 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla syrup (recipe below) + more to taste
• Your favorite iced or cold brew coffee

Instructions:

Combine the milk, cream, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla syrup into a jar or cup.

Using your handheld frother, whip the mixture for about 50-60 seconds until the sweet cream is thick and creamy and has about doubled in volume.

If you're using a countertop frother, you'll combine all the ingredients into the frother, and just whip per the unit's instructions.

Fill a 16 oz glass or mason jar with ice and fill almost to the top with coffee. Remember to leave some room for the foam!

If you like your coffee sweet, add a little extra vanilla syrup at this point.

Spoon the foam over the top of the cold brew coffee and enjoy!

Homemade Vanilla Syrup:

Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract. Allow syrup to cool completely before using. Store leftovers in the fridge. Makes 1 ½ cups.

What tools do I need to make the foam?

For this recipe, I used an inexpensive handheld milk frother. It's light, small, and worked really well for this purpose.

I've also read that folks use a french press for frothing! You just need to plunge the sweet cream about 30-40 times for the perfect froth!

If you have a countertop frother you can use that as well. Just add all ingredients to your machine and froth on the cold setting.

Making your Cold Foam Without a Frother

I've whipped this foam by hand with a whisk. It does take about 5 minutes of vigorous whisking to get enough air into it, but you can just count that as a workout for the day!

To make it super, duper simple, you can put your milk, cream, and syrup into a jar and just shake vigorously until thick and creamy!

Recently I've discovered that a Nutribullet does not work well for making this foam. I'm thinking the blades cut through the mixture too much to allow it to thicken properly.

Tips for making the best sweet cream cold foam:

• I really like using 2% milk vs whole milk for this recipe. I find that whole milk causes the foam to separate. It still tastes great, but you lose that velvety texture over time.
• If you're using a countertop milk frother, make sure your machine is set to the "cold" setting.
• Ensure all your ingredients are cold for the best frothing results.
• Experiment with different flavored syrups! Flavorings like cinnamon, lavender, caramel, and peppermint would all be delicious additions to your cold foam!

Other Starbucks Copycat Recipes:

Starbucks Copycat Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Better Than Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones (petite and full size versions)

Tools you might need:

Handheld Frother

Vanilla Syrup