Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam

Skip the coffee shop and save tons of money by learning How To Make Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam at home! This homemade copycat Starbucks cold foam recipe adds delightfully rich flavor and a dramatic ombré effect to any iced coffee or tea drink that you add it to. 

⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

With inflation running rampant this year, I’ve dedicated myself to learning how to be my own barista to keep my budget in check. As it turns out, making coffee shop drinks at home (entirely from scratch!) is easier than you might think.

Aside from knowing exactly what’s going into your caffeinated bliss (i.e. no more artificial ingredients, preservatives, or colors), there’s also no more absurd upcharges for wanting to use plant-based or organic milk — HOORAY!

Once you make a batch of this sweet cream cold foam, you can easily make a copycat Starbucks vanilla sweet cream cold brew by adding a dollop to your favorite iced coffee drink, all for a fraction of the cost you’d pay in shop. 

Aside from being rich, delicious, and a superbly convincing dupe for the coffee shop favorite, this vanilla sweet cream cold foam recipe is:

• Budget-Friendly. Going to Starbucks and ordering a grande vanilla sweet cream cold brew will cost you just shy of $4 before tax and tip. Making it at home costs just over a dollar per serving. Put the tip you would’ve paid in your piggy bank because you earned it!
• Quick & Easy. Stir together the vanilla sweet cream ingredients and keep it in the fridge for when a coffee craving strikes. To turn it into cold foam, simply froth it up with your hand frother and add to your iced beverage. All in, you won’t spend more than about 3 minutes of active time to make this Starbucks favorite at home.
• Made With Just 3 Ingredients, and they’re all easy to procure!

🍴Ingredients

As promised, this sweet cold foam recipe requires just 3 simple ingredients. Here’s what to grab at the grocery store:

• Heavy Cream - Slightly lower fat whipping cream will also work. 
• 2% Milk - Surprisingly, lower fat milks tend to make better cold foam. In fact, if you order a plain cold foam-topped drink from Starbucks, it’s typically made from only 2% cold milk! Feel free to swap in either non-fat, skim milk or whole milk depending on what you have on hand.
• Vanilla Syrup - I prefer using my homemade vanilla syrup because it is made with just sugar, water, and vanilla and backs a ton of vanilla flavor and delightful sweetness. Feel free to swap in your favorite store-bought brand for convenience or add some vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to your simple syrup to heighten the flavor of your vanilla cream. 

⏲️ Substitutions & Variations

While this copycat Starbucks vanilla sweet cream cold foam is delightful and delicious, there’s plenty more flavors and customizations to explore. Here are a few of my favorite variations:

• Swap in a different flavor syrup. Vanilla is great and all, but you can also make cinnamon, lavender, honey, brown sugar, turbinado syrup, or dang near any other flavor sweet cream you can think of! Or add a few homemade coffee ice cubes for some extra caffeine!
• Make it vegan by swapping in canned coconut cream (NOT sweetened cream of coconut) and your favorite plant-based milk.
• Put it on a hot drink like a caramel macchiato for fun temperature contrasts.

⚒️ Equipment

While some coffee shop-style drinks require a bit more barista gear, I’m happy to report that this sweet cream foam isn’t one of them. All you’ll need to grab is:

• Mason Jar - Or any other lidded airtight container or large jar for keeping your unfrothed vanilla sweet cream in the fridge.
• Milk Frother - I love my little $10 handheld frother because it does the job of blending without taking up precious counter space in my apartment kitchen. If you’re ready for a splurge, you can also purchase a countertop milk frother that’ll make both hot or cold foam at the touch of a button for about $40. If you don’t want a unitasker like an electric milk frother in the kitchen, try using an immersion blender instead - or shake the ingredients in a small jar!

📖 Step by Step Instructions

Once you learn how to make Starbucks cold foam at home, you’ll never want to go back to paying for it! Here’s how it’s done:

Step 1: Make Vanilla Sweet Cream. Add ingredients into a jar and stir to combine. Store in the fridge until you are ready to froth. 

Step 2: Make Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam. Add about 3 tablespoons* of the sweet cream mixture into a glass or pitcher with tall sides. Using a handheld milk frother, froth ingredients together until thick and foamed, about one minute making sure to move the frother to the bottom, top and sides of the vessel. 

Step 3: Add To Iced Coffee. Top your cold beverage like a glass of cold brew, iced americano, iced cold coffee, or even iced tea with a generous dollop of the vanilla cold foam. Just like at Starbucks, most of the froth will float on top, but some of the sweet cream will leech into your coffee for a beautiful, streaky, ombré look.

👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips

• Make the vanilla sweet cream mixture ahead to save time in the morning. All you’ll need to do is froth it!
• Pour the cold foam on top of your iced drink for the prettiest presentation.
• Make a big batch of your own homemade simple syrup or your own homemade vanilla syrup to add to all kinds of morning coffee beverages.

💭 Recipe FAQs

More Coffee House Favorites