How To Make Sweet Cream Cold Foam Way Better Than Starbucks!

A commonly asked question by coffee lovers and coffee enthusiasts at the start of their gourmet coffee making journey is how to make sweet cream cold foam.

It seems like everyone wants to know how to make those fabulously tasty toppings that add a two-tone look to your coffee and a very silky and creamy texture.

Keep reading to find out how to make sweet cream cold foam better than Starbucks with a unique “secret” ingredient.

What Is Sweet Cream Cold Foam?

In the simplest and most visual terms, sweet cream cold foam is a rich creamy velvet-like topping for cold brew coffee, iced coffee drinks and other cold coffee drinks.

It is designed to sit on top of your coffee and give a twin layered experience as you sip your drink, getting a mix of both cream and coffee creating a very different coffee experience with the addition of the flavor and texture that the sweet cream cold foam brings with it in addition to the taste of your cold brew coffee or iced coffee.

It’s made with heavy cream (also known as whipped cream), 2% milk in equal proportions and a tablespoon of cane sugar to make it sweeter than regular cold foam and has the consistency similar to that of yoghurt which is different from regular sweet cream which is thinner and more liquid with the consistency of melted ice cream.

Read: How to make flavored cold foam

How To Make Sweet Cream Cold Foam With Half And Half

Making sweet cream cold foam is very easy and requires little culinary skills or special equipment – although it is preferred that you have a high speed blender, a milk frother or better still a Starbucks Verismo Blender, which is bladeless and specifically made for making cold foam.

Failing that, you can use a cocktail shaker or your French press. For some reason or another, when your equipment is ice-cold and your milk is also ice-cold, it froths and foams better.

Ingredients Needed For Making Sweet Cream Cold Foam

To make sweet cream cold foam better than Starbucks all you need is 3 ingredients, or two ingredients plus my “secret” special ingredient for making your milk slightly thicker and with a better texture.

• 2% milk
• Heavy cream.
• Sweetened condensed milk (the secret ingredient).

Due to the condensed milk, you should not need to add cane sugar or simple syrup to sweeten your milk mixture.

The Instructions

Simply add all your ingredients together in a bowl using equal amounts of 2% milk, condensed milk and heavy cream and mix them together well. This is an additional step that I like to take to ensure that the solution is mixed together well without the use of a blender, milk frother or even the use of a French press to aerate the milk.

To froth your milk with a blender simply add your milk to your blender and blend for 25 to 35 seconds at a medium and then high speed until your sweet cream cold foam is nice and thick, with a similar consistency to yoghurt.

If you are using a hand blender or a handheld milk frother, don’t forget to move your blender or milk frother up and down through your milk to ensure a good quality even blending or frothing.

Simply add your sweet cream cold foam to your coffee and enjoy.

How To Make Sweet Cream Cold Foam With Vanilla Extract

To make a better tasting sweet cream and add a more exotic flavor to your coffee, you can make a vanilla sweet cream cold foam.

Of course, there is no limit to the flavors you can make sweet cream cold foam in – I’ll get to that in a moment.

Ingredients Needed

There are very few ingredients needed to make a delicious vanilla sweet cream cold foam with vanilla extract.

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

• 2 ounces (60 ml) 2% milk.
• 2 ounces (60 ml) Heavy Cream.
• 2 ounces (60 ml) Condensed milk.
• Tablespoon of cane sugar.
• 1 Tablespoon of Vanilla extract.

Add all your ingredients together in a fresh clean bowl and mix them well together. When ready, add your contents to your blender or Starbucks verismo cold foam blender. Blend the contents until you have a nice thick, yoghurt-like consistency.

Add it to your cold brew coffee or iced coffee and enjoy.

For a much better version and avoiding the use of sugary vanilla syrup, you can replace the vanilla extract with a vanilla pod.

Simply add your sliced and chopped vanilla pod to your 2% milk, heavy cream, and condensed milk mix and heat at a low temperature and slowly simmer while being careful not to overheat or boil your milk.

After a couple of minutes of simmering, test the flavor and when it has taken on the vanilla flavor of the strength that you desire, take it off the heat, filter out your chopped vanilla pods and let it cool down in your fridge until it is completely cold.

Add your milk to your blender and blend for 25 to 35 seconds until you get that nice thick yoghurt-like consistency and then add to your cold brew coffee or iced coffee drink and enjoy.

If you are a rather daring and exciting coffee lover, you switch out your 2% milk and use almond milk, oat milk and even coconut milk (please use the Barista versions for best results) and follow the same instructions as above and enjoy an almond milk, or oat milk, or coconut milk and vanilla sweet cream cold foam.

At Latte Love Brew we really want you to make the best possible cup of coffee.

Other Flavor Option For Sweet Cream Cold Foam

Of course sticking to just vanilla or doing what everyone else does and using a vanilla syrup for flavoring your sweet cream cold foam can get a little boring.

Here are some other flavor options and ideas using syrup.

• Chocolate Cream Cold Foam: Simply add 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) of chocolate sauce.
• Chocolate Mint Cream: Add 1 fluid ounce (30 ml) of chocolate sauce and 1 fluid ounce (30 ml) of mint syrup.
• Salted Caramel: Add 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) of salted caramel syrup.
• Caramel: Add 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) of caramel syrup.
• Irish cream: Add 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) of Irish cream syrup.
• Eggnog: Add 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) of eggnog syrup.
• Pumpkin Pie: Add 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) of pumpkin pie syrup.

This is where you get creative mixing the various types of milk available and experimenting with the whole range of possibilities as far as syrups and flavor extracts go.

Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam Calories

This rather decadent tasting coffee when served with cold brew coffee and a vanilla sweet cream cold foam topping as a tall drink has 12 grams of sugar and only 100 calories in total, making it well worth the cheeky treat for sticking to your diet.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make Sweet Cream Cold Foam

How Do You Make Cold Foam With Creamer?

It is very easy to make cold foam with coffee creamer. Simply use heavy whipping cream, condensed milk and liquid coffee creamer in equal amounts and blend in a high speed blender or milk frother for 35 to 45 seconds, or more if needed.

Sweeten with simple syrup if you need to. When it is ready, add it as a topping for your cold brew coffee.

What Is Starbucks Sweet Cream Cold Foam Made Of?

Sweet cream cold foam is made of 2% milk, heavy cream and a tablespoon of cane sugar at Starbucks. It is then blended at high speed in their special bladeless blender.

The exact brand of 2% milk, heavy cream and cane sugar used to the sweet cream cold foam at Starbucks is unknown, and it is unlikely that Starbucks will tell you as they don’t want anyone copying their drinks exactly.

The heavy cream used has a similar taste to whipped cream but is lighter and has a frothy and creamy texture. You can easily replicate their sweet cream cold foam by using the best possible ingredients and using their verismo blender (available from Walmart or eBay).

Their vanilla sweet cream cold foam contains and uses vanilla syrup to achieve the vanilla flavor.

Is Sweet Cream And Cold Foam The Same?

No. Both sweet cream and cold foam are very different and made in a slightly different way.

Cold foam is thicker and made with heavy cream to thicken up the milk a little more to help it achieve the goal of sitting on top of your coffee like a cloud.

Each sip you take will have a mix of your cold brew coffee and the cold foam. It is intentionally made thicker so that it does not drizzle into your coffee. It is not supposed to mix with your cup of coffee.

Sweet cream is lighter and slightly more liquid and is designed to mix slowly with your coffee as it slowly cascades and drizzles into your coffee drink. It is made without the use of whipped cream or any kind of heavy cream.

Can I Make My Own Cold Foam?

Yes, and thankfully it is very easy to make your own cold foam at home. It is not an absolute requirement that you have a handheld milk frother or blender of any kind. You can easily make your cold foam using your French press.

Simply add your ingredients to a bowl, mix them well and transfer to your French press. Fill your French press no more than 1/3 full as when you aerate your cold foam it will more than double in volume.

Pump your French press vigorously until it more than doubles in size and increases in consistency and thickness and is ready to be added to your iced coffee or cold brew coffee.

How Many Pumps Of Vanilla Are In Sweet Cream?

There is no set amount of the number of pumps of vanilla syrup to add to your sweet cream to make it a vanilla sweet cream cold foam. Add the amount required to get the taste that you enjoy.

Starbucks and their vanilla sweet cream use 3 pumps of vanilla syrup, which you can use as a guide.

Can You Use A Milk Frother To Make Cold Foam?

Yes, a regular handheld milk frother is ideal for making your own cold foam. When you are using it, move it around your milk.

evenly, including submerging it and moving it up and down through your milk.

What Is Sweet Cream Cold Foam Made Of?

Sweet cream cold foam is made with 2% milk, heavy cream and 2 to 5 pumps of vanilla simple syrup, depending on the drink size, to create a more profound flavor. 

What is Starbucks Sweet Cream Foam Made Of?

Starbucks makes their sweet cream cold foam with low fat milk (2% milk) and heavy cream in equal amounts. 2 to 5 pumps of vanilla simple syrup are added to provide a greater depth of flavor. 

Upon request, sugar-free vanilla simple syrup can be used. 

Final Thoughts – How To Make Sweet cream Cold Foam

If you have read this far and not just skimmed and skipped to the end of this article, you will know how to make sweet cream cold foam and are ready to make it better than what your local Starbucks outlet by adding condensed milk to the recipe for a slightly thicker, denser sweet cream cold foam.

All that you need to do now is to get making the coffee topping and add it to your coffee drinks and experiment with the various flavors, milks and a whole world of possibilities in terms of flavor combinations and different textures to add a new dynamic to your cold brew coffee.

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location