March 14, 2020 · Updated August 23, 2023

Whipped Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam with Cold Brew Coffee

Name: Whipped Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam with Cold Brew Coffee
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 cup 2% milk; ¼ cup vanilla simple syrup; 1 TBSP Vanilla Simple Syrup; 8 ounces Cold Brew Coffee

4.11 from 139 votes

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· by Amanda Gajdosik

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Welcome to your ultimate guide to making Starbucks whipped vanilla sweet cream cold foam at home! You’ll find all the tips, tricks, and methods for making that whipped, fluffy cold brew coffee topping right in your own kitchen – with or without a milk frother! It’s a perfect pairing for homemade cold brew coffee. And ready in less than 5 minutes!

A glass filled with cold brew coffee and vanilla sweet cream cold foam sits on a white marble tray.

Learn the difference between cold foam, vanilla sweet cream, and vanilla sweet cream cold foam to make your own Starbucks dupe recipes whenever the craving strikes, no drive-thru trip required!

A tall glass is filled with cold brew coffee topped with vanilla sweet cream cold foam and has a straw in the glass.

Cold Brew Coffee + Vanilla Syrup + Homemade Sweet Cream Cold Foam = the only iced coffee drink you’ll need. No trip to Starbucks required!

Ingredients for this recipe

Cold Brew Coffee
Vanilla Simple Syrup
Homemade Vanilla Sweet Cream (we turn this into cold foam!)

Ingredients for whipped cold foam coffee are on a marble backdrop in various measuring cups.

How do you make this delicious cold foam coffee?

This is just a brief overview. Find the full, detailed instructions in the recipe card below!

Fill a glass up with your favorite vanilla-flavored syrup and cold brew coffee.
Whip up a batch of homemade vanilla sweet cream.
Turn that sweet cream into cold foam using a blender, whisk, hand mixer, or milk frother.
Top the vanilla-flavored cold brew with the sweet whipped cold foam.

A hand pours vanilla simple syrup into a glass filled with ice. — Add vanilla syrup to a glass with ice.

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

If you didn’t know, cold brew coffee is coffee that is brewed with, you guessed it, cold water! It’s a slightly time intensive, but very simple process that leads to a smoother, less acidic, slightly sweet brew that’s perfect over ice.

A hand pours cold brew coffee into a glass filled with ice on a white marble tray.

Cold brew coffee is made by combining coarsely ground coffee and water and letting it steep in the fridge overnight. It's then strained of grounds and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

You can either buy a bottle from the grocery store, or make a batch of your own. I have a great recipe for homemade cold brew coffee that's easy as can be!

What is Starbucks Cold Foam?

Cold foam is a cold brew coffee topping that is made by whipping 2% milk (or any milk of your choosing) in a fancy, schmancy Starbucks-specific blender at their stores. There’s no fancy flavors or sweeteners in standard cold foam.

Per my friends that have been baristas and employees that have commented on my posts, I know that the blenders used by Starbucks for cold foam are the Vitamix The Quiet Ones with the fancy Air Disc Containers that help turn plain cold milk into a fluffy whipped topping for iced drinks.

What is vanilla sweet cream?

Vanilla sweet cream is a combination of equal parts 2% milk and heavy cream that gets flavored with vanilla simple syrup.

It’s essentially a vanilla-flavored coffee creamer and can be used in hot or iced coffees. Starbucks traditionally meant it to be served with their cold brew or nitro cold brew coffees.

I have an entire post outlining how to make a homemade vanilla sweet cream cold brew should you want a total breakdown!

What is vanilla sweet cream cold foam?

So if we now know what cold foam is and what vanilla sweet cream is, I’m betting you can guess what vanilla sweet cream cold foam is!

That’s right, vanilla sweet cream cold foam is regular vanilla sweet cream that has been whipped to a delicious, fluffy frenzy. It makes a perfectly pillowy top for homemade cold brew coffee or even a brown sugar shaken espresso.

The combination of 2% milk and heavy cream can be whipped up to thick and fluffy perfection in a variety of ways. It doesn’t matter if you have fancy equipment or not, I’ve outlined every way to make this sweet cold brew coffee topping. Read on for the run down!

Making vanilla sweet cream cold foam with a machine milk frother

If you have an automatic milk frother that has a cold option, such as a Nespresso Aeroccino frother, here’s how to use it to get vanilla sweet cream cold foam at home:

Place ½ cup sweet cream in the frother and press the cold foam function.
When the cycle is through, top your glass of sweetened cold brew coffee with the whipped sweat cream.

Use your frother on the "cold foam" function.

Making vanilla sweet cream cold foam with a handheld milk frother

Now let’s say you only have one of those little handheld milk frothers (Which I love! They’re so affordable.) and want to make cold foam:

Place ½ cup vanilla sweet cream into a glass or mason jar. Lower the handheld frother into the cream and power it on.
Let it whip the mixture for 10 – 20 seconds, or until thickened. Slowly move the handheld frother up out of the cold foam, powering it off when it is at the top of the foam.
Pour the cold foam over your drink and enjoy!

Begin whipping the cold foam with a handheld frother.

Making Cold Foam Without a Milk Frother

If you’re not dishing out thousands of dollars on a Vitamix, but you happen to have a powerful full-sized or hand-held blender in your kitchen, you can still enjoy homemade sweet cream cold foam!

Add ½ cup homemade vanilla sweet cream to the blender and blend on high for roughly 10 seconds.
Be careful not to overwhip as you can actually re-liquefy heavy cream if you whip it too fast for too long (it sounds crazy, but it’s true!).
Uncover the blender and serve as desired.

Place the vanilla sweet cream in a blender.

This is a great method to employ if you want to enjoy flavored cold foam recipes - like my pistachio cream cold brew.

How to make Starbucks sweet cream cold foam by hand with a whisk

Now this section might get a little controversial. You have been warned!

I’ve developed a way to get the thickest, most luxurious vanilla-flavored cold foam that can be whipped by hand with a whisk BUT it is not an exact dupe for the Starbucks vanilla sweet cream recipe.

I use this method in my pumpkin cream cold foam cold brew, salted caramel cream cold foam cold brew, Irish cream cold foam, and peppermint mocha cold foam recipes! I love them and so do other readers! So don’t knock this method until you try it.

To make vanilla sweet cream cold foam by hand combine the following:

1 cup heavy cream
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

This mixture can be made and stored in the fridge until ready to use, just like my classic vanilla sweet cream recipe.

When ready to turn this into cold foam by hand with a whisk place ½ cup of the mixture into a shallow bowl and whisk vigorously for 45 - 60 seconds.

A hand dollops a spoonful of homemade vanilla sweet cream cold foam into a glass of iced cold brew coffee. — Whisk the vanilla cream dupe by hand.

Serve this just as you would the regular vanilla sweet cream cold foam. (FYI, you can also whip this mixture in the blender or with a handheld milk frother!)

Other Homemade Cold Foam Recipes

Watch the recipe video!

A glass filled with cold brew coffee topped with vanilla sweet cream cold foam sits on a marble serving tray.

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4.11 from 139 votes