This post may contain affiliate links. This blog generates income via ads.
Make your own Salted Caramel Cold Foam Cold Brew Coffee right at home – it’s easier than you’d think! Combine a homemade caramel simple syrup with perfectly smooth cold brew coffee and top it all off with a sweet and salty whipped cold foam. Take that, Starbucks!
This homemade iced coffee has everything good going for it. Balanced cold brew coffee that isn’t bitter or biting. A caramel simple syrup that’s so easy to make. And a homemade cold foam that is equal parts soft, fluffy, sweet, and salty. It’s so good you’ll feel like a truly trained barista right at home.
Ingredients for this recipe
- Cold Brew Coffee
- Salted Caramel Sauce (store-bought or make your own!)
- Heavy Cream
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Flaky Sea Salt (Optional, but totally makes the drink, in my opinion!)
How to make cold brew coffee?
Making good quality cold brew coffee at home is super simple! All you need is coarse ground coffee beans, water, and at least 12 hours (all hands-off time).
My standard recipe for cold brew coffee is a 1:1 ratio of coffee grounds to water. For every ounce of ground coffee I use, I brew it with an equal number of cups of water. For example, if I have 3 ounces of ground coffee, I mix it with 3 cups of cold water. Then I set it in the fridge for at least 12 hours, up to 24, before straining and serving it.
For an in-depth look at my process for making cold brew, check out this post!
Homemade Caramel Simple Syrup
Simple syrups are a great way to add sweetness and flavor to coffee drinks (hot or iced!). You can use classic 5 minute simple syrup, vanilla simple syrup, I even make a pumpkin spice syrup with real pumpkin for coffee!
I love, love, love this homemade caramel simple syrup because it requires only two ingredients!
In a small saucepan combine equal parts caramel sauce and water. Stir together and cook until steaming. Remove from heat and store in the fridge until ready to use.
It’s that simple!
By adding a bit of water to a thick, sticky caramel sauce and turning it into a simple syrup we are able to mix it into the iced coffee and sweet cream more easily! Regular caramel sauce would just sit on the bottom of the glass and not mix into the cold brew coffee. No good!
Of course, if you don’t want to make your own caramel-flavored simple syrup for this iced coffee recipe you can use those store-bought simple syrups.
Making Salted Caramel Cold Foam Coffee At Home
- Make the cold brew. Again, refer to this post for an in-depth look at how I make mine. Of course, you can use your own method or even buy a cold brew coffee concentrate at the grocery store if you’d prefer!
- Make the caramel simple syrup. Two ingredients and less than fives minutes. So easy!
- Finally, make the salted caramel sweet cream. This recipe uses my favorite base sweet cream recipe and adds in the homemade caramel simple syrup for an extra caramelly kick.
- Add lots of ice to a glass. Then add a splash of the caramel simple syrup (about 1 – 2 ounces, depending on how sweet you like your coffee).
- Top off with cold brew coffee. If using a concentrate, you may want to add a bit of water to dilute it, as cold brew coffee is quite strong and very caffeinated!
- Whip the salted sweet cream. To make cold foam! I do this in a magic bullet blender, but you can do it with a small blender or milk frother.
- Top off the coffee. With the salted sweet cream cold foam, a drizzle of caramel sauce, and extra flaky sea salt.
Using other kinds of milk in cold foam
I have made many, many cold foam coffee recipes and have been bombarded with various methods of making sweet cream and cold foam. I like the combination of heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk best, but I know there are other variations out there.
You can use all heavy cream if you’d like, or a combination of heavy cream and whole milk, some people even use skim milk. I will say, in all the testing and trials I have done, my recipe yields a soft, pillowy top of sweet cream cold foam that gently floats on the top of the coffee in a pretty perfect way.
You can also forgo the whipping to create cold foam and just use the homemade sweet cream as a delicious coffee creamer!
Other Cold Foam Coffee Recipes
- Sweet Cream Cold Foam with Cold Brew Coffee
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew Coffee
- Irish Cream Cold Foam
- Peppermint Mocha Cold Foam
Watch the recipe video!
Salted Caramel Cold Foam Cold Brew Coffee
Equipment
- Small Saucepan
- Magic Bullet or other small blender
Ingredients
For the caramel simple syrup:
- ½ cup salted caramel sauce
- ½ cup water
For the salted sweet cream cold foam:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup caramel simple syrup
For the coffee:
- 1 cup cold brew coffee
- Salted caramel sauce for serving
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Instructions
For the caramel simple syrup:
- In a small saucepan, combine the ½ cup salted caramel sauce and ½ cup water, mixing until smooth. Cook over low heat until just steaming. Remove from heat, pour into a glass jar or other heatproof container, and set aside until cool. When cool, cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
For the salted sweet cream cold foam:
- Whisk together the 1 cup heavy cream, ½ cup sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and ¼ cup of the caramel simple syrup you just made until smooth. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
For the coffee:
- In a large glass filled with ice, add 1 – 2 ounces of the homemade caramel simple syrup (depending on how sweet you like your coffee). Add in the cold brew coffee (if using a cold brew coffee concentrate, you may want to add a splash of cold water to dilute, as it can be very strong) and stir to combine.
- Pour ¼ cup of the salted caramel sweet cream into your blender and blend for 8 – 10 seconds, or until thickened and fluffy. Spoon or pour onto the top of the coffee. Garnish with a drizzle of the salted caramel sauce and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt for serving, if desired.
Video
Notes
- The cold brew coffee, caramel simple syrup, and salted caramel sweet cream and be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to one week.
Emily says
I've tried many cold coffee recipes, this is the BEST cold coffee drink I've ever tasted!! Thanks for sharing this delicious drink!!!
Amanda says
Oh Emily that makes me SO HAPPY to hear! It's one of my favorites too! Thanks for making it <3
Lindsay says
I doubled this recipe to share with our book club of six and it was perfect! Everyone loved it - the cold brew made it so that it wasn’t too sweet. Will definitely make again!
Amanda says
I am so thrilled to hear that Lindsay! Thanks for making it 🙂