Everyone knows and loves this soft, fluffy, and sweet topping. Sweet cream cold foam looks so soft, like a cloud, and tastes phenomenal on coffee and matcha. It has a cult following and continuously brings customers to coffee shops for their sweet treats. It may not be friendly to our wallets, though.

Luckily, it’s so easy to make cold foam at home and only requires 3 ingredients. This sweet cream cold foam recipe is super similar to Starbucks’ recipe, so save your money.

So, here’s how to make sweet cream cold foam at home!

What is Sweet Cream Cold Foam?

Sweet cream cold foam is a light and fluffy whipped cream topping used as a texture enhancer and sweetener for cafe-style drinks.

It was popularized by Starbucks in 2018 with its sweet cream cold foam cold brew series. I’m sure that cold foam must have originated somewhere else, but I can confidently say Starbucks brought the sweet, fluffy topping to the masses and it spread like wildfire. It’s Starbuck’s most popular topping add-on.

Fast forward just 5 years, and it’s now so popular that it’s practically on every cafe menu. From sweet cold foam, and cream tops, to einspanners, people simply cannot resist its delicious pull.

There’s something irresistible about something sweet and creamy! (Think: ice cream, pudding, whipped cream, custard…)

What is Sweet Cream Cold Foam Made Of?

Sweet cream cold foam is made of heavy cream, milk, and sugar. That’s it!

Sweet cream foam is basically whipped cream with milk: 3 parts heavy cream, 2 parts milk, and 1 part sugar. This ratio is important for the texture! It’s not too far off from being just whipped half and half, which is equal parts heavy cream and milk.

In addition to the basic ingredients, coffee chains, and baristas, like to add different flavors for flavored cold foam. Some popular flavors include vanilla, chocolate, lavender, brown sugar, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Is Sweet Cream Cold Foam Just Whipped Cream?

No, sweet cream cold form and whipped cream are not the same.

Sweet cream cold foam has milk in it whereas whipped cream is just heavy cream.

The milk helps the sweet cream be less rigid and easier to drink. Sometimes, whipped cream is hard to mix into iced drinks, and the fat tends to clump up and float at the top. Because cold foam is not as thick, it blends easily in drinks.

Food Science Break: Whipped cream is a foam stabilized by fat, which traps air when aerated. By adding milk, you are preventing the fat from trapping air to create a rigid foam, which makes sweet cold foam softer and more liquid.

Both cream cold foam and whipped cream taste the same, it’s the texture that makes them different.

How Many Calories Are in Sweet Cream Cold Foam?

Starbucks says that one serving of their cold foam is 110 calories.

From doing my own math, it’s pretty accurate:

• 1/4 cup of heavy cream has about 100 calories
• 2 tbsp of 2% milk has about 15 calories
• 1 tsp of sugar has about 16 calories
• Total: 131 calories

So, one serving of sweet cold foam will have around 130 calories. But the total calories in your drink depend on what is in your drink.

If you add sweet cold foam to a latte, you’ll probably be looking at around 300 calories

If you add it to cold brew, it will be around the same calories, about 130-150 (if you add sweetener).

Is cream cold foam the most healthy? No, but is it the most delicious? Yes.

How Does Starbucks Make Their Sweet Cream Cold Foam?

Cold foam from Starbucks has many people in a chokehold, and as such, many have shared their recipe for making it (specifically, ex-baristas; thanks Reddit.)

Starbucks sweet cold foam recipe uses 3 parts heavy cream, 2 parts milk, and 1 part syrup. So that could look like 3 tbsps heavy cream, 2 tbsp 2% milk, and 1 tbsp sugar.

The baristas blend all the ingredients in a blender until it is soft and fluffy. It should still be pourable and not stiff like whipped cream. The texture is similar to a liquid mousse or really thick smoothie.

And because of the added milk, it’s impossible to make whipped cream with the mixture.

Best Way to Make Cold Foam at Home

If you’re making a large batch for a party, make the cold foam in a blender! It’s super easy and you’ll make a large quantity fast. Even better if you store the cold foam in a pitcher so people can easily pour it out.

However, you don’t want to leave the sweet cream cold foam in the fridge overnight as it won’t hold its shape or texture. It will deflate and turn back into a liquid over time. To save it, you can always re-whip it.

So, if you’re just making it for yourself, an electric frother is the best way to make cold foam. It’s easy to make a single portion and also is easy to clean after.

You could also use an electric mixer or even hand-whip it yourself!

How to Make Sweet Cream Cold Foam

Here’s what you’ll need to make sweet cold foam at home!

• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp sugar

Sweet Cream Cold Foam Recipe

1. Add Ingredients. Measure out the heavy cream, 2% milk, and sugar, and add it to a cup or blender.
2. Whip Ingredients. Depending on how you want to whip the cold foam, whip the mixture until it’s soft and thick. The mixture will double in size and become fluffy. The cold foam should hold its shape and be pourable.
3. Store and Serve.

How to Make Cold Foam Without Heavy Cream

If you don’t have heavy cream, you can also make cream cold foam with half and half which already has cream in it. Since it has equal parts milk and cream, the cold foam won’t be as stiff as sweet cream cold foam and be looser.

You can also use oat milk or coconut milk to make cold foam as well! They tend to have more fat so when you whip or froth them up, they’ll also hold a nice foam.

You can also make cold foam with regular 2% milk, but it won’t have the same texture. It will be more velvet-like rather than creamy.

Canned Cold Foam

Remember how I said cold foam became incredibly popular? It’s now so popular that brands are even selling canned cold foam!

All the coffee brands have their line, from Dunkin, Coffeemate, International Delight, etc. Some are better than others, though.

Although it looks like canned whipped cream, the ingredients are slightly different. The canned cold foam will have milk in it while the canned whipped cream does not. As mentioned, the addition of milk makes the canned cold foam luscious and smooth, unlike whipped cream which is fluffy and thick.

However, I strongly recommend just making the cold foam by hand. It’s easy and you’ll know what’s going into your cream! Sometimes the canned creams aren’t even made of milk or cream, just sugar and oil. You can also sweeten it to your taste. Once you learn how to make cold foam, you’ll never go back!

Sweet Cold Foam Flavors

Honestly, plain sweet cream cold foam is just the tip of the iceberg. You can make so many different flavors of cold foam that will transform your drink! Here are some flavors I think you should try:

• Strawberry sweet cream
• Blueberry cold foam
• Chocolate cold foam
• Brown sugar cinnamon cold foam
• Vanilla sweet cream cold foam (Classic)
• Matcha cold foam
• Lavender cold foam
• Caramel cold foam
• Salted cream cold foam

Once you learn how to make sweet cold foam, so many new drinks unlock!

Tips:

Here are some tips for making a fluffy sweet cream cold foam at home!

• Tweak the Texture: If you want a runnier cold foam, use more milk. If you want a thicker cold foam, use more heavy cream. For thicker cold foam, you can also even try making just a cream top, which is just softly whipped cream.
• Cold Foam Not Whipping?: If your cold foam isn’t whipping correctly, make sure you’ve used more heavy cream than milk. More milk means your cream won’t whip up properly. It could also be your mixer or frother isn’t strong enough to incorporate air fast so swap it out with a stronger frother or whisk.