Calling all Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam lovers! If you can’t get enough of this holiday drink, you’ll love this Starbucks copycat recipe. It’s made thick and creamy with just 3 ingredients and lightly sweetened with my Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup. Pour this indulgent cold foam over your favorite iced coffee or cold brew and finish with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice!
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📋 About the Recipe
- Simple to make. If you own a handheld milk frother or a stand mixer, you can make your favorite indulgent cold foam right in your own kitchen!
- Cheaper than Starbucks. It is definitely fun to get a specialty coffee at coffee shops like Starbucks every once in a while, but it is no secret that it isn’t exactly cheap. Especially now, when specialty coffees are regularly over $5 a cup! Opt for making cold foam at home using better ingredients and make cold foam for less than half the price.
- Bonus cold brew recipe! If you’ve ordered the pumpkin cream cold foam at Starbucks, you’ll know they typically serve it over cold brew. In the notes section, I’ve included my favorite way to make cold brew at home for you to make a complete drink as well as how to make coffee ice cubes to prevent your coffee from becoming watered down.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Heavy cream - In order to make a thick and creamy cold foam, it is important to use a base that is higher in fat. If you attempt to substitute the heavy cream with a lower fat milk option, you are going to have a lot of difficulty getting it to the right consistency (chances are it won’t work at all).
- Milk - I like to add a couple splashes of milk to thin the cold foam out a bit. Unlike with the heavy cream, any milk will work here.
- Simple syrup - In order to make this cold foam pumpkin flavored, I use my pumpkin spice simple syrup. This helps give the cold foam a sweet pumpkin flavoring without weighing it down with pumpkin puree or another heavier ingredient.
- Cold brew - Cold brew does not go in the cold foam, but instead is the base of the drink. Pour the cold foam overtop your cold brew, or your favorite coffee drink of choice!
📓 Instructions
- Place pumpkin cold foam ingredients in a small jar. Stir gently to combine.
- Froth until creamy. Using a milk frother, blend the mixture until thick and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Start with coffee ice cubes. Then pour cold brew or iced coffee over top.
- Serve. Pour the pumpkin cream cold foam over the strong cold brew mixed with pumpkin spice simple syrup. Top with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice!
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- Make it in the stand mixer! Place pumpkin cold foam ingredients in a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Add all ingredients for the cold foam and whip on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes, or until thick and creamy. Serve over strong cold brew mixed with pumpkin spice simple syrup. Top with a dusting of pumpkin pie spice!
- Make your own pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have a premixed pumpkin pie spice in your spice cabinet, chances are you have everything you need to make your own mix. Gather up the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice.
- Heavy cream substitute: If you are out of heavy cream, try a can of coconut cream. Coconut cream is not as stable as heavy cream, but it does whip up into a similar thick and creamy consistency.
- Pumpkin spice simple syrup substitute: If you’d like to make a vanilla cream cold foam, substitute the pumpkin spice simple syrup with a vanilla flavored simple syrup.
- Cold brew substitute. If you prefer coffee beverages made with more milk, try pouring this Starbucks copycat cold foam over my Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte.
❄️ How to Store
Storage: Cold foam is best enjoyed immediately after whipping, but if you have leftover cold foam it can be stored in an airtight jar for 2 to 3 days. Before using again, it will need to be rewhipped into a thick and creamy texture again.
Freezing: Freezing pumpkin cold foam is not recommended.
🔍 FAQs
Although pumpkin cold foam is typically served over cold brew coffee, the cold foam itself does not contain any caffeine. If you prefer decaffeinated coffee drinks, serve this cold foam over decaf cold brew or decaf iced coffee and enjoy a caffeine-free fall treat.
The pumpkin cold foam ingredients used at Starbucks are listed on the Starbucks website in the nutritional information section. The main ingredients are cream, milk, pumpkin spice sauce, condensed skim milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla syrup, and natural flavors and preservatives. This homemade version is much simpler and uses minimal ingredients.
Although cold foam looks somewhat like whipped cream and both are made with similar ingredients, cold foam and whipped cream are not the same. Whipped cream is stiffer and will form stiff peaks when you are making it at home. Cold foam is thick and creamy, but it remains pourable. If you like whipped cream, you will like cold foam!
💭 One More Tip
Use chilled cream. It is easier to whip cold cream into a thick and creamy consistency if you start with it chilled. It also helps to use cold equipment (a cold glass jar or a cold mixing bowl). This will allow the cream to whip up faster and make a lighter cold foam.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam (Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
For Pumpkin Cold Foam
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin spice simple syrup
- pinch of kosher salt
For Serving
- 8 ounces strong cold brew coffee (1 cup)*
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice simple syrup
- ice
- pumpkin pie spice optional
Instructions
- OPTIONAL METHOD 1: In a small jar, add all ingredients for the cold foam. Give a gentle stir to combine. Using a milk frother, blend the mixture until thick and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- OPTIONAL METHOD 2: In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a bowl using handheld beaters), add all ingredients for the cold foam. Give a gentle stir to combine. Whip on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes, until thick and creamy but not a whipped cream.
- TO SERVE: Add ice to a cup. Top with 8 ounces cold brew and 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice simple syrup. Stir to combine. Spoon cold foam over top. Lightly dust the top of the foam with additional pumpkin pie spice, if desired.
Notes
- I like to use a vanilla flavored coffee to add extra flavor to the drink. However, regular coffee will work great too.
- *You can also use decaffeinated coffee. This will not change the taste.
- To make strong cold brew coffee: Add 1 cup coarse ground coffee to a cold brew maker. Pour in 5 cups of water. Brew overnight or at least 12 hours. (This will make enough cold brew for about 5 drinks.)
- I used coffee ice cubes to prevent the drink from becoming watered down. To make coffee ice cubes: Brew a cup of strong coffee (or use leftover cold brew coffee) and let it cool. Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight.
- You can also dust the top of the drink with ground cinnamon, if you don't have pumpkin pie spice.
Nutrition
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