Taste: Make cold foam at home for a coffee house-style treat

Katherine Grandstrand
·3 min read
Cold foam blends quicker than whipped cream, but not quite as quick as creamer. It's the perfect addition to a cup of iced coffee on a hot summer day.
Cold foam blends quicker than whipped cream, but not quite as quick as creamer. It's the perfect addition to a cup of iced coffee on a hot summer day.

While I am of the mind that you can drink whatever temperature drink you’d like, no matter the weather or time of year, I am ever so happy that it’s iced coffee season.

Once reserved for trips to the fancy coffee shop, it’s easier than ever to have cold brew at home. From special cold brew contraptions to pre-made cold brew found in your grocery store’s refrigerator section, pouring up a tumbler of cold coffee has become much more accessible.

But not everyone enjoys the taste of cold, unsweetened, black coffee. That’s why I love sweet cream.

It’s just a simple blend of heavy whipping cream, milk and coffee syrup, but it really elevates a big cup of iced cold brew from tasting like 6 a.m. coffee at 6 p.m. to the $7 treat it is.

It’s a great option when a craving for something sweet strikes, but a heavier drink, like an iced latte, seems like too much.

I will go on record saying I prefer a pumpkin cream cold brew over a pumpkin spiced latte. It’s usually still pretty warm at the start of pumpkin spice season, and I think that fluffy foam on top is nicer than the heavy syrup used in the lattes.

Sweet cream is basically whipped coffee creamer, but where a lot of commercial coffee creamers are non-dairy, sweet cream uses the real thing. While they come in some pretty great flavors, non-dairy creamers have a little different texture than milk or cream.

Store-bought creamers are fairly sweet, which means either a sweetness overload for those who want to tone down their coffee, or they need to reach for milk and cream. Homemade sweet cream allows the maker to decide just how much sweetness ends up in their cup.

It’s kind of fun to make those coffee house-style drinks at home, putting a little extra care into that morning beverage, rather than just pouring whatever’s in the pot into your cup.

Not to mention, it saves a little money. Getting all the ingredients for sweet cream and a 48 ounce bottle of pre-made cold brew clocks in at under $16 at a superstore.

A 24-ounce cold brew with vanilla sweet cream cold foam on top is $5.45. Before tip.

Not that heading to the coffee shop is always a no go, but it’s nice for the wallet to keep that as a treat, rather than an everyday coffee.

Sweet cream cold foam

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons of 2% milk.

  • 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.

  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla syrup.

  • Iced or cold brew coffee.

Instructions

  • Combine the milk, cream and vanilla syrup into a jar, cup or bowl of a stand mixer.

  • Using a handheld frother, handheld mixer or stand mixer, whip the mixture for about 50 or 60 seconds until the sweet cream is thick and creamy and has about doubled in volume.

  • Fill two 16-ounce glasses or mason jars with ice and fill almost to the top with coffee. Remember to leave some room for the foam.

  • Spoon the foam over the top of the iced coffee and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Barefoot in the Pines at https://barefootinthepines.com/sweet-cream-cold-foam/.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Cold foam coffee can be made at home to save money