Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew (Starbucks Copycat)

Name: 📖 Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew (Starbucks Copycat)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 oz heavy whipping cream ((1/4 C)); 3 oz 2% milk ((1/4 C + 2 Tbsp)); 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup; 2 tsp pumpkin puree ((NOT pumpkin pie filling)); 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; ice; cold brew coffee; pumpkin cold foam

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If you love a Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew coffee to kick off the fall season, this easy Starbucks copycat recipe is for you! A delicious homemade pumpkin cold foam that’s packed with warm fall flavors is floated atop a big glass of cold brew coffee to create the ultimate fall coffee. It’s so good that you won’t even miss the Starbucks version!

close up of a homemade pumpkin cream cold brew, topped with a generous amount of homemade pumpkin cold foam and additional pumpkin pie spice.

You know I love DIY coffee recipes! This popular fall drink has taken the coffee-loving world by storm the past couple of years and for good reason. Smooth pumpkin foam adds just the right amount of pumpkin flavor and warm fall spices to your coffee, giving you all the warm and cozy feels.

This recipe has become a favorite fall drink to enjoy this time of year because sometimes pumpkin season often starts before the weather breaks and it’s just too darn warm for hot coffee. This easy recipe is the perfect drink for this transitional time, allowing you to enjoy fun fall flavors and a nice refreshing iced coffee too.

Making your own pumpkin cream is surprisingly easy, and a great way to use up some extra pumpkin puree you may have in your fridge from other recipes too!

Don’t bother with the lines at the coffee shop, and save some money by making this delicious pumpkin cream cold brew at home! Pair it with a 3-ingredient pumpkin muffin for the ultimate fall treat!

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What is Cold Foam?
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
How to Make Pumpkin Cold Foam
How to Use This Pumpkin Cold Foam to Make a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
Helpful Equipment
Recipe FAQs
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
📖 Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam Cold Brew (Starbucks Copycat)
More DIY Iced Coffee Recipes to Try

What is Cold Foam?

Cold foam is a super smooth and fluffy topping, often made from a combination of non-fat dairy milk and heavy cream, that floats on top of iced drinks. Unlike milk used in warm drinks, cold foam is frothed without the use of heat or steam.

Starbucks is credited with popularizing cold foam in the United States by serving it on top of a variety of iced coffees and cold brew coffee, like this vanilla sweet cream cold brew recipe.

Using cold foam on top of iced beverages creates a beautiful layered effect.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Simple ingredients. We use simple ingredients that will be easy to find at your local grocery store for this delicious cold coffee drink!

Bursting with the flavors of fall! The DIY pumpkin cream is so delicious and definitely gets you excited for fall. Packed with sweet pumpkin and warm fall spices, you’ll love this homemade cold cream.

Quick to make! It will take you less than 5 minutes to make pumpkin cream cold foam to float on top of your favorite cold brew coffee.

Ingredients Needed

A Combination of Milk and Heavy Whipping Cream. Mixing milk and heavy cream creates the perfect texture and density for cold foam so it floats perfectly on top of your cold brew. You can use skim milk or 2% milk (whichever your family usually has in your fridge). Starbucks uses a blend of non-fat milk with heavy cream to create their cold foam.
Vanilla Extract. Adding in vanilla extract to the cold foam adds a nice depth of flavor.
Pumpkin Pie Spice. Using pumpkin pie spice keeps things easy by having everything blended for you (so no need to pull out the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger to measure each spice separately). Pumpkin Pie Spice can be found in your grocery store’s spice aisle.
Pure Maple Syrup. Maple is a lovely compliment to the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, and naturally sweetens the cold foam.
Real Pumpkin Puree. You can used canned 100% pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree for your pumpkin spice cream. Do not use pumpkin pie filling!
Ice. Needed to keep your drink nice and cold.
Cold Brew Coffee. You can use homemade cold brew or store bought as your cold brew base.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

Change the spice profile: Add more or less pumpkin spice to your liking. You could also just use ground cinnamon if preferred!
Use vanilla syrup in place of the vanilla extract and maple syrup. If you have vanilla simple syrup in your fridge you use it in the cold foam if you’d like! Swap 1-for-1 with the maple syrup quantity, taste it, and adjust as desired.
Make it dairy free / vegan: If dairy is not part of your diet, replace the milk and heavy cream with the non-dairy milk of your choice. I recommend using oat milk for this option as I’ve had pretty good success frothing oat milk for hot coffees and believe the creaminess would work well in this pumpkin cold foam recipe. However you can also try almond milk, coconut milk, or other non-dairy alternatives if preferred. Please note non-dairy milks are generally not as creamy as dairy milk, which may result in a different foam consistency.

How to Make Pumpkin Cold Foam

Add all ingredients to a small bowl or mason jar, giving it a quick stir or whisk to combine.
Froth to turn the pumpkin cream into pumpkin cold foam with one of the following methods:
- Handheld milk frother. Move the frother up and down and around the bowl until the mixture has a stiff, foam-like texture (be careful not to splash… it happens!)
- Milk frother on the cool setting. Pour the pumpkin cold foam mixture into the basin of the frother to blend to a stiff, foam-like texture
- Use a blender. Please note, I’ve found this method to just be ok. You can also technically whisk your pumpkin cream mixture by hand into foam, but that would take quite some time. I would recommend investing in a handheld frother which can be found for under $20. I use mine almost every day.

6 image collage showing how to make homemade pumpkin cold foam.

How to Use This Pumpkin Cold Foam to Make a Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Select a serving glass and fill it about ⅔ full with ice and then cold brew coffee (homemade cold brew or store bought cold brew are both great options). Generously spoon pumpkin cold foam on top. Sprinkle a dash of extra pumpkin pie spice on top if desired. Sip and enjoy!

process shot showing pumpkin cream cold foam being spooned onto a tall glass of cold brew.

Helpful Equipment

Handheld Milk Frother -OR- Electric Milk Frother

Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between pumpkin puree vs. pumpkin pie filling?

Canned pumpkin puree, or 100% pure pumpkin, only contains cooked and mashed pumpkin whereas pumpkin pie filling contains cooked and mashed pumpkin with added flavors, spices, and sometimes added sugars. Using 100% pumpkin allows you to customize your dishes with the spices and sweetness level that you prefer. For this reason, 100% pure pumpkin puree should be used in this recipe.

Can I use pumpkin from my garden instead of canned pumpkin?

Of course! If you have pumpkins to bake and use, this is a great recipe to enjoy homemade pumpkin puree in.

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