Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam Coffee

Pumpkin cream cold foam cold brew layers a thick pumpkin spiced cream over iced cold brew, the kind of drink you’d normally queue for. The foam sits on top instead of mixing in, so every sip starts sweet and finishes with straight coffee. Five minutes gets you there, most of it spent waiting for the blender.

Amanda Gajdosik builds her version around sweetened condensed milk instead of simple syrup, which thickens the cream while it sweetens it at the same time. That one swap means you skip a separate syrup step entirely and the foam holds its shape on top of the coffee far longer than a thinner mix would.

The foam only turns fluffy if you pulse it in short bursts rather than running the blender straight through. Too few pulses and the cream stays loose, pooling into the coffee instead of floating. Too many and the fat in the cream starts to separate, turning the texture grainy instead of light.

Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam Coffee

Recipe by PaulaCourse: Drinks

Servings

4

servings

Cooking time

5

minutes

Calories

183

kcal

This copycat pulls together in one bowl of pumpkin spiced cream and a blender, no barista shift required. The leftover cream keeps in the fridge for a week, so one batch covers several mornings of coffee.

Ingredients

• 1 cups heavy whipping cream

• 0.5 cups sweetened condensed milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
  

• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

• 8 fluid ounces cold brew coffee

Directions

• Make the pumpkin cream: Whisk together 1 cups heavy whipping cream, 0.5 cups sweetened condensed milk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Whisk in 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
• Chill the cream: Cover and place the cream in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Build the iced coffee: Fill a glass with ice and add the 8 fluid ounces cold brew coffee. For a sweeter coffee, add a splash of pumpkin spice or vanilla simple syrup if desired.
• Blend the cold foam: In a blender, pulse 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pumpkin cream for a few seconds until fluffy and thick.
• Top and serve: Top the iced coffee with the pumpkin cream cold foam and sprinkle with extra pumpkin pie spice if desired.

Notes

• Serving size 1/4 cup foam: 183 kcal, 8g carbs, 2g protein, 16g fat, 6g sugar. Pumpkin cream can be stirred straight into coffee like regular creamer if you’d rather skip the blender. A whisk or hand-held frother also works. Leftover cream keeps covered in the fridge for up to a week.

FAQs

Why did my cold foam sink instead of float?

Foam sinks when the cream underneath is too thin, usually from under pulsing or from using cream that wasn’t cold enough going in. Cold cream traps air better than room temperature cream, which is what gives the foam its lift. Chill your cream and blender jar for a few minutes before you start if your kitchen runs warm.

Can I make this with regular hot coffee instead of cold brew?

The pumpkin cream works over hot coffee too, though the foam melts faster since it’s sitting on heat instead of ice. Cold brew’s lower acidity also plays better against the sweetness of the condensed milk than a hot drip coffee would. If you go hot, pour the foam on right before drinking rather than letting it sit.

How long does the pumpkin cream actually stay thick in the fridge?

The cream holds its texture for about a week if kept covered and cold, though it firms up more by day five or six. That extra firmness actually helps once you blend it, since a thicker starting cream turns to foam faster. Give it a quick whisk before scooping out your next batch, since the spice can settle toward the bottom.

Do I need a blender, or will a milk frother work?

A hand held milk frother gets you most of the way there, though it takes a bit longer to reach the same thickness as a blender. The motor on a small blender or NutriBullet moves more air into the cream in a few seconds flat. If you’re doing this daily, a frother is the easier tool to keep on the counter.

Why does my foam taste more like cream than pumpkin?

This usually means the pumpkin puree got mixed in but never fully worked through before you whisked in the spice. Pumpkin puree is dense and can hide at the bottom of the bowl if you rush the first whisk. Give the cream base a full minute of whisking before you add the spice, so the flavour spreads evenly.