Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam (Starbucks Copycat)

Pumpkin cream cold foam made with real pumpkin puree, heavy cream, and warm spices, frothed in about a minute and poured over cold brew. One drink, three minutes, no simple syrup to make first.

Most copycat versions will skip using real pumpkin. They use a pumpkin-flavored simple syrup you have to make first, which means the recipe is two recipes and one of them happens the day before. Mine uses a tablespoon of real pumpkin puree straight from the can, and it takes three minutes start to finish.

Pumpkin cream cold foam is a sweetened, frothed cream poured over cold brew coffee. This version blends heavy cream, almond milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, and vanilla into a thick pourable foam using a handheld frother. I like to pour it over cold brew with a dusting of spice on top.

I originally posted this in August 2024, and it’s the drink I make in the fall instead of paying nearly $10 for one at the coffee shop. One reader put it better than I did: Jenna left a comment saying “Just like Starbucks!!” and that’s the whole review I needed.

For the rest of the copycat lineup, I’d also make my Pumpkin Coffee Syrup, my Copycat Iced Caramel Macchiato, and my 30 Homemade Starbucks Copycat Recipes roundup.

Ingredients You’ll Need

(Amounts are in the recipe card below. These are my notes on why each one is in there.)

• Heavy whipping cream: the fat is what lets this hold a foam. Low fat milk on its own will froth into bubbles that collapse in about ten seconds, so this one isn’t negotiable.
• Almond milk: a splash to thin the cream so the foam stays pourable instead of setting up like whipped cream. Any milk works.
• Pumpkin puree: one tablespoon, and check the can lists pumpkin as the only ingredient. Pumpkin pie filling is pre-sweetened and will throw the balance off.
• Pumpkin pie spice: a quarter teaspoon in the foam, plus more dusted on top at the end. The dusting is not decoration, it’s where most of the aroma comes from.
• Sugar free vanilla syrup: sweetness without adding more sugar on top of the brown sugar. Regular vanilla syrup works, it’ll just be sweeter.
• Brown sugar: two teaspoons, and this is the only real sugar in the foam. Maple syrup swaps in one for one.
• Vanilla extract: a quarter teaspoon, and it’s the thing that makes the foam taste finished rather than like sweetened cream.
• Cold brew: the base. Chilled French press coffee works, or any bottled cold brew.

What You Need to Froth It

A handheld milk frother, the cheap battery-powered kind. That’s the only piece of equipment that matters here.

If you don’t have a frother, you have two options. Put everything in a small jar with a tight lid and shake it hard for a minute or two, which works but gives you a looser foam. Or use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium for about five minutes, which gives you the thickest result but dirties a whole bowl for one drink.

How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam

1. Add everything except the cold brew to a tall narrow cup. Narrow matters, because a wide cup spreads the liquid too thin for the frother to catch it.
2. Froth for about a minute. It builds gradually, thin at first and then suddenly thick. Stop when it holds a soft ripple on the surface.
3. Fill a glass with ice and pour in the cold brew.
4. Pour the foam over the top slowly so it sits on the coffee instead of sinking through.
5. Dust with more pumpkin pie spice and drink it before the layers merge.

Substitutions That Work

• Dairy free: swap the heavy cream for full fat canned coconut cream or other plant-based heavy cream.
• No pumpkin pie spice: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves. Or just cinnamon, which is less accurate but nobody has ever complained.
• Different coffee: use pumpkin cream cold foam on iced coffee, a chai latte, or an iced espresso. One of my readers puts it on chai, and that is a must-try.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why won’t my cold foam thicken?

Almost always the cream isn’t cold enough, or the container is too wide. Use cream straight from the fridge and a tall narrow cup or jar, and give it a full minute. If it still won’t hold, you’re likely using a lower fat milk in place of the heavy cream.

Is cold foam the same as whipped cream?

No. Whipped cream is whipped to stiff peaks and holds its shape. Cold foam is frothed only until thick and stays pourable, which is why it sits on top of coffee in a layer instead of as a dollop.

Does pumpkin cream cold foam have caffeine?

The foam itself has none. All the caffeine comes from the cold brew underneath, so pour it over decaf cold brew and you have a caffeine free version with no other changes.

How to Store Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam

Make it fresh. It only takes three minutes.

If you do have extra, it keeps covered in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, but it will separate and deflate as it sits. Re-froth it for twenty seconds before pouring and it comes back most of the way. Don’t freeze it, the cream splits and doesn’t recover.

If you’re making these daily through pumpkin season, scale the foam up four or five times, keep it in a jar, and re-froth a portion each morning.

More Starbucks Copycats You’ll Like

• Pumpkin Coffee Syrup
• Copycat Iced Caramel Macchiato
• Starbucks Iced Sugar Cookie Latte
• Copycat Starbucks Chai Tea Latte
• 30 Homemade Starbucks Copycat Recipes

If you make this, leave a star rating and a comment below and tell me what you poured it over. And if you post it, tag me @basicswithbails or use #basicswithbails.