American
Cold Brew Iced Coffee with Vanilla Sweet Cream
Smooth, low-acid homemade cold brew poured over coffee ice cubes and topped with a cascading float of vanilla bean sweet cream.
- Smooth, low-acid coffee
- Coffee ice cubes, no dilution
- Real vanilla bean syrup
Cold brew is the easiest coffee you will ever make, and steeping it at home saves serious money over the coffee shop version. A long, slow steep in cold water extracts chocolatey, mellow flavor with far less bitterness and acidity than hot coffee. We freeze a little diluted cold brew into ice cubes so the last sip is as strong as the first. The real showstopper is the vanilla bean sweet cream, lightly frothed so it drifts slowly down through the coffee.
Instructions
In a large jar or pitcher, stir the coarsely ground coffee with 4 cups cold filtered water until all the grounds are saturated. Cover and steep at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours.
Strain the coffee through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a paper coffee filter or double layer of cheesecloth. Let it drip through without pressing on the grounds, which releases bitterness. You will have about 3 cups of concentrate.
Stir 1/2 cup of the concentrate with 1/2 cup of the cold water, pour into an ice cube tray and freeze for at least 4 hours.
For the vanilla syrup, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and combine the seeds and pod with the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes, until the sugar dissolves.
Remove the syrup from the heat, steep for 15 minutes, then remove the pod and cool completely.
In a measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream, milk, 3 tbsp of the vanilla syrup and a pinch of salt.
Froth the sweet cream with a handheld frother for 20 to 30 seconds, or shake it in a sealed jar for 45 seconds, until slightly thickened and foamy but still pourable.
Fill six glasses with the coffee ice cubes.
Add about 1/3 cup cold brew concentrate and 3 tbsp cold water to each glass, then stir in 1 to 2 tsp vanilla syrup, to taste.
Slowly pour about 3 tbsp sweet cream over the back of a spoon onto each drink so it cascades down through the coffee. Dust lightly with cinnamon and serve with a straw.
Test kitchen tips
- Use a coarse grind similar to breadcrumbs; a fine grind over-extracts and makes the cold brew muddy and hard to strain.
- The cold brew concentrate keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, the vanilla syrup for 2 weeks and the sweet cream for 3 days.
- For a dairy-free version, make the sweet cream with full-fat oat milk and a splash of canned coconut cream.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170
- Protein
- 1g
- Carbs
- 18g
- Fat
- 11g
- Fiber
- 0g
- Sugar
- 18g
- Sodium
- 35mg
Nutrition values are estimates calculated per serving. See our disclaimer.
