Name: Pumpkin cream cafe au lait
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 2 cups whole milk (or beverage of your choice - see notes!); 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1/2 cup pumpkin puree; 2-4 tablespoons sugar (see notes); 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt; 2 cups brewed coffee

Make your favorite fall coffee shop drink at home! Mix hot or iced coffee with a homemade pumpkin creamer to make a warm café au lait or cold brew treat. Make a big batch of the creamer to have on hand all week!

Pumpkin cream cafe au lait

Author: Mansee
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 drinks 1x
Category: Drinks
Method: Stovetop

Description

Make your favorite fall coffee shop drink at home! Mix hot or iced coffee with a homemade pumpkin creamer to make a warm cafe au lait or cold brew treat. Make a big batch of the creamer to have on hand all week!

Scale

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk (or beverage of your choice - see notes!)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2-4 tablespoons sugar (see notes)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
2 cups brewed coffee

Instructions

Combine 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons sugar (or more to taste), 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small pot.
Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking to incorporate everything. Let simmer gently for 2-3 minutes. Don't bring to a boil - you just want it to gently heat through.
To serve: Pour 1/2 cup pumpkin cream creamer in a glass and use a handheld frother to froth as desired. Pour 1/2 cup brewed coffee in mug, add a splash of vanilla syrup (if desired) and top with creamer. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon if desired!
To store: Pour cooled creamer in a glass bottle or airtight container. Will last in the fridge for one week.

Notes

You can use any kind of milk for this - notfat, almond, coconut, etc. For the best froth, I like to use either dairy milk or oat milk. The splash of heavy cream helps with this too! If froth doesn't matter to you, use whatever milk you prefer
To make this an iced drink, just use your favorite iced coffee or cold brew. You can froth the creamer cold too.
Add a splash of vanilla extract to the creamer if you'd like! Or even better, get some vanilla syrup and add to your finished drink for a real treat.

Is it really October, if every food blogger isn't sharing a pumpkin coffee?

Them's the rules, okay?!

I, like many of you, LOVE the pumpkin cream cold brew from Starbucks (Sbux please don't sue me). I actually prefer it to the classic, iconic PSL!

But the first time I had one, I immediately thought "this would be so much better hot." I like iced drinks, but I don't LOVE iced drinks like much of my generation.

So enter pumpkin cream...creamer! Make this beauty and then use it to make a café au lait (my fave - equal parts hot coffee and milk) or any kind of coffee drink you're into! It takes like 10 minutes to throw together and extra creamer will last in the fridge all week.

overhead of pumpkin cream coffee with pumpkin in small bowl

What you'll need

Milk: You've definitely got choices with this one. If you want your finished drink to be super creamy and frothy, I highly suggest using full-dairy. Either whole or 2% work perfectly. With that said, literally any milk will work for this! Almond, coconut, nonfat, oat - you name it, you can turn it into creamer. It'll still be delicious, just a slightly different texture.
Heavy cream: If you really want something creamy and decadent, the heavy cream is non-negotiable. Just a splash adds so much, and if you're someone who loves to froth your milk in coffee drinks, the heavy cream in here will help give you that velvety froth (kind of like melted whipped cream) that makes everything better.
Pumpkin puree: You got this. Avoid pumpkin pie filling, and just go for the straight puree.
Sweetener: I obsessively put maple syrup in everything these days, but any kind of sweetener works! Brown sugar is especially delicious. Even sugar substitutes like splenda or stevia will be fine. Just make sure whatever you use fully dissolves as your heating things up. As for the amount, use as much as you want! I don't like super sweet drinks, so I find a couple tablespoons fine for 2 cups of creamer, but you do you!
Spices: I love ground cinnamon, but OBVIOUSLY you can add some pumpkin pie spice in here too!
Salt: Just a pinch, but it makes a difference!

Just combine everything in a small pot and heat gently. Keep an eye on it as you don't want it to boil. Just simmer gently while you whisk to make sure the pumpkin puree incorporates and the sugar dissolves. And that's it! At that point you can use right away or store in the fridge.

To froth or not to froth?

pumpkin creamer being mixed in small pot

I LOVE using my little handheld frother here. I think it makes the finished drink creamier and (if I'm being honest) more fun to drink. You can use whatever you have to froth - a whisk, blender or anything else to mix a little air into it. With that said, frothing isn't necessary!

close up of pumpkin coffee in mug on small plate

The beauty of this is you can use this creamer just as it is - like an actual creamer! Just pour a little bit into your coffee of choice and it'll be great. For something a little more fun, see below:

To make the warm café au lait pictured, I like to pour about 1/2 cup of brewed coffee in a mug and top with 1/2 cup warm frothed pumpkin creamer. Sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon and sip away!
To make a fun iced drink, just use your favorite iced coffee or cold brew. Top with creamer.
For a latte: Use 1-2 shot of espresso and then top with either hot or cold creamer. Because the pumpkin cream creamer is mostly milk (vs. heavy cream), I never feel bad about drinking too much.

Happy pumpkin coffee season!!