Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float Recipe

Looking for a creative twist on the classic root beer float? A Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float is a perfect remix, with creamy vanilla ice cream and chilled Dr. Pepper soda poured over it.

An ice cream float is such a great dessert since it’s an easy recipe, and everybody loves them!

When I, Rebecca, make Dr. Pepper Vanilla Floats for my kids, they think it’s the best treat ever.

And I’m happy because there’s so little work and mess involved when serving soda floats!

Dr. Pepper is a Coca-Cola product, and for a few years, they made a flavor called Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float.

And though it was a limited edition and isn’t available anymore, you can definitely get a similar flavor by using regular Dr. Pepper in an ice cream float!

This is a fun twist on the classic root beer float recipe and salted caramel pretzel float.

Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float Ingredients

Vanilla bean ice cream — Store-bought or make your own homemade no-churn ice cream

Chilled Dr. Pepper

Whipped cream — Store-bought, or see our easy recipe below

How to Make a Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float

1 — Place 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream into a 12-ounce glass.

2 — Pour the chilled Dr. Pepper over the scoops of ice cream.

It will create quite a lot of foam, so you may need to let it settle before adding all of the soda.

3 — Add the whipped cream topping, then serve with a straw or spoon.

Topping the Float

Once you’ve poured the Dr. Pepper soda over the ice cream, you’ll want to top your float with fluffy whipped cream.

You can use the premade kind that comes in a can (it’s sometimes called dairy whipped topping), or you can easily make your own whipped cream!

How to make the homemade whipped cream:

With a hand mixer, beat 1 cup of whipping cream, 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until it is thick, fluffy, and holds its shape on a spoon.

Spoon it over the top of the floats, or pipe it on with a piping bag and star tip.

 

Dr. Pepper Float Flavors and Variations

— Dr. Pepper is far from a plain soft drink since it has 23 flavors, including almond, vanilla, blackberry, apricot, and a lot more.

But if you want an added little punch of flavor, Dr. Pepper Cherry goes very well with vanilla ice cream and makes for a great vanilla float!

— You can use chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla if you prefer it! Or make a boozy version with Bailey’s ice cream.

Do I Need to Chill Dr. Pepper?

You can use room temperature soda for the Dr. Pepper Vanilla Floats, but there are a couple of reasons that chilled is better.

First, cold soda will make the ice cream melt more slowly.

Second, it creates little pockets of Dr. Pepper and ice cream that have frozen together into delicious, creamy icey bits.

Recipe Notes and Tips

— Chilling your glasses before filling them can help keep your float cold longer.

— When you first pour the soda over the ice cream, you’ll see a huge head of foam at the top of your Dr. Pepper float. This is caused by the carbonation in the soda, as well as Dr. Pepper releasing air bubbles from the ice cream.

The fat in the ice cream strengthens the bubbles, so they expand more and don’t dissolve as quickly as the bubbles in soda usually do.

More Frozen Treats

• Strawberry Ice Cream Bons Bons
• Frozen Chocolate Cookie Dough Sundaes
• Pina Colada Snow Cones
• Marbled Strawberry Coconut Popsicles

Don’t forget to share your Dr. Pepper Vanilla Float with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? You can find them all right here with a few cocktails to go along with them.

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