Brown Butter Frosting Recipe

Brown butter frosting is buttercream made with butter that has been cooked until its milk solids toast, then chilled and whipped with powdered sugar, cream, vanilla and salt. You need 1 cup of unsalted butter, 3½ to 4 cups of powdered sugar and 2 to 4 tablespoons of milk or cream. It is about 20 minutes of hands-on work plus 45 to 60 minutes for the browned butter to firm up in the fridge, and it frosts 24 cupcakes or one 9 inch layer cake.

The flavor is nutty and toffee-like, less sweet than plain vanilla buttercream, and the color is a pale caramel with tiny brown flecks. Those flecks are the toasted milk solids. Scrape every one of them into the bowl.

Brown Butter Frosting by the Numbers

• Butter: 1 cup (226g) unsalted, browned and chilled until soft but solid
• Powdered sugar: 3½ cups (420g) for spreading, up to 4 cups (480g) for firmer piping, sifted
• Liquid: start with 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream, up to 4
• Flavor: 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Time: 5 to 8 minutes browning, 45 to 60 minutes chilling, 4 to 6 minutes whipping
• Covers: 24 cupcakes or one 9 inch layer cake
• Keeps: 5 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer

How Brown Should the Butter Get?

Melt the butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat and keep stirring. A dark pan hides the color change, and that is how browned butter becomes burnt butter. First it melts, then it foams and crackles as the water boils off. When the crackling quiets down, watch the bottom of the pan.

Small specks will form and go from tan to the color of toasted hazelnut skins, and the smell turns nutty, like warm caramel and toast. That is the moment, usually 5 to 8 minutes in. Pull the pan off the heat a few seconds early, because the hot metal keeps cooking the specks. Pour everything into a heatproof bowl straight away, bits and all.

Black specks and a sharp, bitter smell mean the butter went too far. It will taste burnt in the frosting, and no amount of vanilla covers it, so start again with fresh butter.

Why the Browned Butter Has to Chill First

Frosting holds air only when the butter is solid enough to trap it. Warm or liquid browned butter dissolves the sugar into a glossy soup. Cool it to room temperature, then refrigerate for 45 to 60 minutes and stir it every 15 minutes so it sets evenly, rather than forming a hard rim around a liquid middle.

It is ready when a fingertip leaves a dent without sinking in, the same feel as softened butter. If it went too hard, leave it on the counter for 10 to 20 minutes and test again.

Browning also cooks off the water in butter, which is roughly 15 to 18 percent of its weight. That is why this frosting needs a little more milk or cream than a plain buttercream to come together smoothly.

Whipping It Light and Fluffy

Beat the chilled brown butter on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes until it lightens in color and looks creamy. Add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time on low speed so it does not fly out of the bowl. Sifting matters here: lumps of sugar stay as grainy dots in the finished frosting.

Add 2 tablespoons of milk or cream, then beat on high for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and salt, taste, and adjust. More cream makes it softer for spreading, more sugar makes it stiffer for piping. Unsalted butter lets you set the salt yourself, since salted butter varies from brand to brand.

What Finished Brown Butter Frosting Looks Like

It should be pale golden, hold soft peaks and slide off a spatula in a thick swoop. If it looks shiny and wet, it is too warm. If it looks dense and tight, add cream a teaspoon at a time and beat again.

Brown Butter Frosting vs Vanilla Buttercream

Both are American buttercream, butter beaten with powdered sugar. The difference is the butter. Browned butter tastes nutty and toasty, so the frosting reads less sweet, and it needs a splash more liquid because the water is gone. It is tan rather than white, so pick vanilla buttercream if you need a bright white cake or clean pastel colors. Brown butter frosting pipes swirls and rosettes well but is a touch softer, so chill piped cupcakes for 15 minutes in a warm kitchen.

For a tangier version with cream cheese, there is brown butter cream cheese frosting, and for a caramel flavor without browning anything, brown sugar frosting.

Rescuing Greasy, Soupy or Grainy Frosting

• Soupy or greasy: the butter was too warm. Chill the whole bowl for 15 minutes and beat again from cold.
• Lumpy, with little butter beads: the butter was too cold. Warm the outside of the bowl for a few seconds with a warm towel or hair dryer while it mixes.
• Too stiff to spread: beat in milk or cream a teaspoon at a time.
• Too sweet: add a pinch more salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice.
• Grainy: unsifted sugar. More beating helps a little, but it will not fully smooth out, so sift next time.
• Bitter: the butter burned. This one cannot be fixed.

Flavors and Cakes for Nutty Browned Butter

Beat in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and an extra spoon of cream for a chocolate brown butter frosting. Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for autumn cakes. For a marzipan note on sugar cookies, use 1 teaspoon less vanilla and add ½ teaspoon almond extract. Crushed freeze-dried strawberries turn it pink and fruity.

It suits warm, spiced and caramel flavored bakes best. Spread it on a maple brown butter layer cake, a pumpkin spice cake, a carrot spice cake or a banana cake. Pipe it on cupcakes, sandwich it between soft cookies, or spread it over brown butter cinnamon rolls while they are still slightly warm.

Making It Ahead and Freezing

Store the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it sit out for about 30 minutes until soft, then re-whip for a minute before using. To freeze, press it into a freezer bag with the air squeezed out and keep it up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, bring it to room temperature and whip again. A frosted cake is fine at cool room temperature for a day; chill it longer than that.

Burnt Butter, Glaze and Other Brown Butter Questions

Is burnt butter frosting the same as brown butter frosting?

Yes. Burnt butter icing is the name used in New Zealand and Australia for the same thing: butter cooked until nutty and brown, not actually burnt.

How do I make a brown butter glaze instead?

Skip the chilling. Whisk the warm, liquid browned butter into the sifted powdered sugar with the vanilla and salt, then add milk a tablespoon at a time until it falls off the whisk in a thick ribbon. Pour it over cookies, cinnamon rolls or a bundt cake; it sets as it cools.

Can I use salted butter?

You can. Leave out the ¼ teaspoon of salt, then taste at the end and add a pinch only if it needs it.

If you try it on a fall cake, tell me which one in the comments. I like hearing what people pair it with.