Brown butter buttercream frosting is easy to make and unbelievably delicious. Brown butter creates a toasty, nutty, caramel flavor to the frosting! Perfect for cakes and cupcakes!
Ingredients for Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter: Room temperature unsalted butter.
- Brown butter: Find out how to make brown butter below! Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar: For sweetness and structure.
- Vanilla extract: A pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste adds great flavor.
- Salt: Adds a bit of contrast to the sweetness.
- Heavy cream: To dissolve the sugar and lighten things up a bit!
Tools & Supplies for Making Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Saucepan
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Spatula
How to Make Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
First, we have to make brown butter. Here are the steps!
- Place the butter in a medium-sized pan and melt over medium-low heat.
- Continue to cook the butter stirring occasionally. The butter will start to foam.
- The milk solids in the butter will start to turn a golden brown color. Continue mixing so the milk solids do not burn.
- Once you achieve a nice, medium brown color, remove the brown butter from the stove and transfer to a heat-safe bowl.
- Allow the brown butter to come to room temperature. Then, transfer to the refrigerator to firm up the butter. We are looking for a soft, peanut butter-like texture.
To make the buttercream, I recommend using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. You can also use an electric hand mixer.
- Whip the room temperature butter and brown butter for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed until the sugar is combined with the butter. Then add the remaining half and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and continue to mix on low until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after this step to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip the buttercream for about 3 minutes.
- (Optional) Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low speed for an additional 5 minutes to remove air bubbles and made the buttercream silky smooth.
Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting Recipe Tips
Make perfect buttercream frosting
Check out my baking tips blog post on 10 Tips for Making Perfect Buttercream to get more information and tips on how to make the best buttercream frosting.
Butter temperature
If the regular unsalted butter and brown butter is too cold or too warm, the buttercream will not whip up well. Remove your butter from the fridge and let it hang out on your countertop for an hour before making the buttercream.
Do not burn the brown butter
When making the brown butter, be careful not to burn it! It quickly goes from perfect to burnt. Cook the butter until the milk solids toast and are a light or medium brown. Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking process.
Room temperature brown butter
To make the buttercream, the brown butter should be the texture of peanut butter. Cool to room temperature after melted in a heat-proof bowl on your countertop and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill. Mix the brown butter every 5 to 10 minutes until thickened.
Storing and serving
Store the brown butter buttercream frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To use, bring the buttercream to room temperature and whip with an electric mixer for a few minutes until smooth and creamy. Serve this buttercream at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
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Brown Butter Buttercream
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment/paddle attachment OR
- Electric hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup brown butter softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Brown Butter
- Place 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter in a medium-sized pan and melt over medium-low heat.
- Continue to cook the butter stirring occasionally. The butter will start to foam.
- At this point, the milk solids in the butter will start to turn a golden brown color. Continue mixing so the milk solids do not burn.
- Once you achieve the level of browning that you desire, remove the pan from the stove and transfer to a heat-safe bowl immediately.
- Allow the butter to come to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator until the butter becomes thick. You will want a peanut butter-like consistency.
Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Place the brown butter and additional 1 cup of room temperature butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip the butters for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed until the sugar is combined with the butter. Then add the remaining half and continue to mix on low speed.
- Add the vanilla extract and salt and continue to mix on low until combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl after this step to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and whip the buttercream for about 3 minutes.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low speed for an additional 5 minutes to remove air bubbles and made the buttercream silky smooth.
Notes
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Comments & Reviews
For the browned butter, do you use salted butter?
You can! You may wish to limit or omit any additional salt if salted butter is used! But add it to taste!
How much butter is browned, and how much is just softened?
1 cup browned 1 cup softened! Thanks for catching!