Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
This brown butter cream cheese frosting is seriously delicious. It’s really simple to make too, and that little extra step of browning butter leads to amazing results.
This brown butter cream cheese frosting is the perfect mix of the deep, caramelized, nutty flavor of browned butter and the creamy tang of traditional cream cheese frosting.
You want the brown butter to solidify again after browning, so give yourself a few hours to cool it before using it. I like to make the butter component the night before and let it sit at room temperature overnight.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for this brown butter frosting.
- Unsalted butter. You could also use salted butter and omit the added salt in the rest of the recipe.
- Full-fat, block-style cream cheese. It’s important to use the block cream cheese, not the spreadable type as that will make the frosting too runny. Make sure to use room temperature cream cheese.
- Powdered sugar (also known as confectioners’ sugar)
- Pure vanilla extract or paste. I always use paste or an extra-rich flavor.
- Heavy cream or milk for desired consistency
- A pinch of salt
Method
Browning the Butter
In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. As it melts, it’ll start foaming. Stir regularly with a wooden spoon or whisk and look for little brown bits forming at the bottom of the pan.
These are the milk solids caramelizing, and they’re the good stuff. Remove from heat when the milk solids turn amber-brown and give a nutty aroma.
Pour butter, including the browned bits, into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer to cool.
You can place it in the refrigerator to speed up the solidifying process, but make sure it’s at room temperature when you’re ready to use it.
With an electric mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the solidified (but room temperature) butter until it’s Iight and creamy.
Add in room temperature cream cheese and beat again.
Next, add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and mix it in on low speed.
Once combined, beat on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit of heavy cream or milk to reach the perfect consistency. If it is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Uses
- Carrot Cake: This frosting pairs beautifully with a moist carrot cake loaded with shredded carrots, warm spices, and nuts. I use it on my carrot sheet cake, or carrot cake cupcakes.
- Banana Cake: The nutty flavor complements a rich banana cake.
- Cinnamon Rolls: Swap out the regular cream cheese frosting on your cinnamon rolls for this. It’s so so good.
More frosting recipes
- Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Brown Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Storage
Store any remaining frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. If frozen, let it thaw in the fridge and then give it a quick whisk to restore its creamy texture.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
This brown butter cream cheese frosting is seriously delicious. It's simple to make too, and that little extra step of browning butter leads to amazing results.
Makes enough to frost 12-18 cupcakes, a 2-layer 8-inch cake or a 9x13 inch sheet cake.
Ingredients
- 150g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter
- 225g (8oz) full-fat block cream cheese, room temperature
- 360g (3 cups) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoon cream or milk (as needed)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir regularly with a wooden spoon or whisk for 3-4 minutes and let the milk solids in the butter caramelize. Look for little brown bits forming at the bottom of the pan.
- Once deep amber brown, remove them from heat and pour butter, including the browned bits, into a large bowl or a stand mixer to cool and solidify.
- You can place it in the refrigerator to speed up the solidifying process but ensure it's at room temperature when ready to use it.
- With an electric or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the solidified, room-temperature butter until it's light and creamy.
- Add in room temperature cream cheese and beat again.
- Next, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix it in on low speed. Once combined, beat on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- If the frosting is too thick, add a bit of heavy cream or milk to reach the perfect consistency. If it is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Notes
Store any remaining frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. If frozen, let it thaw in the fridge and then give it a quick whisk to restore its creamy texture.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 273Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 149mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 0gSugar: 30gProtein: 1g
This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist
