Brown Butter Cupcakes

A yellow cupcake with white frosting on a teal cake stand.

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Brown Butter Cupcakes

Move over vanilla cupcakes, you have got to try these toasty and nutty browned butter cupcakes with brown butter frosting! Both the cupcakes and buttercream are made with homemade brown butter, making these brown butter cupcakes taste so toasty and cozy. They're made with both oil and brown butter, which keeps the texture super light and fluffy!

Prep Time45

Cook Time22

Chill Time2

Total Time3 7

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 434kcal

Author: Ella Gilbert

Ingredients

Brown Butter Cupcakes

1 ½ cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ stick unsalted butter room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup neutral oil
2 large eggs room temperature
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup + 2 ½ teaspoons whole milk
¼ cup sour cream room temperature

Browned Butter Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups confectioners' sugar
¼- ½ cup whole milk

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Brown Butter

Below is the amount of butter you would need to brown if you're making both the frosting and the cupcakes.
In a large saucepan, place 2 ½ sticks of butter over medium-low heat.
½ stick unsalted butter , 2 sticks unsalted butter
Stir with a rubber spatula as the butter begins to melt. The butter will begin to foam on top and sizzle. After 5-7 minutes, you'll start to see milk solids at the bottom of the pan. When you stir and the foam moves, you'll be able to see those milk solids.
The milk solids at the bottom should turn golden brown and the butter should smell nutty and toasted.
You should have 225 grams of brown butter now. Measure out 45 grams (3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) separately, making sure you keep some of the brown bits, and place in a bowl. Pour the remaining brown butter in another bowl. The 45 grams is for your cupcakes. Let cool briefly, then place in the fridge to firm up for about 2 hours.
About an hour before you start baking the cupcakes, remove both bowls from the fridge. For both the cupcakes and frosting, you want the browned butter to be softened (like you usually would use for baking!)

Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius. Place 14 cupcake liners in 2 cupcake pans.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
1 ½ cups cake flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, combine the 45 grams of browned butter, oil and sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
¾ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup neutral oil
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix to combine.
2 large eggs , 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix in the sour cream.
¼ cup sour cream
Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combine, then slowly pour in the milk.
½ cup + 2 ½ teaspoons whole milk
Using a spoon or a medium cookie scoop, scoop out the cupcake batter into the liners. You want them to be about ¾ full.
Bake for 18-22 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and letting them cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

Frosting

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, combine the room temperature browned butter with the confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste on low speed.
1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 4 cups confectioners' sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Slowly add in the milk and beat on medium speed until spreadable. You might not need all of it! I start with ¼ cup and go from there.
¼- ½ cup whole milk
Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!

Notes

My recipes have been developed and tested in cups and metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way.

I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.

Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt. Please note, I am using Diamond Crystal kosher salt and not Morton Salt, which is far too salty for this recipe.

Cake Flour: No cake flour? Use an equal amount of all-purpose flour and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. I have tested this cupcake recipe with both Swan's cake flour and this homemade cake flour.

Sour Cream: You can swap out sour cream for full-fat Greek yogurt or creme fraiche.

Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before eating.

Nutrition