Brown Butter Frosting
This super creamy browned butter frosting is made with just 5 simple ingredients! By browning the butter, we get a toasty and nutty flavor in this vanilla American buttercream. You do need to brown the butter ahead of time and let it firm up, but it's so worth it for that delicious toasty taste. I love pairing it with browned butter cupcakes, but it's just as good with any cupcake or layer cake.
Servings: 14 cupcakes
Calories: 254kcal
Ingredients
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
Instructions
Brown Butter
- In a large saucepan, place 2 sticks of butter over medium-low heat.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 180 grams of brown butter now. Pour the brown butter into a bowl, making sure you scrape all the brown bits out! Let cool briefly, then place in the fridge to firm up for about 2 hours.
- About an hour before you want to use the frosting, take the bowl out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.
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
- Use your frosting on cupcakes or a cake 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.
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.
Amount of Frosting: This recipe makes enough to generously frost 14 cupcakes or a two-layer 8-inch cake. You can double the recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 12mg | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 410IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.03mg
