Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Get ready to meet your new favorite frosting! This Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting takes everything you love about a classic cream cheese frosting and adds a deep, nutty, toffee-like twist thanks to browned butter.
Servings: 12
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter 113 g
- 8 oz cream cheese 227 g, room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar 85 g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Brown the butter - Place the butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty, remove from heat.4 oz unsalted butter
- Strain the brown butter - Line a fine mesh sieve with a piece of cheesecloth and strain the brown butter through it, pressing and squeezing with a spatula to get every drop of brown butter from the cheesecloth without getting the milk solids into the liquid. Set aside to cool until it re-solidifies. TIP: you can strain the brown butter directly into your stand mixer bowl or whichever mixing bowl you’ll be using to make the frosting.
- Combine the ingredients – Add the remaining ingredients to your stand mixer bowl with the solidified brown butter. Fit it with the wire whisk. Stir to incorporate the powdered sugar. Gradually increase the mixer speed to combine all the ingredients to prevent anything from flying out of the bowl.8 oz cream cheese, ¾ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Beat until fluffy – Continue beating on medium high speed until the brown butter cream cheese frosting is fluffy and creamy. Give it a taste and add more powdered sugar if a sweeter frosting is desired. TIP: the frosting is loose and spreadable at this stage. For piping, chill the frosting briefly to firm it up.
Notes
- Brown your butter ahead of time: it needs a few hours to cool and re-solidify before you can use it.
- For silky-smooth frosting: strain the brown butter to remove the toasted milk solids, they add great flavor in baked goods but can make frosting gritty.
- Yield: This brown butter frosting recipe makes about 1 ¾ cups, enough to frost 12 cupcakes or a 2-layer 6” cake. Double the recipe for a 2-layer 8” cake.
- Storage: Store frosting in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip until fluffy before using.
Nutrition
Serving: 35g | Calories: 158kcal
