Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

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Brown butter makes everything better, and such is the case with this brown butter cream cheese frosting. It’s got all the tangy flavor of cream cheese but with notes of nutty caramel for added depth and could not be more delicious on a Fall flavored cake (case in point: this spice cake). In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make perfect brown butter, add it to an easy cream cheese buttercream recipe, and create the perfect frosting consistency for filling and decorating cakes and cupcakes. 

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

There are only a handful of ingredients involved in this frosting, and each one plays a key role:

• Brown butter. Brown butter adds the perfect nutty caramel flavor to this cream cheese frosting. I make this with unsalted butter (detailed instructions in the next section), but if you’d rather use salted butter just be sure to omit the salt from the recipe.
• Full-fat brick-style cream cheese. It’s really important to use full-fat brick-style cream cheese in this recipe. The other kinds (low fat or the spreadable kind in tubs) contain too much water content and will never set into the right consistency. You’ll basically end up with brown butter cream cheese soup, so just trust me on this one. If you can’t find full-fat brick-style cream cheese locally, try this brown butter frosting recipe instead. 
• Powdered sugar. Not only does this sweeten the frosting, it adds stability and thickens the frosting into the perfect consistency for decorating cakes and cupcakes.
• Pure vanilla extract. A little vanilla rounds out the flavor perfectly. 
• Salt. Just a pinch of salt adds more complexity and tones down the sweetness. 

How to Brown Butter

This recipe starts with browning unsalted butter, and even if you’ve never done it before I promise it’s not complicated. As long as you follow these steps and timing, you’ll be fine:

Step 1: Melt the butter. Add the butter into a skillet set over medium heat and allow it to melt while you stir it occasionally.

Step 2: Brown the butter. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes while you stir constantly. The melted butter will start to foam on top, then the foam will subside before turning the butter light brown in color as the milk solids caramelize. It will smell deliciously nutty at this point. 

Step 3: Transfer the brown butter. As soon as you see the milk solids have turned light brown, transfer the brown butter to a heat proof container. It’s important to do this quickly so that the brown butter doesn’t burn. For this recipe, you’ll want the brown butter to cool to room temperature, until it’s solid and the consistency of softened butter.

 

How to Make Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Once you’ve made the brown butter and allowed it to solidify into the consistency of softened butter, here’s how to make this magical frosting from start to finish. 

Step 1: Add the solidified brown butter and the cream cheese into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a large bowl and hand mixer). Mix on high speed until fluffy and uniform, about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Mix in the powdered sugar a few cups at a time. 

Step 3: Add the vanilla and pinch of salt. 

Tips for Working with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is notoriously soft and can be frustrating to work with if you don’t know how to troubleshoot. Here are my best tips for making it the perfect consistency for filling and frosting a cake or piping onto cupcakes:

• Use full-fat brick style cream cheese. I use Philadelphia brand, but any brick-style cream cheese that’s not low fat will do. Other kinds of cream cheese (low fat or the spreadable kind in the tub) contain too much water content and will always result in a soupy frosting that’s too thin for filling and frosting a cake. If you don’t have access to brick-style cream cheese, make a double batch of my brown butter frosting to pair with this cake instead.
• Make sure the brown butter is solidified. Before you start mixing up the buttercream, it’s super important that the brown butter has solidified to room temperature. It should be the consistency of a butter that’s been left out of the refrigerator for an hour or so. Not so creamy that it’s almost melted, but room temperature and solid.
• Refrigerate to thicken the consistency. If you make the brown butter cream cheese frosting and find that it’s not thick enough for your liking or your kitchen environment is super warm, pop the frosting in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to let the butter solidify a bit. Then, re-mix it on low speed with your stand mixer to make it smooth and uniform. The trip to the refrigerator will thicken the entire buttercream to a workable consistency.

What Cakes to Pair with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

This brown butter cream cheese frosting will make most cake and cupcake recipes delicious! It tends to have more of a Fall flavor profile, and these are the cake flavors I love it with. Just be sure to make a double batch to have enough for a layer cake (a single batch is fine for up to 20 cupcakes):  

• Spice Cake 
• Pumpkin Layer Cake 
• Carrot Cake
• Banana Cake
• Apple Spice Cake

I hope you love this brown butter cream cheese frosting as much as I do! Let me know what you pair it with in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!