Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
The classic cream cheese frosting made with brown butter for added notes of rich, nutty caramel flavor. It's the perfect Fall frosting and the ideal consistency for filling and decorating cakes and cupcakes!
Servings 3.5 Cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter
- 8 Oz (226g) full-fat brick-style cream cheese, room temperature NOT the spread
- 4 Cups (480g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Brown the Butter: Add the butter into a large frying pan and cook over medium heat until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly. The melted butter will start to foam on top, then will turn light brown in color and smell deliciously nutty. Remove from heat at this point and transfer to a glass container. Allow it to re-solidify for about 2-3 hours at room temperature or place it into the refrigerator for about 45 minutes. It should be completely room temperature and solidified (but easy to press a spatula into) before continuing on with the buttercream recipe.
- When the brown butter has cooled to the ideal consistency, place it into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a large bowl and hand mixer) and add the cream cheese. Mix on medium-high until fluffy and light in color, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after mixing in each addition. Add the vanilla and salt and continue mixing on low speed until smooth and uniform. Use the frosting right away on cakes and cupcakes, or transfer it into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- Note: If you're ready to use the frosting and it seems too soft right after making it, refrigerate it for 20-30 minutes before remixing on low speed. This will help the butter in the recipe solidify a bit more to add stability.
Notes
Yield: This frosting recipe makes enough to:
- Frost up to 20 cupcakes
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 9-inch cake
- Frost and decorate an already filled/crumb coated triple layer cake.
- The brown butter can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature. It should be slightly creamy before using in this recipe.
- The brown butter cream cheese frosting can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer on low for one minute to bring it back to frosting consistency