Brown butter cake is a moist cake made extra flavorful with nutty brown butter. It’s topped with brown butter cream cheese frosting. This easy one-layer cake is perfect for both weeknights and holidays!
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This single-layer simple browned butter cake recipe looks amazing and tastes delicious. It also happens to be really easy to make.
Brown butter adds a rich depth of flavor! Combine it with brown sugar cream cheese frosting for the ultimate flavor combination.
I adapted the recipe from my reader favorite browned butter cupcakes. It’s perfect for fall just like my pumpkin spice olive oil cake and biscoff chocolate cake.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- The cake is infused with toasty brown butter and hinted with vanilla and cinnamon. If you’re a big brown butter fan, try these brown butter rice krispies treats and blueberry cornmeal cake recipe.
- This cake is easy enough for a weeknight and special enough for holidays just like my ricotta cranberry cake!
Ingredients
Below are useful notes about some of the ingredients for this browned butter cake recipe.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter. Browning the butter only takes minutes but adds a nice toasty, nutty flavor.
- Brown Sugar: Use light or dark brown sugar. Make sure your brown sugar is fresh so that it doesn’t have hard lumps.
- Sour Cream and milk: Use full fat, room temperature sour cream and room temperature whole milk.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds warm flavor. It tastes so good with brown butter!
- Cream cheese: Use full fat, block style, room temperature cream cheese for the frosting.
Please see recipe card below for full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Instead of whole milk, swap in 2% milk.
Instructions
Step 1: (Photo 1 above) Add the butter for the cake and frosting to a skillet. Once it starts to sputter, whisk for about 4 minutes. The butter will start to foam. Next, you’ll notice little bits at the bottom of the skillet. When the bits become light brown and the butter begins changing color, from heat. Pour into a heat safe bowl. Measure out the butter for the cake batter and frosting.
Step 2: (Photo 2 above) Whisk to combine the dry ingredients and sugar.
Step 3: (Photo 3 above) Mix together the egg, slightly cooled brown butter, oil, vanilla, sour cream and milk.
Step 4: (Photo 4 above) Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients til just combined.
Step 5: (Photo 5 above) Pour batter in an 8 or 9 inch round pan. Bake at 350 F for 35-42 minutes til a cake tester comes out clean.
Step 6: (Photo 6 above) Mix the cream cheese and room temperature brown butter. Mix in the brown sugar and vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Frost the cooled cake and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use fresh brown sugar. Brown sugar can get hard lumps if it’s not fresh. These lumps are harder to dissolve into the frosting.
- Make sure to use room temperature cream cheese and butter for the frosting.
Recipe FAQs
Brown butter is butter that’s melted and cooked until golden. The milk solids separate while it cooks and develop a warm, nutty flavor.
An offset spatula is the best tool for frosting cakes! It’s designed for spreading frosting.
Store the frosted cake covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving. Since the frosting is made with cream cheese, the cake should be stored in the refrigerator.
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Brown Butter Cake
Ingredients
Brown Butter Cake
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter browned, cooled slightly, measure out 1/2 cup after browning, see recipe notes below
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1 (1) large egg room temperature
- ⅓ cup (76.67 g) sour cream room temperature
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) whole milk room temperature
- 1⅓ cups (166.67 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) cinnamon
Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4½ ounces (127.57 g) cream cheese full fat, brick style, room temperature
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter browned then measure out 3 tablespoons then set aside til it's solid but room temperature* see notes about brown butter
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar light or dark
- 1¾ cups (210 g) powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon ) vanilla extract
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) salt
Instructions
Brown Butter
- Brown the butter for both the batter and frosting together. Some of the water in butter evaporates when it browns, so we'll use a little extra butter to start with. Start with 13 tablespoons of butter then measure out what we need after browning.
- Melt all the butter in a medium, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly as it foams and bubbles. Watch carefully — when it smells nutty and the bits on the bottom turn medium brown, remove from heat.
- Immediately pour the butter into a large heatproof bowl, scraping in all the browned bits. From this bowl, measure out ½ cup of the brown butter and pour it into a medium mixing bowl for the cake batter. Let it cool for about 10–15 minutes at room temperature, until it’s warm but not hot to the touch. It doesn’t need to firm up — just cool enough so it won’t cook the eggs when mixed in.
- Set aside 3 tablespoons of the remaining butter for the frosting. Let it cool at room temperature until soft but still firm. Stir occasionally so the brown bits are evenly distributed.
Brown Butter Cake
- Spray an 8 inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line with a round of parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, slightly cooled 1/2 cup of brown butter, vanilla, sour cream and milk.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions, gently, until just combined — do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Place the cake pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. Once cooled, run a knife along the edge of the pan to make sure it is not sticking. Remove cake from pan. Make sure cake is completely cool before frosting.
Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and 3 tablespoons of room temperature brown butter on medium speed for one minute until creamed and combined. (The brown butter for the frosting shouldn't be liquid but should be softened room temperature).
- Add the brown sugar and mix on medium for another minute. Mix in the vanilla then turn the mixer on low and gradually mix in the powdered sugar.
- Place cake upside down on your serving board. (The bottom is smoother and more even).
- Use a spatula or an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly over the cake. Sprinkle with brown sugar before serving, if desired, for decoration.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
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