Since trying browned butter in baked goods, I have become obsessed. The nutty and caramel like flavor elevates the taste of so many goodies like browned butter chocolate chip cookies or browned butter peanut butter cookies . Recently I tried this browned butter cream cheese frosting to pair with a carrot cake for my son’s birthday. After trying it and getting great feedback from my family and friends, I knew it needed a spot on the blog so that you can pair it with your favorite cakes and baked goods too! Try this frosting on top of fresh cinnamon rolls as shown in the photos below!
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Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter salted
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 3-4 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
Instructions
- Place the butter in a 2 quart-saucepan. Allow the butter to melt over medium heat, then continue cooking until it reaches a deep brown color and has a nutty aroma. Give the butter a swirl every once in a while, to prevent it from scorching on the bottom.
- Chill the browned butter for up to 30 minutes or allow it to cool at room temperature until it reaches room temperature but is not fully hardened. Place cream cheese, vanilla extract and room temperature browned butter in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix well.
- Add milk and confectioner's sugar (1 cup at a time), while mixing between each addition. Continue adding confectioner's sugar until the frosting is stiff enough to pipe or spread onto your baked goods. Note* Additional milk can be added if the frosting becomes too stiff.
Notes
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Ingredients needed for this Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting: cream cheese, butter (I use salted), whole milk, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract.
Can you use imitation vanilla in this recipe?
Yes, you can. Because I try to budget my monthly groceries I use imitation vanilla a lot. Real vanilla extract does have a better vanilla flavor, but I don’t usually notice enough of a difference to warrant buying the more expensive real vanilla extract.
Step 1: Place the butter (1 stick or 1/4 pound) in a 2 quart-saucepan. Allow the butter to melt over medium heat, then continue cooking until it reaches a deep brown color and has a nutty aroma. Give the butter a swirl every once in a while, to prevent it from scorching on the bottom.
Should the browned butter be stirred constantly?
You can if you wish, but I find it browns faster if it isn’t stirred constantly. However, you do need to keep a close eye on the butter as it browns, because it can quickly scorch on the bottom.
Step 2: Chill the browned butter for up to 30 minutes or allow it to cool at room temperature until it reaches room temperature but is not fully hardened. Place cream cheese, vanilla extract and room temperature browned butter in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix well until smooth.
Step 3: Add milk and confectioner’s sugar (1 cup at a time), while mixing between each addition. Continue adding confectioner’s sugar until the frosting is stiff enough to pipe or spread onto your baked goods.
Note on adding milk and confectioner’s sugar.
Add the milk and confectioner’s sugar sparingly to avoid sweetening the frosting overly much. If you add too much milk the frosting will be too thin, needing more sugar and causing it to sweeten. I usually add around 2-3 tablespoons of milk and up to 4 cups of confectioner’s sugar.
Storage notes:
This frosting keeps well in the refrigerator, but do not leave it at room temperature because cream cheese frosting spoils more quickly than butter-based frostings. You can also freeze this frosting for several months in an airtight container, but you may need to mix it again if separation occurs during the freezing and thawing process.
This morning, I tried this browned butter cream cheese frosting with fresh cinnamon rolls and it was very good! Browned butter frosting without cream cheese is also very popular for cinnamon rolls and other baked goods so that recipe is another one I look forward to testing in the near future. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a splendid day!
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