Brown Butter Cake

This moist Brown Butter Cake has such a soft and tender crumb. It's light and fluffy and topped with a smooth brown butter buttercream frosting. Such an easy cake that really makes a statement with flavor!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, English

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 30

Total Time 33

Servings servings

Calories 1045kcal

Author Whitney Wright

Equipment

Ingredients

Brown Butter Cake

3 cups cake flour (14 oz)
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed (about 6 oz)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
10 oz buttermilk divided, room temperature or on the warmer side
3 large eggs room temperature
8 oz browned butter room temperature, will need about 20 tablespoons of unsalted butter prior to browning)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (4 oz)

Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting

2 cups unsalted butter room temperature but still slightly chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 cups powdered sugar measured then sifted
4-5 tablespoons heavy cream more or less to reach your desired consistency
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Brown Butter Cake

Spray 3 - 8 inch round cake pans with nonstick spray that contains flour. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, and then spray again. (if you want thicker layers you can bake it in 3 – 6 inch pans or 2- 9 inch pans).
Preheat oven to 335°F. Measure 4 oz of buttermilk into a container. Add the vegetable oil and set aside.
To the remaining 6 oz of buttermilk add the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
In a stand mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment add the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix to combine. Add the browned butter and mix to for 15 seconds or until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
Add the buttermilk and oil to the flour mixture. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute. The mixture will thicken and lighten in color. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix on medium speed for 1 more minute.
Turn the mixer to low and stream in the buttermilk, vanilla, egg mixture. Mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Place in prepared pans. (I like to weigh the amount of batter that goes into each pan to ensure each layer will be equal). Smooth into an even layer.
Bake for 25-30 mins. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and let cool in the cake pans for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting

Place 19 tablespoons of butter in a light colored saucepan or skillet. Place the pan over medium to medium-low heat.
Stir the butter around the pan until melted. While browning butter you want to stir just about the entire time to keep things moving and to prevent the butter from burning. Browning butter is a process that takes about 8 minutes from the time the butter has melted.
Once the butter melts, it will begin to foam and sizzle. Continue stirring, eventually the foam will subside and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will turn a very light golden color. Continue stirring until the milk solids are golden brown and almost amber colored. The smell will be nutty and very buttery. Butter can burn in a matter of seconds so don’t overcook the butter.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a heat proof bowl or container. This will stop the cooking process. The butter needs to be at room temperature, so essentially it needs to become a solid again. You can speed up this process by placing the butter in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the remaining 13 tablespoons of softened butter and the room temperature browned butter. Beat to combine. Add the vanilla, salt, and the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Beat for about 30 seconds, add heavy cream to reach your desired consistency. Mix to combine.

Assembly

Place one cake layer on a cake stand or cake plate. Add a generous portion of frosting to the top of the cake layer and spread into an even layer. Add the second cake layer and repeat. Finally top with the last cake layer and use the frosting to frost all sides of the cake. Enjoy!

Notes

Refer to my How to Brown Butter post for all your questions on browning butter.

My How to Store and Freeze Cakes guide goes over storing and freezing cakes, including how to freeze cake layers, buttercream and decorated cakes.

Nutrition