Brown Butter Vanilla Cupcakes

If you think vanilla cupcakes are a little too predictable, these Brown Butter Cupcakes are about to change your mind. Every bite is packed with the deep, nutty flavor of browned butter and not just in the cake, but in the frosting too. They’re soft, buttery, incredibly moist, and topped with a silky brown butter buttercream that tastes like toasted caramel and vanilla.

Secret ingredient brown butter

Brown butter is the magic sauce that can elevate any recipe. It takes ordinary butter and bumps up the flavor, creating a rich and nutty base to any recipe. If you want to turn a basic recipe into something so much more, adding brown butter is the way to go.

The best part is that it’s super easy to make, however my version has a little something extra. I walk through the entire browning process in depth in a separate post, but here’s what you need to know about one extra step:

1. Slice your butter and add to a saucepan. Place this over medium heat and allow the butter to melt down.
2. After a couple minutes, the butter will go from melted to loud and bubbly.
3. After another minute, it will turn quiet and foamy. Traditional brown butter is continuously heated at this point until it reaches a rich brown color.
4. But for this recipe, nonfat dry milk powder is added at the beginning of the foaming stage. This multiplies the milk solids in the butter, which is what gets toasted to create that deep brown color and rich flavor. The added milk powder creates an intense brown butter that’s deeply rich and extra flavorful.
5. Once the powder is added, keep whisking for another 30 seconds or until it reaches an overall deep brown color.
6. Immediately remove from the heat to stop the browning process and divide the butter between two containers – one for the batter and one for the frosting. Just make sure to give it a stir as you pour in order to ensure those brown bits are evenly distributed between the two.

How to make cupcakes with melted butter

Since we’re using melted brown butter in this recipe, it’s made a little bit different – but SO much easier!

Traditional cupcake batter is made with softened butter that’s whipped with sugar until light and airy. Since we can’t do that for this recipe, we’re using the quick bread method instead. This is typically used for things like muffins or, as stated, breads and quick loaves.

In a large bowl, all of the dry ingredients are combined, including the sugar. In a separate small bowl, all of the wet ingredients are combined. Pour the wet into the dry and mix. That’s it!

Since little air is whipped into the cake, the only lift is provided by the baking powder. This creates a moist and tight crumb thats so incredibly moist.

Rich brown butter frosting

Once the brown butter is divided in two, one half goes straight into the batter while the other half gets chilled until solid. Because it’s impossible to make frosting with melted butter!

Here’s what to look for – it should be opaque and thickened but not too firm. You’re looking for the consistency of softened butter. For the best results, keep checking on the better every 30 minutes and give it a good stir to ensure it’s chilling evenly.

Once chilled, it’s whipped and mixed with powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and some cream cheese at the very end. By leaving the cream cheese to the end, you reduce the amount of friction on the cream cheese. This results in a thick and creamy batter rather than a thin and soupy one.

The end result is an INSANE frosting with intense flavor. It tastes like a mix of toasted caramel, toffee, and vanilla. So basically heaven in every bite.

Brown Butter Cupcakes FAQ

For more delicious cupcake recipes, check out my:

• Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes
• Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
• Roasted Strawberry Cupcakes
• Lemon Cupcakes

Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram or leave a comment below if you make these Brown Butter Vanilla Cupcakes. I love seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!

Print