Name: Whipped Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces (225 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature ((the kind that comes in a brick, not a tub)); 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter ((preferably European-style)); ½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped ((or use ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract added with the salt)); 1¼ cups (125 g) powdered sugar; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

This floofy brown butter cream cheese frosting is mind-bendingly delicious. Vanilla bean brown butter adds notes of caramel, hazelnut, and butterscotch while tangy creamy cheese and a good hit of salt keep it balanced.

Spread or pipe this ultra-addictive icing over gluten-free pumpkin cake – if you can resists nomming it straight from the bowl!

slices of cake topped with brown butter cream cheese frosting are laying haphazardly on a platter

If you're in the market for a less-sweet cream cheese frosting but you want to make it EXTRA, let me introduce you to my latest obsession: brown butter cream cheese frosting. Same balanced formula, but the butter gets browned with vanilla bean first for major flavor.

This frosting is so addictive, I had to hide it from myself so I wouldn't eat the entire batch straight from the bowl. I'm glad I saved some to swirl over this gluten-free pumpkin cake, because the two are a match made in dessert heaven.

Here's what I love about this brown butter frosting:

balanced with salty / sweet / umami notes
rich with butterscotch and caramel flavors
silky and creamy
rich and airy
sturdy enough to swirl or pipe through a piping bag
versatile; plays well with any flavor of cake or cupcake

Ingredients

This frosting uses 5 ingredients:

Cream cheese forms the base. Be sure to use a block of cream cheese that has some gums in it which keeps it smooth. My favorite brand is Organic Valley which has a clean, fresh flavor and can be found at most major grocers.
Vanilla bean brown butter (made with butter and vanilla bean) adds richness. European-style butter works best thanks to its high fat content, such as Straus or Vermont Creamery.
- If you don't have vanilla bean, brown the butter on its own and add some vanilla paste or extract along with the powdered sugar.
Powdered sugar sweetens the frosting just enough.
- You could probably make this frosting refined sugar-free by whizzing coconut sugar or maple sugar in a clean coffee or spice grinder, adding in a little corn starch, but I haven't tested it this way.
Salt makes this frosting utterly addictive; think buttered popcorn, but in frosting form. Use fine sea salt and not table salt, which can taste harsh.

a slice of cake topped with luscious frosting sits on a plate ready to nom — Brown butter cream cheese frosting is perfect for piping or swirling over your favorite cake recipes, like this almond flour pumpkin cake.

Method

This recipe makes about 2 cups of frosting, enough for an 8-inch square cake, 9-inch single layer cake, or 6 cupcakes. Double the recipe for a 9x12-inch sheet cake, or triple it for an 8- or 9-inch layer cake. It takes about 10 minutes of active time to make, plus at least 30 minutes for cooling down the butter after browning.

You can make it in a small stand mixer such as the KitchenAid Mini (affiliate link) fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl with an electric beater (or a spoon and your strong arms!)

If it's your first time, see my brown butter tutorial for more info.

butter and vanilla bean are in a saucepan — Make the brown butter by combining the butter and vanilla pod and scrapings in a saucepan.

butter has been browned with vanilla in a white saucepan — Cook over medium-low heat until the butter turns golden and smells nutty, 3-5 minutes.

brown butter is cooled in a bowl — Transfer the butter to a heatproof bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

soft cream cheese placed in a mixing bowl — Place the softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and electric beater or wooden spoon). Beat until smooth.

cooled brown butter has been added to the bowl — Beat in the cooled brown butter. (Don't skip the step of cooling the butter! I tested this by adding the hot butter to the cold cream cheese hoping for a shortcut, but the cream cheese formed little beads that did not smooth out no matter how much I whipped it.)

powdered sugar has been added to the bowl — Add the powdered sugar and salt.

finished frosting in the mixing bowl — Beat until smooth and whipped.

snack cake is topped with swirls of frosting — Swirl over your favorite cake recipes, or eat it straight from the bowl!

Pairings

Besides nomming it straight from the bowl, here are some of my favorite pairings for this frosting:

If you make this frosting, please let me know what you use it on in the comments below!

Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this brown butter cream cheese frosting, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

No ratings yet