What does brown butter cream cheese frosting taste like? It combines the tang of cream cheese with the toasted, nutty flavor of browned butter. This brown butter cream cheese frosting uses four ingredients and will yield 2 cups of frosting.
Why You Will Love This Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Nutty Brown Butter Flavor. Browning the butter adds a toasted, caramel like depth to the frosting.
- Four Simple Ingredients. Butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla are all it takes.
- Tangy and Not Too Sweet. It uses only 1 cup of powdered sugar, so the cream cheese flavor comes through.
- Easy to Spread. The soft texture spreads over cakes, cupcakes, and cinnamon rolls.
- Make Ahead Friendly. You can brown the butter ahead of time and cool it before mixing.
How Much Frosting Do You Need?
Use the frosting calculator to estimate how much frosting to make for your cakes and cupcakes.
- Choose what you’re frosting: a round cake, rectangular cake, or cupcakes.
- Enter your cake dimensions, number of cakes, and layers per cake—or the number of cupcakes.
- Select your frosting finish, from a light spread to a generous coating or cupcake swirl.
- For rectangular cakes, choose whether to frost just the top or the top and sides. Filling is included for cakes with multiple layers.
- Making more than one size? Select “Add another cake or cupcakes” to include everything in one estimate.
- Enter the recipe yield—the number of cups of frosting one batch of your recipe makes.
- Check your frosting plan for the estimated cups needed and recommended number of recipe batches. Leave the optional 10% extra selected for handling and touch-ups.
Actual coverage varies with frosting consistency, filling thickness, and decorating style. Check the recipe’s notes to make sure the frosting is suitable for your planned decorations.
How much frosting do you need?
One celebration or a whole dessert table. Let’s plan the frosting.
Making different sizes? Add a separate item for each size or decorating style.
Ingredients for the Best Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Butter. Measure 10 tablespoons before browning. Browning cooks off water and adds a nutty flavor, so use all of the browned butter and the browned bits.
- Cream Cheese. Use full fat brick cream cheese at room temperature. Tub or whipped cream cheese makes a runny frosting.
- Powdered Sugar. This sweetens and thickens the frosting. Use 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar.
- Vanilla Extract. A small amount rounds out the flavor.
Making the Easy Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cut the butter into even pieces so it melts at the same rate.
- Place the butter in a light colored skillet over medium heat and swirl the pan as it melts so it heats evenly.
- Once the butter melts, it will foam and sizzle around the edges. Stir or swirl occasionally during this stage.
- As the foam subsides, watch closely, since the butter moves from foaming to browning quickly. Look for small golden brown specks on the bottom of the pan and a nutty aroma, and stir to keep the specks from burning.
- As soon as the butter turns golden brown and smells toasty, and before the specks get too dark, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the butter into a heatproof bowl and scrape in the browned bits, since that is where most of the flavor is.
- Let the brown butter cool to room temperature. This usually takes around 30 minutes, and the fridge speeds it up. For more on brown butter read my post on how to make brown butter.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, soften the cream cheese by mixing it for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the cooled brown butter and mix until smooth.
- Add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl in the process.
Tips on Making the Brown Butter Frosting
- Cool the brown butter fully, since warm butter makes a runny frosting.
- Scrape every browned bit into the bowl, since that is where most of the flavor is.
- Use full fat brick cream cheese at room temperature so the frosting mixes smoothly.
- Sift the powdered sugar for the smoothest texture.
- Chill the finished frosting briefly if it feels too soft to spread.
- Brown the butter ahead of time, since it needs time to cool.
Troubleshooting the Best Cream Cheese Frosting
- Frosting is runny. The butter was probably still warm, or the cream cheese was a tub or whipped type. Chill the frosting for about 30 minutes, then check it again.
- Frosting is too soft to hold a swirl. This recipe is soft and spreadable. Chill it briefly, or add powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time, which also makes it sweeter.
- Frosting has small lumps. The cream cheese was likely too cold. Let it come to room temperature next time.
- Frosting tastes bitter. The butter browned too far. Start a fresh batch and pull it off the heat as soon as it turns golden.
- Frosting is grainy. Sift the powdered sugar and mix until it dissolves.
Like this frosting recipe? Try my apple cider cream cheese frosting.
Other great frostings on my site are my whipped peanut butter frosting, or my whipped salted caramel frosting.
Like buttercream frosting? I have an American buttercream frosting and a chocolate buttercream frosting.
Try these frostings on my simple vanilla cupcake recipe.
FAQs
It combines the tang of cream cheese with the toasted, nutty flavor of browned butter. The flavor is often described as caramel like or toffee like.
Yes. Warm butter makes the frosting runny, so let it cool to room temperature and thicken to a soft paste before mixing.
No. Use full fat brick cream cheese, since tub or whipped cream cheese makes the frosting runny.
Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It also freezes for up to 1 month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and whisk it before using.
This frosting is soft and spreadable. Chill it briefly for a simple swirl, though it will not hold a detailed design.
This recipe will make 2 cups of frosting.
This brown butter cream cheese frosting takes one extra step, browning the butter, and it adds a nutty, toasted depth to tangy cream cheese. Cool the butter fully, use brick cream cheese, and the frosting mixes smoothly. Spread it on pumpkin cake, apple cake, cupcakes, or cinnamon rolls. Store leftovers in the fridge and use them within a few days.
Recipe
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons of butter
- 8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese
- 1 cup of powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Method
- Cut the butter into even sized pieces, so it melts evenly and at the same rate.
- Place the butter in a light colored skillet over medium heat. Swirl the pan as it melts to help it heat evenly.
- Once melted, the butter will foam and sizzle around the edges. Keep stirring or swirling occasionally during this stage.
- As the foam starts to subside, watch closely, since the butter moves from foaming to browning quickly from this point. Look for small golden brown specks settling at the bottom of the pan and a nutty aroma. Stir the butter to keep the specks from settling on the bottom of the pan and burning.
- As soon as the butter turns golden brown, smells toasty, and especially before the specks get too brown, remove the pan from the heat immediately and transfer the butter to a heatproof bowl, scraping in the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, since that is where most of the flavor is.
- Set the brown butter aside to cool
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, soften cream cheese by mixing for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl when finished.
- Add cooled brown butter and combine until smooth.
- Add sifted powdered sugar and vanilla extract and combine until smooth.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Like my recipes? Click below to favorite Cleveland Cooking on Google so my posts pop up first when you search!
+ Favorite on Google Search
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.