Learn to make richly flavored brown butter cream cheese frosting with this simple recipe. This creamy frosting tastes unimaginable on banana cake, pumpkin cake, spice cake, zucchini cake, and a lot extra. You solely want 5 substances, however make sure to enable time for the browned butter to re-solidify within the fridge.

How do you make silky, creamy, tangy cream cheese frosting even higher? By including probably the most magical ingredient of all—brown butter.
I first shared this frosting on my zucchini cake and banana layer cake, and readers went wild for it. With a lot love and reward, it solely felt proper to provide this fan-favorite its very personal highlight. It greater than deserves it!
Listed below are only a few of the numerous, many critiques:
One reader, Sarah, commented: “That is only a touch upon the brown butter cream cheese frosting (which I used with a special cake recipe)—it’s THE BEST FROSTING I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. No exaggeration. The nuttiness, the tang, the vanilla, the just-right-sweetness, ohmygoodness. It’s actually good.★★★★★“
One other reader, Mary, commented: “I now need to use brown butter frosting for any cake that requires cream cheese frosting… SO GOOD!!! ★★★★★“
One other reader, Peter, commented: “I’ll actually by no means make cream cheese frosting another method ever once more. Even my mates who don’t like cream cheese liked it. ★★★★★“
One other reader, Eva, commented: “Wow! I’m not an enormous fan of frosting. Most of it’s too candy for me… This one, nonetheless, is superb—the mix of candy, salty, and umami made it arduous to cease licking the bowl. ★★★★★“

It’s simple to see why this frosting is so standard. You have got the entire tangy creaminess of already-pretty-perfect cream cheese frosting, plus the delicately nutty, toffee-caramelized taste from brown butter on high of it.
I don’t overload the frosting with sugar, both—simply sufficient to bulk it up with out masking the brown butter taste. Right here’s the whole lot it’s worthwhile to make it:

Make Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
It’s easy to make, however you do want to permit time for the browned butter to re-solidify within the fridge. You’ll be able to brown the butter first, earlier than you even make your cake, or do it whereas the cake is baking or cooling.
Browning butter takes lower than 10 minutes, and I’ve a whole tutorial on learn how to brown butter in case you want some additional assist.


After you brown the butter on the range, refrigerate it till it’s re-solidified:


Then beat the solidified brown butter with softened (room-temperature) cream cheese to make the bottom of the frosting. Lastly, add within the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat the frosting till it’s easy and creamy.
Simply take a look at all these attractive specks of pure FLAVOR!


Success Tip: Use the Proper Cream Cheese
Your brown butter cream cheese frosting can be skinny and runny in case you’re not cautious about the kind of cream cheese you utilize. Be sure you use an 8-ounce (226g) brick of full-fat cream cheese, not reduced-fat or “mild” cream cheese, and never the cream cheese unfold that is available in a bath. Save the cream cheese unfold for topping your bagels.
The #1 motive bakers find yourself with runny frosting is as a result of they’re unintentionally utilizing cream cheese unfold as a substitute of a brick. There’s a HUGE distinction! For one of the best, thickest, and most profitable frosting, use the bricks of actual, full-fat cream cheese.
Additionally, make sure that the cream cheese sits out at room temperature for a short while earlier than you want it. In case your cream cheese is just too chilly once you start beating it, you’ll find yourself with numerous tiny lumps of cream cheese in your frosting. You don’t need these in your cheesecake, and also you don’t need them in your frosting, both!


Can Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Be Piped?
Cream cheese frosting, together with this brown butter cream cheese frosting, will be difficult to pipe as a result of it’s so creamy and comfortable. Nevertheless, in case you refrigerate it previous to piping, it ought to maintain form higher. Suit your piping bag with a piping tip, fill your bag with the frosting, then refrigerate it for 20–half-hour earlier than piping.
Nonetheless, don’t count on it to be as sturdy as buttercream. Give it some thought: cream cheese proper out of the fridge is far softer to the contact than chilly butter is! So save any intricate piped designs for vanilla buttercream, and follow a fundamental spherical tip for piping cream cheese frosting.
How A lot Frosting Does This Make?
The quantity within the recipe card beneath makes sufficient to frost 1 / 4 sheet cake (9×13-inch pan), a batch of 12 cupcakes, OR a skinny coating on a 2-layer cake. When you want sufficient frosting for a 3-layer cake, see recipe Notice beneath.
Attempt This Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting on:


Description
Learn to make richly flavored brown butter cream cheese frosting with this simple recipe. This creamy frosting tastes unimaginable on banana cake, pumpkin cake, spice cake, zucchini cake, and a lot extra. You solely want 5 substances, however make sure to enable time for the browned butter to re-solidify within the fridge. When you want sufficient to frost a layer cake, see recipe Notes beneath.
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, lower into 4 slices
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 cups (300g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- Brown the butter: Set out a medium heatproof bowl or glass liquid measuring cup since you’ll want it on the finish of this step. Place the sliced butter in a light-colored skillet or saucepan. A light-weight-colored inside permits you to decide when the butter begins to brown. Soften the butter over medium warmth, stirring or whisking consistently. As soon as melted, the butter will start to foam. Proceed stirring/whisking, protecting an in depth eye on it. After about 5–7 minutes, the butter will start browning and also you’ll discover frivolously browned specks forming on the backside of the pan. The butter could have a nutty aroma. The colour will step by step deepen, from yellow to golden to golden-brown; as soon as it’s a lightweight caramel-brown colour, instantly take away from warmth and pour into the bowl; make sure to scrape out and embrace the brown solids which have fashioned on the underside of the pan. Cool for 10 minutes at room temperature, then switch to the fridge to chill utterly and solidify.
- Make the frosting: In a big bowl utilizing a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the solidified brown butter on excessive velocity till creamy and easy, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese and beat once more till easy and mixed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl as wanted. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low velocity for 30 seconds, then step by step enhance to excessive velocity and beat for two minutes.
- Unfold the frosting on cooled cake or cupcakes. When you plan to pipe the frosting, switch it to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and refrigerate it for 20–half-hour earlier than piping.
- Cowl leftover frosting tightly and retailer within the fridge for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make Forward Directions: You’ll be able to brown the butter as much as 3 days prematurely and retailer it within the fridge till you might be able to make the frosting.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Mild-Coloured Skillet or Stainless Metal Skillet | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Quantity: This recipe makes sufficient to frost 1 / 4 sheet cake (9×13-inch pan), a batch of 12 cupcakes, OR a skinny coating on a 2-layer cake. When you want sufficient frosting for a 3-layer spherical cake, enhance the ingredient quantities to the next and comply with the identical directions: 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature, 12 ounces (339g) full-fat brick cream cheese softened to room temperature, 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Brown Butter: For extra info and troubleshooting, see this submit on learn how to brown butter.