Name: Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting (Easy and Delicious)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: ½ cup butter; 12 ounces cream cheese (room temp); 2 teaspoons vanilla; ½ teaspoon salt; 4 cups powdered sugar

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My brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe takes classic cream cheese
frosting to the next level with rich, nutty, caramelized flavor. Browning the butter
on the stovetop adds incredible depth while cream cheese keeps the frosting
tangy, fluffy, and creamy. Best of all, the recipe comes together in about 20
minutes and is a delicious finishing touch for cakes, cupcakes, and more.

As the butter browns, the milk solids toast at the bottom of the pan, that’s what gives this frosting its deep, nutty flavor instead of tasting like plain cream cheese frosting.

I put browned butter in everything, chocolate chip cookies, rice krispie treats, you name it. It makes almost any baked good taste richer. So when my banana layer cake needed a little more than my usual homemade frosting recipes could give it, I browned the butter for this brown butter cream cheese frosting instead.

Equal Parts Wasn’t the Answer

I started this recipe with equal amounts of browned butter and cream cheese. It tasted good, but the butter’s nutty flavor was fighting the cream cheese instead of working with it. Adding more cream cheese than butter fixed that. The extra tang balances the caramelized flavor from the browned butter, and that ratio is what makes this my go-to banana layer cake frosting now.

A Few Things to Know Before You Start

Let the browned butter cool until it’s slightly solid before you mix it with the cream cheese. If it’s still warm, it’ll melt the cream cheese and you’ll end up with a soupy mess instead of a fluffy frosting.
Use room temperature cream cheese so it blends smoothly with the cooled butter instead of leaving lumps.
If the frosting is too thick, add a splash of cream or milk. Too thin, add more powdered sugar.
This isn’t just a cake frosting. It works as a brown butter icing on quick breads, or in place of the glaze on cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls.

Brown butter frosting swirled on a layer cake.

The flavor profile complements a range of cakes, turning any dessert into a Southern classic. Try it on a southern sweet potato layer cake or almost any cake that has a cream cheese frosting.

What You’ll Need

The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

Step by Step Instructions

Step One: Brown the Butter Until It Smells Nutty

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Let it cook until it turns a rich amber color and smells nutty. Then, pour it into a glass bowl immediately so that it stops cooking, and chill until it’s slightly solid.

Step Two: Beat the Butter and Cream Cheese Together

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the chilled browned butter with cream cheese until smooth and creamy. You can also use a hand mixer. Then, add the vanilla and salt. Finally, add the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.

Beat in vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar.

Step Three: Adjust the Consistency

If the frosting is too thick, add a little cream or milk. If it’s too thin, mix in more powdered sugar until it’s just right. If you want a sweeter frosting, you can increase the powdered sugar to 5 cups.

This brown butter frosting takes ten extra minutes over the regular version, and it’s become my favorite.

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Brown butter frosting on a layer cake topped with walnuts.

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting (Easy and Delicious)

My brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe takes classic cream cheese frosting to the next level with rich, nutty, caramelized flavor. Browning the butter on the stovetop adds incredible depth while cream cheese keeps the frosting tangy, fluffy, and creamy. Best of all, the recipe comes together in about 20 minutes and is a delicious finishing touch for cakes, cupcakes, and more.

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Prep Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Servings:

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Barbara Curry

Equipment

Stand Mixer

Ingredients

½ cup butter
12 ounces cream cheese room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Add the butter to a light colored saucepan and melt over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. It will first melt then foam up. Once it begins to brown, watch it very closely then remove once it has turned an amber color and immediately remove from the saucepan to a glass bowl or measuring cup. Refrigerate until slightly solid.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the brown butter that is slightly soft, with the cream cheese, and beat on high speed until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla and salt and mix to combine. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed so that it doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Once incorporated, beat on high until smooth and creamy.

Notes

This makes enough frosting to easily frost a 2 or 3 layer cake or 15-18 cupcakes.
For a sweeter frosting add an additional cup of powdered sugar.
If the frosting is too soft to pipe, refrigerate it for a few minutes.
When browning butter, make sure you remove it from the saucepan as soon as it is done. If left in the saucepan it will continue to cook and burn very quickly.
The frosting will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge. You may need to whip it again to make it fluffy.