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Brown Butter Cake is moist and full of amazing flavor and takes your cake baking to the next level thanks to the browned butter.
This brown butter cake has amazing flavor. The cake is light and tender and the frosting is creamy and rich. A perfect combo. The secret ingredient to the cake and the frosting is browned butter. As far as I am concerned, the only thing that tastes better than butter, is browned butter!
Cake Ingredients
- Butter. You will be browning this butter. Follow these directions to make brown butter.
- Yellow cake mix. I prefer the Duncan Hines brand.
- Water
- Eggs
- Cinnamon
Frosting Ingredients
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Whipping Cream
- Butter. You will also be browning this butter
What is Brown Butter?
Brown butter is butter that is cooked until the fat and milk solids in the butter separate and the milk solids turn brown. This process happens pretty fast and you can easily burn it and end up with black or burnt butter! Be sure and keep an eye on it.
You can find a detailed tutorial on how to make brown butter here.
How to Make Brown Butter
- Place butter into a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly. The butter will melt, get foamy and bubble and then start to turn golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it just starts to turn golden brown, if you don’t you will have burned butter cake! It can go from browned to burned in a few seconds.
- You will be dividing the browned butter into equal portions between the cake and the frosting.
How to Make Brown Butter Cake
- This cake starts with a yellow cake mix. Do not add in the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box. Instead, add in browned butter, water, eggs and cinnamon listed below. It will give you a lovely light and tender cake.
- In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer combine cake mix, eggs, 1/2 cup of browned butter, water and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Mix until combined.
- Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool and mix up frosting using the link below.
Brown Butter Buttercream Frosting
The frosting also has browned butter in it which makes it the best part of the cake! The cake is delicious too but the frosting is amazing!
Use the full brown butter frosting tutorial and recipe found here for making the most amazing brown butter frosting ever. Just be sure your browned butter has cooled before adding it into the other ingredients.
Tips for Better Cake
- Bring your chilled ingredients (such as butter, eggs and milk) to room temperature. There is an actual scientific reason for this. Warm ingredients mix together easier and quicker which prevents you from overmixing things. In this case since we are melting the butter it does not need to be at room temperature but bring your eggs to room temperature.
- Mix ingredients together just until you don’t see any more dry ingredients. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of your bowl to finding anything that might be hiding.
- I always set my timer for five minutes before the stated recipe time. This helps avoid overbaked cake. Insert a toothpick to make sure cake is cooked through. The cake will also be dry to the touch and bounce bake when you touch it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! You will bake them for 18-20 minutes. Mini cupcakes will bake for 10-12 minutes.
It adds some amazing flavor. It brings a richer, nutty, caramel like taste to baked goods. It makes everything better!!
When making your brown butter use a light colored pan, it is easier to watch the process and monitor the color change. If the milk solids which separate out go from dark brown to black, you have burned it. It will also lose its nutty smell.
For more delicious recipes try these:
Brown Butter Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup butter browned
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup butter browned
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350.
- Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat
- Continue cooking, stirring constantly and watching closely, until butter JUST starts to turn golden (5-8 minutes)
- Butter will be foamy and bubble
- Immediately remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes
- Combine 1/2 C browned butter and all remaining cake ingredients in large bowl Set aside remaining browned butter for frosting.
- Beat at low speed 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; beat, scraping bowl occasionally until well mixed – about 2 minutes
- Pour batter into greased 9×13 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean Cool completely
- Combine remaining browned butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl
- Beat at medium speed gradually adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency
- Frost cooled cake
Tips & Notes:
- Bring your chilled ingredients (such as butter, eggs and milk) to room temperature. There is an actual scientific reason for this. Warm ingredients mix together easier and quicker which prevents you from overmixing things. In this case since we are melting the butter it does not need to be at room temperature but bring your eggs to room temperature.
- Mix ingredients together just until you don’t see any more dry ingredients. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of your bowl to finding anything that might be hiding.
- I always set my timer for five minutes before the stated recipe time. This helps avoid over baked cake. Insert a toothpick to make sure cake is cooked through. The cake will also be dry to the touch and bounce bake when you touch it.
Nutrition Facts:
Melinda says
Hi…..I can’t get yellow cake mix in a box. can you tell me the measurement? Thank you
Leigh Anne says
Mary Kathryn,
I am sure the butter cake mix will work create. Have fun and Happy birthday to your daughter!
Mary Kathryn says
I came to your blog today looking for a cake recipe using a cake mix but making some changes. This seems perfect. My daughter will be turning three this weekend and we are having a family over to help celebrate. I was going to make cake from scratch but have a box on hand that I would like to use up. However, my cake mix is the butter recipe cake mix. Do you think it will still work well? Or do you have any other suggestions? Sorry such a long comment. 🙂
MelanieL says
I made this yesterday! It turned out well. I brought it in to work today so I’m anxious to see how everyone likes it! Thanks for the great recipe. Your BEST chocolate cake is next on my list:) Have a great week!
Valen says
I haven’t worked with browned butter much, I have had every intention to, but just keep putting it off, maybe I will get around to it this week as this looks too good to pass up!