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Brown Butter Cake

Brown Butter Cake

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16
Calories 611 kcal

Equipment

  • mixer
  • (3) 8-inch cake pans
  • parchment paper or precut parchment paper rounds
  • bunny ears (optional)

Ingredients
  

Brown Butter Cake
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, browned, room temperature (see notes for link to browning butter)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or beans from 1 pod)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature, and shaken
  • ½ cup sour cream, room temperature (use full-fat)
Brown Butter Frosting
  • 1 ½ cups butter, browned and softened
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 4 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar (if you like a sweeter frosting, add 5 cups)
  • 5 tablespoons whole milk or half-and-half
Decorations
  • edible fresh flowers, washed and air-dried
  • ⅛ cup white chocolate chips
  • assorted colors of candy eggs

Instructions
 

Brown Butter Cake
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the cake pans.
  • Cut three rounds of parchment paper and place them flat in the bottom of the cake pans. (You can use the bottom of a pan to trace a circle.)
  • Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides, ensuring the butter and sugar are well combined.
  • Add the eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating after each addition, just until combined.
  • Stir in the vanilla bean paste and extract.
  • Stir together the buttermilk and sour cream. Then, alternate adding the flour and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour, incorporating a little of each at a time while beating between additions. Be careful not to overbeat the batter.
  • Divide the batter evenly among the three pans. To promote even cooking and ensure the cakes are flat, use baking strips (see the note below for an easy alternative).
  • Bake for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with crumbs. (If using baking strips, you may need to add extra minutes to the cooking time.) Cool on racks for a few minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pans and lift the parchment paper from the bottom of each cake. Cool completely before frosting.
Brown Butter Frosting
  • Beat the butter, vanilla paste, extract, and salt together until smooth.
  • Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with the milk, beating between each addition. Scape down the sides of the mixing bowl, then beat the frosting for 3-4 minutes until smooth.
Decorations
  • Frost the cake, adding frosting between the layers. Wrap plastic wrap around the stem of the bunny ears and insert it in the center of the cake.
  • Melt the white chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds on high. Stir until melted. Microwave for an extra 30 seconds if needed.
  • Cut the flower stems, leaving about an inch to dip in the melted chocolate. Place the flowers around the bunny ears and around the bottom of the cake.
  • Fill in with candy eggs between the flowers.

Notes

Browning Butter

Click here to link to a post on browning butter.

Baking Strips (optional)

Attach damp baking strips around the cake pan before baking to prevent a dome in the middle. You can buy these online or at craft stores in the cake-baking section, or make your own. 

Making Baking Strips

To make a baking strip, follow these steps:
  1. Cut a strip from an old towel. This strip should be long enough to fit around your cake pan and sufficient to fold over and make a double thickness.
  2. Wet and wring out the strip until it is damp but not dripping.
  3. Wrap the strip around the pan, overlapping the ends.
  4. Pin the strip with safety pins until it fits securely around the pan.
  5. Repeat until each pan has a baking strip.
  6. Fill the pans with batter and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with crumbs. This method prevents the cake's sides from baking faster than the middle. You may need to add baking time until the toothpick test shows the cake is done.

Nutrition

Calories: 611kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 5gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 20gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 118mgSodium: 490mgPotassium: 85mgFiber: 1gSugar: 59gVitamin A: 1015IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 1mg
Keyword brown butter cake,, browned butter cake
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