This easy brown butter cake is moist, rich, and all-around delicious! Aromatic, nutty brown butter takes vanilla pound cake to the next level.
Pound cake is not exactly the most exciting dessert around, but how about bringing brown butter to the party? Just that little change makes this pound cake crave-worthy—especially when you add it to the cake AND the sweet cream cheese glaze!
Why You’ll Love This Brown Butter Cake Recipe
- Versatile. This brown butter cake is a great recipe for snacking or for a simple dessert. Want to have a slice for breakfast? Shh, I won’t tell!
- Balanced flavor. This isn’t a dessert that’s overly sweet. Instead, the focus is on the wonderful nutty flavor of brown butter.
- Pantry ingredients. You likely have everything you need in your kitchen to make this brown butter cake whenever the craving strikes. This is one of those recipes you’ll find yourself turning to again and again when you want a simple dessert that’s sure to please.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
For the Cake:
- Unsalted butter – If ever there’s a time to spring for a high-quality butter, it’s here. It’s the centerpiece of this recipe!
- All-purpose flour – Here’s how to measure flour for this brown butter cake.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs – Let these come to room temperature before you start baking.
- Vanilla bean paste – You can substitute the seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
For the Glaze:
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese – Use full-fat blocks of cream cheese, not the kind that comes in a plastic tub.
- Confectioners’ sugar – Also known as powdered sugar.
- Warm milk – Any kind of milk you have on hand will work.
What Is Vanilla Bean Paste?
Vanilla bean paste is a thick paste that includes the seeds of vanilla bean pods. It’s used in baking to add authentic vanilla flavor and specks of vanilla bean. Think of vanilla bean paste as an easier way to add the flavor of whole vanilla beans to your baking and desserts.
How to Make Brown Butter Cake
Make the Cake:
- Brown the butter. Place the butter in a medium saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and the butter has a nutty aroma. Transfer the butter (including the browned bits) to a large mixing bowl and cool for about an hour, or until solidified.
- Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Add the sugar to the cooled brown butter. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the sour cream and vanilla bean paste.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add in the flour mixture until combined.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the the cake is golden brown and a pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.
- Cool. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Then, transfer the cake directly to the rack to cool completely. (Learn more: Why Every Baker Needs Wire Cooling Racks)
Make the Glaze:
- Start the glaze. Repeat the browning process with the 3 tablespoons of butter. Place the butter (including the browned bits) in a medium bowl and allow to cool and solidify for about an hour.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of milk. Add more milk, a small amount at a time, until the glaze is thick but pourable.
- Finish. Pour the glaze over the cake. Let it set, then serve.
Tips for Success
- Let the butter cool. If you’ve ever browned butter, then the process of doing that won’t hold any surprises for you. But in a bit of a departure from the usual, you’ll need to let it cool after browning it until it re-solidifies somewhat. That texture lets you mix it in much the same way you’d mix softened butter.
- Don’t brown all the butter together. You can wipe out the pan you used for browning the butter for the cake and then brown the butter for the glaze in it. I don’t recommend browning all the butter at once, though, because the total volume decreases by about 25% after it’s browned, so measuring the right amount for each portion of the recipe would be tricky.
- Sift the confectioners’ sugar. This is important to prevent lumps in the glaze. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a fine-mesh strainer.
- Let the cream cheese come to room temperature. This helps it mix smoothly and evenly into the other glaze ingredients.
- Cool before glazing. It’s important to let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze. Otherwise, the glaze will melt into and off of the cake—it will still be delicious, but it’s not exactly what you want!
Variations
- Add a citrus twist. Incorporate the zest of an orange into the batter for a bit of citrus flavor. I like going with orange rather than lemon because it complements, rather than competes with, the brown butter.
- Make it nutty. Add chopped walnuts or pecans for some crunch and to play up the nuttiness of the brown butter flavor. You can fold them into the batter or sprinkle them over the glaze before it sets.
- Spice it up. Sprinkle some cinnamon into the warm brown butter before you let it cool, but after removing it from the stovetop. The heat from the butter will bloom the spice, adding a rich cinnamon flavor to this brown butter cake.
How to Store
Store brown butter cake at room temperature for up to 2 days; wrap it tightly or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. For longer storage, you can keep the cake in the refrigerator for up to a week. Before serving, let the cake sit at room temperature for an hour to ensure the best flavor.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can freeze this brown butter cake recipe for up to 3 months. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil, to protect it from freezer burn and maintain its flavor and texture. Let it thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
More Recipes With Brown Butter
- Brown Butter Pear Crisp
- Spice Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
- Brown Butter Cinnamon Cookies
- Salted Chocolate Brown Butter Crispy Treats
- Toffee Pecan Brown Butter Crumb Cake
Brown Butter Cake
This easy brown butter cake is moist, rich, and all-around delicious! Aromatic, nutty brown butter takes vanilla pound cake to the next level.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 1 & 3/4 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (57g) sour cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste*
For the glaze:
- 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter
- 3 ounces (85g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (27g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 to 4 tablespoons warm milk
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan or skillet. Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and begins to foam.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until brown specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan and the butter has a nutty aroma.
- Transfer the butter (including the browned bits) to a large mixing bowl. Set aside until the butter has solidified (about an hour).
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9"x 5" loaf pan.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Add the sugar to the cooled brown butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla bean paste.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and spread evenly.
- Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a pick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. If the top of the cake is getting too brown, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
- Cool the cake on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Then transfer the cake from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze:
- Repeat the browning process with the 3 tablespoons of butter.** Place the butter (including the browned bits) in a medium bowl and allow to cool and solidify a bit (about an hour).
- Add the cream cheese to the cooled brown butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, and mix thoroughly.
- Add 2 tablespoons of milk, and mix well. Add more milk, a small amount at a time, until the glaze is thick but pourable.
- Top the cooled cake with the glaze and allow to set before serving.
Notes
*You can also substitute the seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
**If you like, wipe out the pan you used for browning the butter for the cake and then brown the butter for the glaze. Browning all the butter at once and then measuring out the amount for the glaze can be a bit tricky, as the total volume decreases by about 25% after it's browned.
Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network.
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15 Comments on “Brown Butter Cake”
Another recipe that sounds fantastic. Just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all the recipes you post. I love cooking and baking in particular and everything I have tried from you so far has been delicious. I can’t wait to give this one a try too.
Thanks for sharing.Â
Thank you so much! 🙂
SO MUCH BROWN BUTTER GOODNESS!
Um, pound cake is TOTALLY exciting. ANd always so good. But definitely better with brown butter! Good call.
Made for the What’s on the Menu? Tag Game @ FF&F – I made the cake part of this recipe only as DH generally prefers cakes w/no icing or glaze. It was served w/another item as a combo dessert for our weekly family brunch & was well-received. I baked it for 1 hr & it tested done via a wooden skewer test. The flavor was excellent, but I found it a bit dry to my surprise. However, no one agreed w/me. They were too busy grabbing another portion. 🙂 .  Â
Looks great! I have a soft spot for pound cakes! Â I like its dense, buttery flavor!
Do you have any tips for avoiding burning the edges of the cake while waiting for it to be cooked through? Every time I try to make a pound cake the middle is still gooey even though the edges and bottom/top are getting too crunchy brown!!
Hi, Grace. If you’re using a dark pan, that can definitely cause the outside to bake faster than the center. You might also consider getting an inexpensive oven thermometer and check the accuracy of your oven’s temperature. It’s fairly common for ovens to be inaccurate.
Thank you! I love all your posts and most of my go-to favorite desserts come from BoB 🙂
This was extremely dry when I made it. I’d definitely recommend that whoever makes this add some milk or another liquid presumably to combat the loss of moisture from brown butter that wasn’t accounted for in the recipe.
I wonder if I could swing this as the base for a pineapple upside down cake. My husband is dubious, but literally all of my holiday baking has incorporated brown butter and I have no plans on stopping any time soon.
Hi, Whitney. I’ve not tried that, so I can’t say if it would work or not. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
I made the cake yesterday and made sure my daughter picked it up this morning. I could have eaten the entire cake. It was delicious. My grandson doesn’t care for thick frostings so instead I made a brown butter glaze. I would like to turn this recipe into a two layer cake. The pan conversion for the loaf pan is a 9 inch round cake pan. Can I safely double the recipe or do I have to make it twice. Thank you for such a great recipe.
I’m so glad you liked the cake, Ann! I think you could double the recipe. My only hesitation would be with browning the butter. The volume of butter reduces with that step, so there’s a possibility that it will be off a bit by browning a larger volume at once. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Thanks Jennifer. I’m hopig to make it for Mother’s Day. I’ll brown the butter in two steps and will let you know how the cake turns out. Thanks again for this recipe.