Brown Butter Cake

I don't know where to start with how good this cake is, so let's just say that your little vanilla butter cake got upgraded, and this brown butter cake is the result.

A close sibling to the best brown butter pound cake ever, this one has a less tight crumb and softer bite.

Vanilla butter cake is the quintessential plain cake we make for birthdays and picnics, as it can hold a filling and glaze.

Well, this one is the big, sophisticated sister that looks plain and is anything but.

This glazed cake is simple, tastes beyond amazing, and can be doubled or divided in half, depending on how many you need to feed.

And a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top does the trick too. The cake by itself is that good. But the coffee glaze makes it outstanding.

Cake components

• Brown butter: making it is an extra step but so worth it. A life changer. We have a whole post on how to make brown butter.
• Vanilla cake batter: that is made exceptional by the addition of said brown butter.
• Coffee glaze: that is optional. Or maybe not. Maybe it pairs so well that you'll have to buy the combo.

What is brown butter?

The short version is what the name implies: butter that is browned.

Also known as the French beurre noisette (translated as hazelnut butter), it is unsalted butter that is heated or cooked long enough for the water (yes, butter has water in it, sometimes a lot) to evaporate.
This leaves behind the solids that start to brown, turning golden or amber in color, and with a wonderful nutty aroma (hence the hazelnut reference).

The result is butter with a deep nutty vanilla flavor unlike anything else. Truly worth making, even though it's an extra step.

How to make brown butter

If you've never made brown butter (where have you been?!), it's straightforward.

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan with tall sides (a few inches or so, depending on how much butter you're browning) over medium heat.
2. It will melt, bubble, and make a furious noise (this will be louder depending on how much water the butter has).
3. Then, the bubbles will become smaller, gradually stop chirping (really, it's a chirping noise, you'll see), and foam quite a bit.
4. Be careful, as it will start browning underneath the foam. You will smell a nutty aroma.
5. You must split the foam with the spoon or spatula you're using and see that it doesn’t burn. You want it to be an amber color. Like caramel, it goes from amber to burned quickly, so be careful.
6. Take it out and put it in a shallow pan so it stops cooking.
7. Allow to cool and refrigerate until cold. It doesn’t need to solidify completely. You want it soft (for this recipe).

Kitchen notes

• Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
• Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Brown butter: you can make it in advance. I am so in love with it, that I usually brown a pound of it, put it back in the fridge and simply use it as regular butter for whatever cake/cookie/shortbread I'm making next.
• Cake pans: bundt cakes are always a favorite, but you can also make two medium loaf cakes from this recipe.
• How long does it keep: If well wrapped, it keeps a few days at room temperature (not scorching, obviously) and up to 1 month in the freezer.
• Gift giving: this is a great cake to give as a gift because it's simple yet has a sensational vanilla flavor, and it's hard to find someone who doesn't like it. I like making small loaf cakes (this recipe yields 4).