Browning the butter makes a smooth and simple pound cake even better. The crumb is moist and perfectly dense, and the deep vanilla flavor is amazing. It keeps well and can be frozen.
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In appearance, this is a traditional pound cake, unassuming and plain.
And in a sense, it is. Until you take a bite. It has a deep, rich taste unlike any other. Brown butter takes the vanilla flavor to a different level, transforming this into a melt-in-your-mouth pound cake.
Most baking recipes that call for butter can be made with brown butter. You can find some in our recipe index, like brown butter cake and brown butter breadcrumbs as a topping for pasta.
What is brown butter?
The short version is what the name implies: butter that is browned.
Also known as the French beurre noisette (it translates as hazelnut butter), it is unsalted butter that is cooked long enough for the water (yes, butter has water in it, sometimes a lot) to evaporate.
This leaves behind the milk solids that start to brown, turning golden or amber in color and with a wonderful nutty flavor and aroma (hence the hazelnut reference).
The result is a deep vanilla butter flavor unlike anything else. Truly worth making, even though it's an extra step.
For more information on this outstanding ingredient, we have a whole post on how to make brown butter.
Ingredient list
- Unsalted butter.
- Sugar: use granulated white sugar.
- Eggs + egg yolk: fresh, large
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
- Milk.
- Flour: cake flour gives it a smoother texture, but all-purpose flour is fine if that's all you have.
- Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
- Baking powder: is used as leavener to help the cake rise, so make sure it isn't expired.
See the recipe card at the end of this post for quantities.
How to make brown butter
It's very simple.
It involves melting the butter and letting the water content evaporate until it turns amber-colored and gives out a nutty aroma.
It will foam, bubble up, and make chirping noises sometimes. And then all that will subside, and a golden-colored liquid will appear. That's your brown butter. Liquid gold.
How to make this pound cake
It's a butter cake that involves the creaming method.
It uses an extra yolk for richness and brown butter. The rest is the same method as any other vanilla butter cake recipe.
Cream the soft butter with sugar for a few minutes. Don't skimp on the time specified in the recipe. Add eggs and beat until very well incorporated.
The flavorings, dry ingredients (flour mixture), and wet ones are added alternating to ensure they integrate well.
Make sure you have the right-sized pan.
Never fill them more than ⅔ of their capacity (¾ at the most). This will ensure they have space to rise and bake as they should.
IMPORTANT: after incorporating flour in a cake batter, we don't want to develop gluten, as it will toughen the cake. So mix *just* until it's all well incorporated but don't overbeat. Use the mixer at a low speed, or do it manually with a rubber spatula.
Variations
This is a fabulous cake on its own, but there are ways to enhance it if you want other flavors.
- Spices: vanilla and brown butter go well with warm ground spices like cinnamon, allspice, apple pie mix, and pumpkin pie mix.
- Nuts: since the butter is nutty after being browned, you can add a few tablespoons of chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
- Brown butter glaze: make a powdered sugar glaze using melted brown butter as the liquid part. Simply mix the sugar with a few teaspoons of butter (with the brown specks unless you want a clear mixture) until it's like thick honey. Pour over the cooled cake and let it drip down the sides.
Storage
- Room temperature: you can keep it for three days (maybe a little more). Always well covered with plastic wrap or a cake dome to prevent drying.
- Refrigerator: cover and keep it in the fridge for a week.
- Freezer: it keeps well frozen for a month if well wrapped. I use plastic wrap first and then aluminum foil. Check our freezer baking & desserts guide for more details.
How to serve this pound cake
- Plain: today's recipe is especially good to eat with just a dusting of powdered sugar.
- Cream and berries: a thick slice topped with a dollop of whipped cream, fresh berries or berry compote, or strawberry sauce. It's a crowd-pleasing dessert.
- Caramelized fruit and preserves: I serve it with caramelized figs when in season. Use other stone fruit, like the ones in this brown sugar ice cream post.
- Trifle: use it as the cake part on any trifle with whipped cream, fresh fruit, lemon curd, and chocolate. It pairs well with most flavors.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
- Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. Use a thermometer inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that the temperature is right. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Ingredients: they should be at the temperature specified in the recipe. This is important to get the best results.
- Loaf pan: if using the right size, the batter should never come up more than ⅔ (or ¾ at the most) of its capacity. This will ensure the cake rises well and the inside is baked.
- Brown butter: you can make it ahead and keep it refrigerated for a few weeks in an airtight container. Consider that you'll need 25% less of what the recipe specifies if starting with regular butter. So, for example, the recipe today uses 1 cup of butter before it's browned. If you already have the browned butter, you'll need ¾ cup.
Related recipes you might like:
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The Best Brown Butter Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
For the brown butter:
- It takes about 1 hour for the butter to solidify and be at room temperature before it's ready to use.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- A white foam will form on top, then subside, and bubbles will appear. It can chirp noisily if it has too much water content.
- When the bubbles and noise subside, watch carefully, remove from the heat, and check the butter's color under the foam. As soon as it turns a medium amber color, it's done. At this point, it can brown very quickly, so watch out.
- Transfer to a shallow bowl (it will cool down faster) and refrigerate until it firms up a little. This might take from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the temperature. Remember you need it at room temperature, not solid, so use the fridge to speed it up, but don't let it solidify.
For the cake batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350º (180°C).
- Butter or spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
- Line with a piece of parchment paper if you want, covering the pan's bottom and two long sides. The two short sides will remain unlined but greased. This will help you remove the cake from the pan.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer (or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), beat butter until pale and fluffy. Gradually add sugar at medium-high speed.
- Mix eggs, yolk, milk, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add gradually to the butter mixture, mixing well.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients in three additions, mixing carefully with a spatula. Like me, you might sift flour and baking powder in another bowl or do it directly over the batter.
- Integrate well until no lumps remain, but don't overbeat after adding the flour.
- Pour into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to even it out.
- Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack, remove from the pan, dust with powdered sugar, and serve.
- For storing leftovers see Notes below.
Notes
Room temperature: you can keep it for three days (maybe a little more). Always well covered with plastic wrap or a cake dome to prevent drying.
Refrigerator: cover and keep it in the fridge for a week.
Freezer: it keeps frozen for a month if well wrapped. I use plastic wrap first and then aluminum foil. Check our freezer baking & desserts guide for more details.
Linda says
My favorite cake am going to try this
Butter cake
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Pound cake is at the top of my bucket list so I'm going over to check out the guest post. And figs...yum!
mireia badia says
Sé que estoy desaparecida pero no tengo tiempo nunca!!! entre semana después de trabaajr tengo gimnasio o francés y los sábados tengo clases en LCB donde esta prohibido que compartamos fotos, y cuando cocino (que lo hago mucho) suelen ser recetas de la escuela o se me olvida hacer fotos!! en junio acabo el curso y espero tener más tiempo para cocinar y actualizar el blog, veo que tu tienes mucha mas constancia que yo y haces cosas increíbles!
Anna @ CrunchyCreamySweet says
Oh wow! I would love a slice of this cake!
Medeja says
Wow, this cake looks sooo.. soft and delicious. I am sure it's melting in mouth!
Liz Berg says
I would pick this over any decadent chocolate dessert! What a perfect pound cake! I totally agree with you about Uru...I was nowhere near as mature and driven at that age! Will pop over to see your recipe soon 🙂
Laura Dembowski says
Adding brown butter to pound cake sounds so rich and decadent. Love it, Paula! Too bad I'll have to wait months for fig season to try the compote.
Deb says
Figs and Pound Cake sound scrumptious! A compelling guest post Paula!
Kim | a little lunch says
Paula, it was a pleasure reading your guest post on Uru's blog! I just got done browning the butter, per your descriptive directions, and can hardly wait for it to cool so I can put the rest of the pound cake together. You have "upped" a Southern dessert and made it even better! Thanks again.
Renee says
Heading over to check out the recipe. You got me at browned butter and pound cake is one of my favorite types of cake.