Here is a step-by-step for making brown butter. So, so easy! And the results are fantastic. The result is butter with a deep nutty vanilla flavor unlike anything else. Great for substituting regular butter in baking recipes and some savory ones.
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 (image 3 below), 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 really simple.
- Melt butter at low heat in a saucepan.
- Small bubbles will appear around the edges.
- Foam will cover the surface, and large bubbles will start to appear.
- Bubbling will take over the foam and make a chirping sound, depending on how much water content the butter has.
- The bubbles will get smaller, and the sound subsides to foam again. This is the crucial moment when you have to check under the foam for the color of the butter, as it can go from amber to burnt in seconds.
- Transfer to a bowl, so it stops cooking and cools down completely.
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The shade goes from light to dark in seconds, just like that (image below). The flavor deepens as it colors, but be aware that, just like it happens with caramel, it goes from wonderfully dark-colored and deep flavored to burned and useless.
So there it is, your fabulous brown butter!
Kitchen notes
- Color: be very careful during the last stage of the recipe, when the butter stops chirping and a thick foam gathers on the top. The butter starts to burn quickly at this point, so make sure you separate the foam with a spatula and check that the bottom is not burning. The darker the color, the deeper the flavor. Just make sure you don't get a burned flavor!
- Solids: as the butter browns, the solids burn and deposit in the bottom. You can use it with the solids or without. Your choice. Sometimes the butter is deep-colored, meaning the solids are almost burned, so it's better to leave them behind.
- Bulk browning: I make this recipe 1 pound at a time. Then I refrigerate it until and need it as regular butter. It will have a different consistency, of course. But the results in cakes, muffins, and cookies are exceptional.
- Storing: keep refrigerated in a tightly closed container. It lasts for a week, but always check it before using it. Don't use it if it has a rancid smell or a weird texture. It can also be frozen.
- Soft brown butter: read the recipe you're going to make carefully because butter is usually used at room temperature, so it doesn’t need to solidify completely if you brown it for this recipe.
Recipes with brown butter
- Brown Butter Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze: one of my favorite cakes ever, this is a simple butter cake taken to a new level.
- Bourbon Pecan Pie: rich and buttery, I love this recipe as an alternative to more traditional pecan pies.
- Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi: if you like homemade gnocchi, you will love this super easy recipe. Once the ingredients are measured, this dish is ready in 45 minutes.
- Glazed Brown Butter Coffee Cake: this glazed coffee cake will make your sunny day better or your cloudy day brighter. A fabulous coffee cake from a baking challenge from Handle the Heat.
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How to make Brown Butter
Step-by-step instructions on how to make this fantastic butter! The yield depends on the amount of water the butter you use has. I estimate roughly 20-25%.
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 12 ounces (aprox.) 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound unsalted butter
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan with tall sides (a few inches or so depending on the amount of butter you're browning) over medium heat.
- It will foam at first and spurt, so be careful! Don't stand too close to the saucepan.
- It will melt and will start to bubble and make a furious noise (this will be louder depending on the amount of water the butter has).
- Then, the bubbles will become smaller and it will gradually stop chirping (really, it's a chirping noise, you'll see) and will foam quite a bit (images below).
- Be careful as it will start browning underneath the foam. You will smell a nutty aroma.
- It's very important that you 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. Similar to caramel, it goes from amber to burned in a short moment, so be careful.
- Take it out and put it in a shallow pan so it stops cooking (image below, right).
- The shade goes from light to dark in seconds, just like that (image below). The flavor deepens as it colors, but be aware that, just like it happens with caramel, it goes from wonderfully dark-colored and deep flavored to burned and useless.
- Allow to cool and refrigerate until cold. Read the recipe carefully, because usually butter is used at room t°, so it doesn’t need to solidify completely.
Notes
- Color: be very careful during the last stage of the recipe, when the butter stops chirping and a thick foam gathers on the top. The butter starts to burn quickly at this point, so make sure you separate the foam with a spatula and check the bottom is not burning. The darker the color the deeper the flavor. Just make sure you don't get a burned flavor!
- Solids: as the butter browns, the solids burn and deposit in the bottom. You can use it with the solids or without. Your choice. Sometimes the butter is deep-colored and that means the solids are almost burned, so it's better to leave them behind.
- Bulk browning: I make this recipe 1 pound at a time. Then I refrigerate it until and need it as regular butter. It will have a different consistency of course. But the results in cakes, muffins, and cookies are exceptional.
- Storing: keep refrigerated in tightly closed. It lasts for a week, but always ckeck it before using. Don't use it if it has a rancid smell or a weird texture. It can also be frozen.
- Soft brown butter: usually we make it and refrigerate it. But read the recipe you're going to make carefully, because most times butter is used at room t°, so it doesn’t need to solidify completely.
- Prep Time: 2
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Basic Recipes
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: International
Keywords: brown butter
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