Everyday Brown Butter Cake
Unbelievably tender brown butter cake made with brown sugar for extra caramel & nutty notes. This everyday tea style cake is made easy with a just whisk and in one bowl.
The ease of my everyday butter cake (affectionately: ebc), the way readers have taken to it with so much enthusiasm, and mostly the fabulous result you get for so little effort, has had me making this cake on repeat since earlier this year. I’ve made chocolate versions, a strawberry shortcake stack with it, and then while in the midst of making these bb egg yolk cookies the idea popped into my head and I said, that is so obvious, would be so good… it has to be done. So here we are.
What’s different about this EBC
From the get go – there is an obvious difference in appearance, in taste and even in texture from the original EBC. In this, the crumb is darker (thanks to the brown sugar) and there are brown bits scattered about (toasted milk solids). Both of those things affect taste; you can really taste the brown butter in this cake, it’s nutty and has notes of caramel.
The other thing is the texture; the crumb on this cake is more ‘moist’. I had at least one person tell me the EBC was dry, while that could have been an error in their flour measuring, the cake itself is ‘tea’ cake like and so it was never meant to be thought of as moist. This brown butter version? Definitely moist, but still very fluffy.
Is one better than the other? Nope, I don’t think so. It’s like comparing apples to oranges in my mind. The original EBC tastes like a very classic vanilla cake and you probably had something like it when you were a kid so it’s nostalgic in that sense. The brown butter version tastes new and interesting and more notes of ‘brown’ from the sugar & butter. You might like one more than the other but again, that’d be a preference of liking oranges more than apples.
What needed to change for the brown butter version
You might be wondering – couldn’t you just have browned the butter in the original ebc? If you had some brown butter experience and know that some of the liquid evaporates in the browning process, you might even say – couldn’t you have browned more butter than you need, measuring it after and using it in place of the melted butter?
Yes – but that’s just the first step. We have two other variables in this cake that we now need to adjust for: A. While we have enough butter in volume (because we’re measuring after browning), the composition of the butter is actually different now; not as creamy. We need to compensate for that and we’ll do this by adding more sour cream. And, B. To lean into the caramel & nutty notes we’re using brown sugar which is slightly more acidic, so we have to adjust the leavening (baking soda/powder) as well.
Ingredients for Everyday Brown Butter Cake
Butter: You’ll start with much more than you need, as you lose volume when it browns – so about 2 and a half sticks of butter (but measure by weight!). And extremely important: measure after browning as well.
Sugar: We need two types of sugar for this, brown (light or dark) and granulated for the topping. For the topping I like an organic granulated or turbinado, it gives it more crunch than fine granulated.
Vanilla: We want to bring out the vanilla flavor along with the brown butter so use a freshly scraped vanilla bean if you have one (you’ll add it to the butter as it’s melting and browning) and add some more paste or extract after. If you don’t have a bean, you’ll use more extract.
Eggs: Eggs may not necessarily be at room temperature but they should be large.
Leavening: Because there is a little bit more acid from the molasses in the brown sugar we’re using a combination of baking soda and powder.
Flour: Cake flour gives us a very tender, fine crumb. If you don’t have it, use all purpose but swap out two tablespoons of the flour for cornstarch.
Sour cream: Full fat. You can also use a vanilla greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.
Tips to make the perfect brown butter cake batter
Brown the butter carefully: If you see some but not a lot of brown milk solids, don’t stop browning. I find a lot of people stop as soon as they see bits of brown butter but if you are stopping too early, you’re retaining a lot of milk solids that haven’t been toasted. This will lead to less flavor, and more ‘oil’ in the batter/cake. Similarly, stop when the butter goes quiet and isn’t foaming much, you don’t want it to burn (if you smell burnt bits and see the brown has turned dark brown or black, it has burned).
Whisk *very* well & add eggs slowly: First you’ll whisk the sugar and butter together, while the butter is still hot it might begin to melt some of the sugar – you want to see a bit of a change happening as you whisk; the mix should begin to become cohesive (not as much separation between the butter and sugar). As you add the eggs – it is important to add them one at a time, and to whisk thoroughly – you’ll see the batter become thicker, shinier and very cohesive.
Stop whisking as soon as flour is mixed in: So as not to over mix the flour and develop the gluten which toughens the cake, whisk until you can’t see any more bits and then stop immediately.
Everyday Brown Butter Cake
Ingredients
- 290 g unsalted butter browned into 226g, if using salted butter reduce sea salt to ½ tsp
- 220g or 1 cup packed tightly brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract reduce to 1 teaspoon if adding vanilla bean to brown butter
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 250g or 2 cups cake flour shake the flour into the cup and level the cup, don't pack it in
- 240g or 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar for topping
Method
- Set the butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook on medium low, as the butter melts, then begins sputtering, then foams as it browns on the bottom - the process will take about 7 minutes or so. If you are using a vanilla bean, slice it open and add it and the scrapings to the melted butter. Stir it as it browns, scraping up the edges with a rubber spatula for even browning. Once the butter goes quiet and is close to stopping foaming, transfer 226g of it to a large bowl, scraping up the bits off the pan. Discard vanilla pod, if using.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8 or 9” square pan with parchment paper or grease and flour it.
- Sprinkle the sea salt into the butter and pour in the vanilla and whisk. Add the brown sugar and whisk for a full minute, the sugar should melt somewhat.
- Add one egg, then whisk for a full 60 seconds. Add another egg and whisk again - at this point you’ll see the mixture turn thick and shiny, a sign the emulsion is happening. Add the last egg and whisk for another 60 seconds.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and whisk until it’s half mixed, then add the sour cream and whisk fully. Stop when there are no flour bits visible.
- Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 35-45 minutes.
Did you make this recipe?
Share & tag me on instagram @buttermilkbysam
Sheer genius! Easily the best bake I’ve ever made with the highest reward to effort ratio. Plus the recipe is so forgiving with substitutions and very roughly estimated quantities. Thanks for sharing this incredibly scrumptious cake, it really hit the spot!
Hello, I was wondering if it’s possible to bake this cake in a circle cake pan instead? Would I need to adjust the bake time?
You can, use a 9 inch round pan. I would check it at 30 and then go by visual cues and a cake tester.
I used maybe 2/3 brown sugar and 1/3 white sugar because that’s all I had (and it was the Trader Joe’s brown sugar which hasn’t worked well for baking), but this turned out perfectly. The crumb was big which I am always looking for in cakes. And it wasn’t too sweet, maybe because of the sour cream. Everyone loved it and would definitely make again! So easy too. No mixer needed. 10/10!
Made this for dessert tonight and it was fantastic. Great flavor, fantastic texture, beautiful crumb. Definitely adding to my list of go-to cakes!
Disclaimer – I didn’t follow the recipe! But like every recipe I’ve made of yours, Sam, this was incredibly delicious!! My 9-year old had been asking me to make him a cake, and since browned butter is my jam, I decided on this one!
After I started on the butter, I realized I didn’t have cake flour (I used a/p without cornstarch), then learned that I had no sour cream! All I had was about 2/3 c of whipped cream cheese, so I used that and 1/3 c half & half. I ended up having to bake it 53 minutes total, but at 35 mins, I loosely covered the pan with foil and placed a cookie sheet on the rack below to prevent the top and bottom from over-browning.
The cake is absolutely perfect. It doesn’t seem dense or heavy. It’s wonderfully flavorful. We topped it with strawberries and whipped cream, but I’m looking very forward to a plain slice and coffee tomorrow morning. Thank you for yet another excellent recipe even if I didn’t read the ingredients list first!
I think this is the best cake I’ve ever made
It’s unbelievably moist and delicious
wow that’s amazing to hear!
Hi! Do you use the cup measurement or the weight measurement for this recipe. I want to bake it so want to get all measurements right. Thank you
By weight is always preferable. The cups are there for those who don’t have a scale.
Absolutely delicious!! I wish I could post my pictures of how well this turned out.
I used only 3/4 cup of brown sugar and used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
The cake is fluffy , delicious and moist
Holy moly this cake is good. And so easy to make! (I was lazy and used my mixer instead of hand whisking though lol.) I was 100g short of sour cream so topped it up with store-bought buttermilk, and used demerara sugar for the topping, and it was LUSH. The texture is soo soft and light with a wonderfully crunchy top, and the flavour is rich and caramelly but not too sweet. I served it with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, but the flavour of the cake truly shines on its own. Can’t recommend it enough!
I made this cake this morning. Just a couple of notes from an American: I used Two sticks of brown butter. I also subbed yogurt for the sour cream. I used the KitchenAid mixer, and the batter came out, incredibly fluffy, light, and voluminous. It was all the way to the top of the dish. I used Bakers Joy to spray a glass 9 x 9 square pan, and baked at 45 minutes. I let it cool just a few minutes and had to taste one of the corners. This is a remarkable cake. Fairy light. Deep, complex, fragrant. The only thing I can think that would make this cake even more sublime is to serve it with fresh ripe peaches, and whipped cream. And as soon as July rolls around, that’s what I’m gonna do.
How many tablespoons is 290 g please
This recipe is AMAZING. Made it on a whim since I had all the ingredients and it was relatively straight-forward – my only change was that I used 2% plain Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream, and skipped the sugar topping. It came out so flavourful and moist. Super tasty on its own or warmed up with vanilla ice cream. My fiancé can’t get enough of this cake. Thank you so much for creating and sharing this recipe. It’ll be a keeper here.
I’m so happy to hear it Steph, I can totally see it being delicious with vanilla ice cream ;D
I’m a baker but was not happy how this cake turned out and though I thought I had meticulously followed the directions, even printing out the added tips (in the copy portion, not in the recipe) the one thing I realize I did wrong was split the ingredients into to 2 round pans instead of one square pan. Doing this made it much drying than it should have been. Having said that, overall it was well liked and great with a good vanilla ice cream. I’ll have to make it again and hope it turns out better. 🙂
The best and easiest cake of all time, I make it every and all autumn! A cake for those who love caramel and butterscotch but don’t want to actually make caramel. So good, so tender, keeps so well, I strongly recommend.
I LOVE THIS CAKE!!!
I baked this cake three times within 5 weeks… yeah addictive!
First time, only had dark brown sugar and loved those caramel-y (is that a word) notes… everyone enjoyed it. I did skip the sugar topping.. Sam said to just try it, so the second time I baked it I used brown sugar and topped the cake with the sugar – my boys definitely like the second cake with the sugared topping, Sam – you were not wrong.
So because the desire was so intense, I baked the cake again and used the dark brown sugar because I am the baker and like the flavor, and also did the sugared topping – this is the ultimate everyday cake for me, hands down.
I am getting ready to bake the everyday apple cake in a couple of days… so can’t wait to try that recipe.
Just wanted to say, Sam – ALL of the cakes and cookies that I have baked from your recipes have been fantastic, from the small batch RV cupcakes to the apple cider cheesecake and brown butter cookies… and the others I can’t remember, oooohhh wait the BBVCGC – yummmmmm – all have just been absolutely wonderful…
Thanks for testing your recipes and sharing your amazing flavors with us.
Dee
Absolutely delicious. Moist, fluffy, and rich in flavour. I added a splash of almond extract to lean into the nuttiness and will definitely do that again. It was loved by all with and without frosting.
What a wonderfully forgiving recipe! I didn’t have sour cream or yoghurt, so used cottage cheese blended with a little milk and vinegar. And I used/subbed 1/3 cup whole wheat for part of the flour, and cut a bit of the sugar. This is my new favorite cake! Soft and flavorful. Thank you.
Ma’am this cake ATE!!! As someone who doesn’t usually bake – 10/10 so easy to follow. it’s sooo fluffy and moist omg
Perfectly tender and flavorful cake. Thank you!
Can I make a stacked cake with this recipe? I’d like 3×8″ pans 🙂
I think you could! This cake does tend to brown a lot though (sides, top, and bottom) so if that isn’t something you want in a layered cake, you can slice those parts off.
I was out of both sour cream and Greek Yogurt but had full fat buttermilk on hand and it was a lovely cake!! Delicious! I also added about a half teaspoon of cardamom because I can’t leave good enough alone.
I love the cardamom addition!
10/10 no notes, EBC’s hotter cousin
loool, love that description for it
So tender and so delicious! The brown butter flavor comes through perfectly, the crackly sugar top is divine, and the texture of this cake is so light. I brought it to a potluck and it got rave reviews from everyone. Hard to believe I loved a cake without frosting, but this is perfect as is. I will definitely be making this again soon!
this is exactly what I was going for, I’m so happy to hear you all loved it Lisa.
Could one add chocolate chips or chunks to this?
Absolutely – add them in at the end before pouring into the pan.
This cake is amazing! So easy and smelled awesome when baking. Everyone raved about it! I topped it with cinnamon a d sugar. Thank you for the recipe!!
This cake has a wonderful flavour! It smelled like caramel as I was making it. Mine came out too dense, I’m not totally sure what I did but most likely didn’t whisk it for long enough. I will definitely be trying again as it’s still delicious despite my mess up. I added a white chocolate mascarpone whipped cream, with poached pears. Highly recommend!
Thank you for this recipe! The cake has the loveliest nutty taste and the texture is sublime. An absolute treat!
This looks delicious. Would it work to make cupcakes?
I think so? I haven’t tried it but most cake recipes will work as cupcakes, just bake them for about 20 minutes (check them at 18 and bake until the middle springs back)
Thank you for this recipe!!! This cake is insane(ly good). First of all, I had never browned butter before, but your tips are spot-on, and I pushed past where I would have originally stopped and the aroma and taste were even better. The texture and lightness are so freaking good. I’ve made it 3 times recently (gotta practice for the big holidays lol) and each time was great.
1st time – I completely forgot the sugar on top; although one of my taste-testers says they prefer it without the sugar topping. It was awesome on its own; so light and brown-buttery!
2nd time – made it according to the recipe but stuck it in the fridge overnight. It became more dense, maybe like a pound cake. Same amazing flavor, maybe even more condensed.
3rd time – followed the recipe but left it out on the counter and covered for a party the next day. This one was the best-received. Although not all of the sugar on top melted. I didn’t want to keep it in the oven longer in case it dried out the cake. Any tips on getting all the sugar to bake into the top instead of just sitting on top un-melted/un-incorporated?
Thank you for all your recipes and tips/tricks. LOVE your creativity and flavors.
This cake is absolutely delicious! It is slightly more heavy than the original ebc, but has a delightful brown butter flavor, with those slight nutty and caramel-y notes coming through. As always, that crunchy topping practically makes the cake. Also, it’s not a super sweet cake, rather a good mid-day snack that won’t leave you avoiding sugar for the rest of the day. It would also be amazing with some fruit and whipped cream during spring and summer!
I first envisioned topped with a brown sugar whipped cream and some sweet summer peaches (kinda like how I did the strawberry shortcake version with the original!). Must do it next summer =)
I am going to make this with a peach cream cheese frosting. I have to omit the sour cream as well as the scattered sugar. We all don’t like crumbs or granulated sugar on top of our dessert for dental reasons. My mom uses insulin and is bothered by certain cheese and sour cream. So I am thinking to replace sour cream with cream cheese since I have it on hand. I thought omitting it would change the cake texture so I am using a substitute.
I’d recommend using yogurt not cream cheese as cream cheese is heavy and will change the texture, likely making the cake dense.
I only had small eggs, I used 4. And used low-fat Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream, still turned out AMAZING! The smells my oven was putting off almost put me in comatose
In love with this cake! So easy and so good. Question: If I wanted to double the recipe, should I bake it in a 9×13″ pan? Adjustments to baking temp and/or time?
Hi Peggy! You can – I’d just caution that it might take awhile to bake in the center and the top might start to over-brown. You can tent it with foil if you notice this. Keep the baking temperature and add about another 10 minutes, but I’d check doneness with a toothpick or cake tester to be sure.
Use dark brown sugar for more depth of flavor and yogurt (vanilla flavor) instead of sour cream to make the cake a little lighter. This is the perfect everyday day cake. Light, moist, fluffy and delicious!
wonderful to hear, thanks susan!
Do you have to let the butter cool before whisking it after it browns? Thanks 🙂
Just a bit, you don’t want it to scramble your eggs =)
Oops forgot to add a rating!
This was so good – you could really smell and taste the brown butter which added so much flavour. And the texture was unlike most cakes – so soft and just melted in my mouth. Loved the crackly sugar top too. Everyone I shared it with commented on how good it was too and came back for seconds ???? (I baked in an 8×8 pan for 40 mins and it was super tall!)
This was so good – you could really smell and taste the brown butter which added so much flavour. And the texture was unlike most cakes – so soft and just melted in my mouth. Loved the crackly sugar top too. Everyone I shared it with commented on how good it was too and came back for seconds 🙂 (I baked in an 8×8 pan for 40 mins and it was super tall!)
I loved EBC (esp with roasted strawberries scattered on top before baking) and am so exited to try this with roasted peaches!
Loved this cake – great texture and not too sweet, easy to make. I served some warm with stewed apples and caramel sauce and it was a great flavour match.
Absolutely brilliant cake. I have been making a brown butter version of another blogger’s fantastic pound cake, which has the same ingredients as this. I am so delighted Sam has put a brown butter version is out there into the world. Another winner Sam!
This cake is absolute heaven! The brown butter becomes even more pronounced the next day at room temperature. The texture and techniques she uses are perfect- it resulted in the perfect texture moist and deliciously -not to sweet cake!! I may add a few tablespoons of white sugar into the batter next time for a boost of sweetness to see how it is- but this is definitely and adult cake ! I loved it!!!
No really stop it, this is the thing you’re making for dessert. It takes a small amount of real effort to make it seem like a cake that took you all day to make. It’s perfect with the sugar topping, don’t bother trying to upstage the cake with a frosting. Perfect.
Yum yum yum! We put brown butter frosting on top (because we’re crazy like that) and it was a dream come true
How could I make this into a peach shortcake? Would it be best just to make it as is and then pile peaches, whipped cream, etc. on top?
Yup! You can also slice off the top half to make it two layers of cake and have whipped cream & sliced peaches in the middle and on top!
So easy and delicious!!
I didn’t think there was room for improvement for the EBC, but wow! This is absolutely delicious, moist with a nutty/caramel-y flavor to it. And it’s even better on day 2 (for breakfast with a cup of tea).