A Better brown Butter
This is how I learned to make brown butter in a Michelin starred kitchen.
The addition of heavy cream not only gives you more milk solids, which are the toasty brown bits in brown butter, it also adds fresh butterfat. The result is deeper, richer, and more layered than traditional brown butter.
It is extremely easy to make, and honestly, it’s a lot of fun to watch it come together.
Brown butter should smell warm and nutty, with caramel undertones and a deep, golden color. You can take it darker to your preference, but the further it goes, the more the flavor can turn a little sharp.
Ingredients
Yield: 9-10 ounces finished butter
8 ounces butter, 2 sticks
8 ounces heavy cream, 1 cup
You can scale this up or down. The ratio is simple: equal parts butter and heavy cream by weight or volume.
Equipment
Heavy bottom medium saucepan
Whisk
Heat safe silicone spatula or wooden spatula
Heat safe bowl, preferably metal
Larger bowl for a cool water bath
Mold or container for freezing
Method
Add the butter and heavy cream to a heavy bottom medium saucepan.
Use a bigger pan than you think you need. This mixture will foam toward the end.
Set the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking periodically. Use a heat safe silicone spatula or wooden spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan a few times during cooking so the milk solids do not stick and burn.
As the cream reduces, the mixture will get thick, then very thick, and then it will break. This is normal. The fat and milk solids are separating.
Keep whisking.
Once the milk solids are toasted about one shade lighter than you want the final color to be, remove the pan from the heat. The residual heat will continue cooking them.
Immediately pour the brown butter into a heat safe container, such as a metal bowl, and place that bowl into a cool water bath.
Keep whisking while it cools. This stops the cooking and helps suspend the toasted milk solids evenly throughout the butter.
Once the brown butter has cooled into a pourable paste consistency, pour it into a mold or container and place it in the freezer.
Freezing is technically optional, but I like doing it because it helps keep the toasted milk solids evenly distributed instead of letting them settle at the bottom.
The whole process, from pan to cooled and in the freezer, takes about 20 minutes.
Notes
Pull the brown butter a little earlier than you think. The milk solids will keep toasting after you remove the pan from the heat.
A metal bowl is ideal because it cools quickly in the water bath.
This can be used anywhere you would use brown butter, especially in baked goods, frostings, sauces, and anything where you want a deep toasted dairy flavor.
What to Do With Brown Butter
Brown butter can go almost anywhere you would use regular butter, but it brings a lot more flavor with it.
Use it in:
baked goods of all kinds
cookies, cakes, blondies, and brownies
pie dough and crusts
quick breads and muffins
frostings and glazes
Savory uses:
tossed with pasta
as a sauce for meats like beef or chicken
especially good with seafood
with roasted or toasted garlic
drizzled over vegetables like carrots, squash, or green beans
over mashed potatoes or folded into polenta
Everyday swaps:
use it in place of butter for garlic bread
finish eggs with it
drizzle over toast with a little salt
It’s one of those ingredients that makes simple food taste finished.
You can also search for brown butter recipes online and find plenty of good ideas. This method just gives you a richer, deeper brown butter to use in them.