Vanilla Bean Cupcakes & Brown Butter Frosting

Well I’ve officially done it. I’ve created the best frosting I’ve ever had in my life. I’m a big fan of plain ole buttercream, but as I was preparing to make cupcakes, I decided to kick things up a notch. Instead of regular butter, why not brown butter? It has so much more richness and depth of flavor. And instead of plain vanilla extract, why not go with a stronger vanilla bean paste? Yes, I use vanilla bean in both the cupcake and the frosting! Check out those beautiful little specks. Brown butter & Vanilla Bean = a match made in heaven. 

I made these in both regular size and mini cupcakes, and though I love a full size cupcake, the mini won this round. The frosting to cake ratio works out better on these. Plus, the mini size made 48!!! 

Let’s get to baking, friends!! 

Print Recipe

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

Heaven sent brown butter icing tops these sturdy vanilla cupcakes. Get ready for the best cupcakes! Recipe makes 48 mini cupcakes.

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites: small, room temp
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour: 226 grams
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt: omit if using salted butter

Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter: browned, then chilled to soft solid
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Line 2 mini muffin pans (48 liners)
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.
• In a large microwave safe bowl, warm the butter until almost melted, then stir together until all the butter is melted.
• Add sugar and whisk together. (We aren’t creaming with a mixer-just use a whisk.)
• Next add in egg whites, vanilla, milk and yogurt. Whisk all together until well incorporated.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir until smooth.
• Pour into cupcake liners, filling 3/4 of the way. This makes 12 large, or 48 mini. Bake for around 18-20 minutes for large, and 8-10 minutes for minis or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes away clean.
• Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then on a wire rack until completely cool.
• Once cool, frost with the buttercream.

Frosting

• Cut butter into slices and add to a medium size pan (preferably one with a light colored bottom).
• Over medium heat, melt butter while gently stirring with a spatula or whisk.
• The butter will begin to bubble and boil. Continue to stir so that butter doesn’t burn.
• As the butter is bubbling, you should notice the aroma beginning to change to a nutty or toffee-ish smell (around 6-10 minutes) and the butter will begin to darken. This is your cue! Remove the butter from the heat and immediately pour into a separate dish (I use the bowl to my stand mixer-same one I’ll use to make the frosting.)
• Put the butter in the fridge or freezer. You want the butter to return to a soft solid state so that you can cream it with the sugar.
• Once the butter is cooled, we need to whip it in the mixer for around 3 minutes on medium-high speed or until it’s creamy. Add the sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix on low until sugar is incorporated, then on whip on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy texture.
• Add to a piping bag and frost your beautiful cupcakes!
• Enjoy!

Notes

I used a Wilton 1M tip and a plastic zip bag to frost these cupcakes.

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