Vanilla Brown Butter Cupcakes

I've never worked with browned butter before, but these cupcakes over at Baking Bites sounded good, so I thought now was as good a time as any to give it a shot. Browned butter is surprisingly easy to make, even though I continuously checked the internet for pictures of what "browned butter" was supposed to look like. :) The toasty flavor of the brown butter was most noticeable in the batter (yes, I enjoy licking the beater), but the resulting cupcakes definitely tasted richer than they normally do.

Vanilla Brown Butter Cupcakes

(Source: Baking Bites)

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Melt butter in a small saucepan and cook over low-medium heat until butter has turned an amber color and smells toasty, but not burnt.

2. Pour from saucepan, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom with a spatula, into a small bowl to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together cooled butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.

3. Distribute batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Makes 12-cupcakes.

Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

(Source: Baking Bites)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

approx 3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk

Cream butter with an electric mixer until soft. Add vanilla and gradually add in sugar until most has been incorporated. Mixture will look a bit sandy. Add in milk as necessary (start with 2 tbsp), along with any remaining sugar, until frosting reaches an easy to work with consistency.