Brown butter takes a simple apple and walnut cake from nice to gotta-have-another-slice.
Beurre noisette — browned butter — is having a big moment. I’m here for it as long as the trend lasts, and I’ll stick with it long after it fads.
How to Brown Butter
Browning butter is a classic technique that simply involves cooking butter over gentle heat until it turns light brown with a nutty fragrance.
Here’s what’s happening: As the butter melts, its water content evaporates and the milk solids separate from the fat. Once the water’s gone, those milk solids start to toast and turn the butter golden-brown with a fabulous nutty aroma. At that point, your butter can go from brown to burned quickly because the water is no longer there to keep the pan’s temperature in check. Keep a close eye on the pan.
ROOKIE-COOK TIP: When you’re getting close, take the pan off the burner and let residual heat finish the job.
Use a small stainless-steel pan or pot to brown the butter. The pan’s light color makes it easy to monitor the butter as it progresses from yellow to nutty brown.
Allow the butter to cool before combining it with the egg, sugar, and vanilla. Too-hot butter will cause the egg to curdle.
MAKE-AHEAD TIP: Make your brown butter up to three days ahead and refrigerate it. Pop it into the microwave for a few seconds before whisking it into the batter.
Browning butter adds an extra step, so why bother? That’s something I consider any time I call for it in a recipe. As the butter cooks, its water evaporates and its flavor intensifies to lend nutty complexity to all manner of dishes, from fish and pasta to cookies and other baked goods. I find the payoff is worth the extra few minutes (plus a small pan to wash).
Brown butter also boosts the flavor of this Chocolate-Marbled Banana Bread →
In this case, I was revisiting an old recipe to use apples left over from a photo shoot. The original apple cake, based on a Shaker recipe, was fine. But I craved something more. Browning the butter is a small step that pays big dividends.
How to make ghee (Indian-style clarified butter) →
Brown Butter Apple Cake Recipe FAQs
I’m leading with ingredient weights because, as I note in this post, it’s both easier and yields consistent results.
If you’re using cup measurements, which I also include, lightly spoon the flour (or sugar) into dry measuring cups and level it off with a knife. Resist the urge to just dunk a measuring cup into a bag or canister of flour. Why? Because flour settles as it sits, and scooping it straight from the container can mean you use more than needed, which yields a heavy cake.
Why you need more than one thermometer and a kitchen scale →
Using a room-temperature egg and milk helps them combine more easily with the other ingredients.
Start over. Burned butter is bitter, and there’s no saving it once it crosses that line. If you catch it right at that point where it smells nutty and toasty, you’re there. When in doubt, pull it off the heat a beat early; carryover heat from the pan will finish browning it for you.
Pretty much any variety will work. I find crisp, sweet Braeburns, Pink Ladies, or Fujis are nice here. Skip Red Delicious, which, contrary to the name, aren’t all that tasty and can be mushy.
Traditionally, this kind of cake is spiced with ground cinnamon. I find using kafe hawaij, a Middle Eastern blend of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and clove, adds more complexity. You could even try pumpkin pie spice in this recipe.
I like the richness of whole milk in this recipe, but it also works with reduced-fat milk.
Regular raisins are fine. You can use different types of dried fruit as well, such as dried cranberries or chopped dates.
Chopped pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts would be nice.
You can keep it at room temperature for up to three days. A cake stand with a cover is great. No cake stand? No problem. Transfer the cake a large plate and invert a large bowl over it to cover. You can also freeze it, well-wrapped, for up to three months.
Keeping it simple runs in the family. Check out my mom’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe →
Brown Butter Apple & Walnut Cake with Golden Raisins
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 (9-inch) cake pan
- 1 whisk
- 1 spatula
Ingredients
- 71 grams butter (2½ ounces/5 tablespoons)
- cooking spray
- 191 grams all-purpose flour (6¾ ounces/1½ cups, plus more for dusting)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kafe hawaij (or ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 172 grams granulated sugar (6 ounces/¾ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup milk
- 1 medium apple, finely chopped (such as Pink Lady or Braeburn)
- 72 grams golden raisins (2½ ounces/½ cup)
- 60 grams walnuts (2 ounces/½ cup, finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook 2-3 minutes or until browned. Butter goes from deliciously nutty and browned to burned in seconds, so keep a close eye on it as it cooks. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, and dust with flour.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, kafe hawaij and salt, stirring with a whisk.
- In large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, cooled browned butter, vanilla and egg until well combined. Alternate whisking in the milk and flour mixture, beginning and ending with the milk. Fold in the apple, raisins and walnuts.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on the rack. Transfer the cake to a plate, and sift the powdered sugar over the top.