How to Brown Butter
Follow this tutorial on how to brown butter with step-by-step instructions that are easy to understand, visuals and tips to make brown butter confidently for endless desserts.
Equipment
- Chopping Board & Knife
- 01 Weighing Scale
- 01 Deep and wide saucepan (Light-Coloured)
- Whisk
- Spatula
- 01 Square Cake Pan or Bowl for storage/chilling
- Parchment Paper to line the cake pan
Ingredients
Butter
- 113 grams Unsalted or Salted Butter* Or 1 stick Butter
Instructions
- Line a square cake pan with parchment paper if you are making it ahead of time.
- Chop the butter into even-sized cubes and transfer it to the pan.
- On a low to medium flame, heat the butter whisking it occasionally so the butter melts evenly.
- Once the butter has completely melted, the butter will begin to foam and double in size.
- Whisk the butter continuously and gently to make sure that it cooks evenly. Make sure to whisk the bottom and sides of the pan to avoid the milk solids from sticking to the pan.
- As the foam subsides the butter begins sizzling and eventually bubbling.
- As soon as you get a subtle whiff of nutty and caramelized aromas, take the pan off the heat and swirl to remove the residual heat. The milk solids will be golden brown in colour. Keep it aside to cool*.
- Once the butter has cooled, the milk solids will become reddish-brown or amber in colour. If not heat the butter a little more for about 10 seconds and let it cool once again before using.
- Transfer the brown butter to a bowl if you are using it immediately OR to the lined square pan if you need softened butter.
- Cover the square pan with plastic wrap and transfer it to the refrigerator till solid and firm.
- Once chilled, demould the brown butter (make sure to scrape any left-over butter from the pan onto a plate or chopping board.
- Chop the butter into even-sized cubes
- Let it soften if you need softened butter or transfer it to an air-tight jar or box. If you are using an air-tight box store it with the parchment paper.
Notes
- Quantity - You can brown bigger quantities of butter at one time but make sure to use a bigger pan as the butter will overflow when it's foaming.
- Cooling - The trick to make brown butter correctly is to let the butter brown till the milk solids become golden brown. Once it does, leave the butter to cool completely in the pan itself. The milk solids will be reddish brown at this stage.
- Burnt Butter - If you prefer a darker browned butter (with a dark amber colour) that is almost burnt butter, cook the butter till the milk solids are extremely dark in colour and the butter begins to turn dark brown. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and transfer into a bowl. I do not recommend cooking the butter this long as there is a high risk of burning the butter and I have found that the flavour is lost if cooked for long.
- Storage - This brown butter can be stored in the refrigerator (in an air-tight jar or container) for 3 months.
- Ingredient Substitution & Weighing Guide - Read it here