What else did I do for the first time? I made brown butter. Or browned butter. Or beurre noisette if you want to get fancy. I've seen plenty of recipes calling for browned butter, but never attempted it yet. Why?I have no idea, it's so easy. I followed the directions given in the original recipe for these cupcakes, but I also did some researching as well. Lots of my resources (blogs, cooking websites, etc) said basically the same thing. Some recommended using better brands of butter, such as Kerrygold or Plugra. And, almost said to use unsalted butter. The recipe I followed called for regular salted butter, which I was skeptical about. Whenever I make frosting I always use unsalted. But, I also always follow on original recipe as intended the first time I try it.
Here's what I have to say about using salted butter for this...
The frosting tastes like salted butter. It kind of made the cupcake akin to drinking chai tea with a side of buttered toast. As far as one of those sweet and salty desserts, this would be great. but if you want a nice sweet cupcake resembling a cup of chai tea, go with unsalted. I'm wondering if the original poster meant to list unsalted butter or not. There was no mention of it under the comments either. Next time I make browned butter (and I most definitely will), I want to try a better brand of butter and most definitely use unsalted. So, if you make these, go for unsalted! But the process of making browned butter is easy. Make it ahead of time so it can chill in the fridge and harden up a bit. I chilled mine for almost 3 hours and let it sit out for an hour before using it in the frosting and it worked well. When they say you can really smell the nuttiness of the browned butter, you really can, even more so when it's chilled and you beat it in the mixer. When you're melting and cooking the butter, keep it over medium or medium-low heat. Once it's brown and you can see the little brown flecks, take it off the heat. I actually wish I had left mine on slightly longer to get a deeper amber-brown color, but I did get the little flecks, which are just the milk solids that cooked faster. It can be very easy to burn butter, so watch it when you make it. It took me about 10 minutes with some whisking here and there.
One last thing about this recipe. I followed all directions, but did have to adapt the frosting after. I added in about 3 tablespoons of milk to the frosting and a half teaspoon of vanilla. The browned butter and 3 cups of powdered sugar just made an incredibly unspreadably (that's a new word) thick frosting, and I like a smooth frosting that is easier to pipe and smoother to eat as well.
All in all, these cupcakes are good, but just not what I expected due to the saltiness.
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| A little closeup so you can see the flecks in the brown butter frosting... |
White Chocolate Chai Spice Cupcakes
adapted from The Proper Pinwheel
For the browned butter:
2 sticks of unsalted butter
For the cupcakes:
1 and 2/3 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup white chocolate chip, melted *(see note)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cardamom
For the frosting:
prepared browned butter
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk or cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1. Make the browned butter ahead of time. In a sauce pan or small skillet, melt the butter over medium or medium-low heat. Keep cooking until it turns a nice deep amber brown color with little brown specks in it. Whisk occasionally. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour until it hardens up. You want it the consistency of softened butter.
2. To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, soft together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat. Add the egg whites and beat until combined.
5. Add the flour mix and milk in alternation. Start with the dry mix, then some milk, then some dry mix, then some milk and end with the dry mix. Mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
6. Add the vanilla, melted chocolate and spices and combine.
7. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.
8. To make the frosting: Beat the softened browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. (Feel free to really take in the nutty aroma!)
9. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. In between each addition of sugar, add a tablespoon of milk or cream. Add the vanilla and mix. If you want a thicker frosting, add less milk or add more sugar in the end. If you want a smoother frosting after this, add a tablespoon more of milk or cream at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
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