These Browned Butter Peach Cupcakes are the perfect balance of sweet peaches, caramel-y browned butter and a soft vanilla cupcake to top it all off! Browned butter buttercream creates the ultimate bed for these perfectly soft peaches flavored with a little bit of cinnamon and whole lotta deliciousness! It almost makes me sad summer is ending! I did say *almost*!
What are Browned Butter Peach Cupcakes?
I guess my short answer would be a little bite-sized portion of summer perfection.
But we can't just leave it there, can we? These cupcakes start off with my favorite vanilla cupcake base which is made up of flour, sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and sour cream. Of course, it can't be vanilla cupcakes without a heaping one tablespoon of vanilla extract! Even though it seems like a lot, it adds the perfect vanilla flavor throughout the cupcakes! With such a flavorful frosting and filling, I wanted these vanilla cupcakes to hold their own!
This peach filling is absolutely heavenly! I had some leftover from recipe testing, so I added some to vanilla ice cream. Holy moly, this filling can literally go with everything! It's the perfect balance of sweetness with the brown sugar, and of course, the cinnamon pairs beautifully with the peaches!
As for the browned butter buttercream, I almost want to call it the main event, but that wouldn't be fair to the peaches. If you know me, you know I am obsessed with browned butter. It is one of my all-time favorite ingredients that I will try to add to everything. This is my first time making a buttercream out of it, but I can promise you, it won't be the last!
The browned butter adds such a richness to the buttercream that you can really only find in browned butter! The nuttiness with the rich caramel notes is so beautiful with the peaches! If this is your first time trying browned butter, you are in for a treat!
Let's Talk About Browned Butter
I could write multiple posts talking exclusively about my love of browned butter.
So, what is browned butter? Browned butter is the caramelization of the milk solids in the butter. As the butter melts down, the milk solids settle on the bottom of the pan and begin to turn this beautiful caramel color, almost like if you were making caramel using sugar.
Because the milk solids are literally caramelizing, the butter turns this rich amber color that is stunning! It's also what gives browned butter the nuttiness and the caramel flavor!
Making browned butter is actually pretty easy. You just melt the butter on a stovetop on a medium low heat. I usually leave it alone, stirring once every few minutes, until it starts to bubble. When it really starts to bubble, I take my whisk and stir it every 20 seconds. You don't want to stir it constantly because you do want to give it time to caramelize, but you also don't want it to burn. So I stir it, wait a few seconds, then stir it again.
It might sound intimidating but once you do it a few times, you'll be a browned butter pro in no time!
And if you're already addicted to browned butter, try these Browned Butter Cookies!
Tips and Tricks
To get a pretty swirl of frosting, I like to use a star tip for my piping bag! A star tip is pretty much my go-to because I love the pretty swirls! If you don't have a piping bag, you can always use a plastic sandwich bag and snip off the corner.
If you don't want to deal with any piping bags at all, you can always use a knife to swirl the frosting on top. The only thing you want to do is make sure there's a nice covering of frosting on the top of the cupcake to form a little well for the peaches to sit in!
Ingredient List
- Vegetable Oil
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Peaches
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Powdered Sugar
- Heavy Cream
It may seem like a lot of steps, but no worries, they're all super easy! Plus, you can make the peaches and the frosting while the cupcakes bake! It makes the time between making cupcakes and eating the cupcakes go by so fast!
Cheers!
-Holly Michelle
Browned Butter Peach Cupcakes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¼ cups Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Milk
- 3 tablespoons Sour Cream
Peach Sauce:
- 2 Peaches
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Browned Butter Buttercream:
- 2 ½ sticks butter
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¾ cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 tablespoons Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the frosting!
- Add the two and a half sticks of butter to a saucepan. Begin to melt the butter down on a medium heat.
- Let the butter bubble for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the butter turns a beautiful amber color.
- Pour into a glass bowl and let set until it's just firm!
To Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl, combine oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. Whisk together.
- Then add in milk and sour cream.
- Once the liquids are fully combined, add in flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Pour into cupcake molds about ⅔'s of the way high and bake for about 18-22 minutes. Until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Peach Topping:
- While the cupcakes bake, chop up the peaches into small pieces.
- Pour into a saucepan with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and a pinch of salt.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, until the peaches are slightly softened.
- Let cool.
To Make the Frosting:
- Add firmed brown butter to a bowl of a stand mixer, whip on medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla.
- Whip on medium speed for 10 minutes. Add to a piping bag with a star tip attached*.
To Assemble:
- Begin by piping in the middle of the cupcake, then wrap the frosting around the edge of the cupcake. Continue piping a second swirl around the edge of the cupcakes. This will create a nest for the peaches!
- Take a spoonful of peaches and place them in the middle of the frosting.
- Add an extra drizzle of the peach sauce and enjoy!
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