Brown Butter Mini Sheet Cake with Maple Frosting
User Reviews
5
Brown Butter Mini Sheet Cake with Maple Frosting
Description
The Brown Butter Mini Sheet Cake achieves its distinctive flavor by browning butter before combining it with ingredients like flour, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds. This browning process enhances the nutty aroma and complexity of the cake. The texture of the cake is soft and tender, relying on the balanced mix of baking powder and salt to ensure proper rise and crumb. The vanilla bean seeds provide a natural vanilla scent and speckled appearance in the batter.
The accompanying maple frosting uses unsalted butter and sifted powdered sugar for smoothness, paired with maple syrup and cream to deliver a creamy, sweet finish with subtle maple tones. The frosting's balance complements the cake without overpowering it. Decorating with chai cookies adds visual appeal and a spiced crisp texture as a complement to the cake’s softness.
This cake suits small servings and makes for a thoughtful dessert option or tea-time treat. Baking ahead is possible by cooling and securely wrapping to maintain freshness in the refrigerator or freezer. Chai cookies used for decoration can be prepared in advance, breaking up the preparation steps.
Ingredients
Mini Sheet Cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter Clover Sonoma Organic
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 vanilla bean scraped
- 2 egg large
- 1/2 cup whole milk Clover Sonoma Organic
Frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter Clover Sonoma Organic
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream Clover Sonoma Organic
- Pinch kosher salt
For Decoration:
- Chai Cookies
Instructions
To Make the Mini Sheet Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line an 8x8-inch cake pan. Set it aside.
- To brown the butter, place a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add the butter to the pan and once it’s melted, it will begin to foam up and bubble a bit. Allow it to cook until you begin to see lightly browned specks beginning to form. Give it a stir and cook until it’s browned. You should also start to smell its nutty aroma. Remove it from the pan and continue to stir to cool it down.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and kosher salt. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer (you could also just do this with an electric mixer and a large bowl) another medium bowl, beat together the browned butter, sugar, neutral oil and vanilla bean seeds for about 1 minute. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients, rotating with the milk. This will help hydrate the batter evenly. I like to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure there aren’t any bits of flour hiding.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan and place in the oven for 23 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then invert onto a cooling rack and cool until it’s room temperature. It’ll probably take a full hour.
To Make the Frosting:
- In a bowl of a stand-up mixer, add the butter and beat it until next level. Place a sieve atop the bowl and sift in the powdered sugar, along with the maple syrup, heavy cream and pinch of salt. Beat for a full 2 minutes, this will ensure a super fluffy frosting.
To Assemble the Cake:
- Pour all of the frosting on the cooled sheet cake and spread it around, creating cute swoops as you go. Top it with some cookies or sprinkles. Slice it up and serve.
Notes
- Cool the cake completely before frosting to prevent melting the frosting.
- You can bake the cake ahead and store in the fridge for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Chai cookies used for decoration can be made a day before to ease preparation.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 314 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 8g | |
| Calories | 314kcal | 16% |
| Carbohydrates | 77g | 26% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 1g | 2% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 148mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 112mg | 2% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 57g | 114% |
| Calcium | 41mg | 4% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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