Brown Butter Spread
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Ingredients
  • 230g (or about 1 cup) unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. Plop the butter in a small saucepan and melt over low to medium heat. Use a pan that has a light color inside, so you can see the butter change.
  2. Watch as the butter melts and starts to bubble as the water evaporates from the pan. Don't be alarmed by the tremendous crackling sound the butter makes at this point. It's all part of the process.
  3. NOTE: the bubbling may have caused small butter drops to stick to the side of the pan. Because these drops brown (or burn) faster than the rest of the butter, I usually wipe the sides of the pan clean with a rubber spatula.
  4. Watch the bubbles turn into a soft foam.
  5. At this point, the butter will be browning and the smell of butter will be replaced by a more nutty smell. Gently swirl the pan from time to time.
  6. Use your spatula to sweep the foam out of the way so you can check the color of the butter. My pan has a tendency to burn easily, so I usually give the pan a good swipe with my spatula at this point to prevent the milk solids form sinking to the bottom of the pan and burning or sticking.
  7. Once the butter has turned a nice golden color and your kitchen smells like toasted hazelnuts pour the brown butter into a heatproof bowl to stop it from cooking. Make sure you scrape all the caramelized milk solids (dark brown specks) out as well, as that is where the flavor comes from.
  8. Leave to cool. I usually put it outside or on our granite kitchen floor.
  9. Once the brown butter has reached a soft-butter-stage, get out a mixer with whisk attachments and whip the butter until it's white and fluffy. If it's too cold to whip, you can gently warm it in a makeshift double boiler (check out the 'Basics' section of this site for details) until it has reached a softer consistency. If the butter is too soft, just leave it to cool a bit more.
  10. Stop the mixer once the butter is fluffy and white with beautiful dark specks. If you have a sweet tooth, you can now stir in 1 or 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar (or to taste). Just stir it in with your spatula and give it another good mix with the hand mixer.
  11. Serve at room temperature with some amazing bread, like my Spelt Bread with Walnuts and Figs.
Recipe by The Tough Cookie at https://thetoughcookie.com/2013/04/07/brown-butter-spread/