Recipe | Brown butter & caramalised white chocolate tray bake cake

Once you have tried browning butter, you will never be able to go back. The toasty, nutty flavour of the caramelised milk solids from the butter is so delicious. It takes a bit of patience but is well worth it.

Serves 15
Prep time 1 hour
Bake time 40 – 45 minutes

Ingredients

250g unsalted butter 

500g brown sugar 

1 tbsp warm water 

2 tsp vanilla 

4 eggs 

450g plain flour 

28g baking powder 

1 tsp salt 

450ml milk, warmed 

250g caramelised white chocolate, roughly chopped

Brown Butter Buttercream 

250g unsalted butter 

450g icing sugar 

2 tbsp hot water 

1 tsp vanilla 

¼ tsp salt

Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache

125g white chocolate, roughly chopped 

40ml cream

Method

Preheat your oven to 150°C fan bake. Line a 34cm x 23cm rectangle tray with baking paper and spray with oil.

First off, brown the butter for both the cake and the icing at the same time. Cut it into cubes and melt over medium heat. Once it has melted, it will start to simmer. As soon as it is simmering, keep scraping the bottom of the pan to move the milk solids that sink to the bottom. Once the butter has turned a golden amber colour and is fragrant, take it off the heat and divide the butter equally between two containers. Leave to cool so you will be able to cream it (to speed up the cooling process, place the butter into the fridge but don’t let it firm up completely).

To make the cake, cream your brown butter, brown sugar, warm water and vanilla in your stand mixer or with an electric beater. Once the mixture is light and fluffy, add all of the eggs at once, and beat until they are mixed in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix. 

Sift your flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Then add to the stand mixer bowl along with the milk, and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again quickly.

Pour your batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.

Cream the remaining half of your brown butter with the icing sugar, hot water, vanilla and salt to make the buttercream. Beat until light and creamy. Because browning butter evaporates some of its water, you may need to add extra hot water if the icing feels too thick. This will vary depending on how brown you took your butter.

Spread the buttercream on the top of your cake using a palette knife. 

Make the caramelised white chocolate ganache by melting the chocolate and cream in the microwave until smooth. Using a teaspoon, place drops of ganache all over the top of the cake. 

Scatter over the remaining chopped chocolate pieces for garnish and finish with edible flowers. Scatter over the remaining chopped chocolate pieces for garnish and finish with edible flowers. Cut the cake into 5 x 4 with a hot knife.

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More recipes by Mint Cakery:

Lemon Syrup and Blueberry Loaf

Lemon Curd