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Brown Butter Cupcakes with Apricot Frosting

May 18, 2011 by Audra 12 Comments

Brown Butter Apricot Cupcakes

I know I know- I said I was going to try to bake things other than cupcakes for a change. I just can’t stay away! I feel like while other desserts turn out great and are fun to make, nothing is quite the same as a cute little cupcake. Also, I find them to be so simple and easy to make which is always a plus when sometimes my time to bake is so limited.

I did try to change things up this time around with something a little unique. The organic market near my apartment was full of these cute little apricots and they seemed like the perfect fruit to brighten up the gloomy week Mother Nature has dropped on NYC. I also have been wanting to try baking with brown butter for awhile. I adore it in pasta sauces and in other savory dishes, but have never used it in something sweet.  I love it in these cupcakes- they had a lovely nutty buttery flavor that was perfect with the sweet apricots.

Since the fruit I bought wasn’t quite ripe enough to go into the frosting, I used some apricot preserves instead. If you are a little patient (or have riper fruit,) pureed apricots would work just as well. And even though they were a bit tart, the slice of fruit on the top was perfect to offset the sweet frosting. Enjoy!

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Brown Butter Cupcakes with Apricot Frosting
 
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup butter, softened
  • 1⅓ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup milk (low fat is ok)
  • Frosting:
  • 1 8 oz package of cream cheese softened
  • 1 stick butter softened
  • ½ cup apricot preserves
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Apricots for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
  2. Melt butter in a small saucepan and cook over low-medium heat until butter has turned an amber color and smells toasty, but not burnt. Butter will darken quickly once it begins to turn. Pour from saucepan, scraping all the browned bits from the bottom with a spatula, into a small bowl to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together cooled butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.
  5. Distribute batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
  6. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
  7. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the Frosting:
  1. Mix Cream Cheese and Butter in a medium sized bowl using an electric mixer until creamy.
  2. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
  3. Add half the apricot preserves until well mixed. Add half the powdered sugar and mix well, alternate between the preserves and the powdered sugar until the frosting is at a good spreading consistency.
  4. Garnish with Apricot wedges.
3.5.3251

Cupcake Recipe: Baking Bites
Frosting: The Baker Chick

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Recipes Tagged With: Brown Butter

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Comments

  1. Erin says

    May 18, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    I’ve never heard of apricot frosting before, but it sounds delicious! I love dried apricots as a snack too.

    Reply
  2. Kat @ Cupcake Kat says

    May 18, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    Cupcakes are great! Keep making them. These sound so elegant and delicious. They sound like the perfect dessert for a spring party

    Reply
  3. Erin says

    May 18, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    Sounds wonderful. I have never baked with brown butter either. I am seeing it all over the place though, I might have to try it soon!

    Reply
  4. Tiffany says

    May 18, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    I just had an apricot smoothie this morning! They are the perfect little fruit, no? Beautiful cupcakes!

    Reply
  5. yasmeen says

    May 18, 2011 at 11:27 pm

    this is such a wonderful idea! how creative. i too find that cupcakes/loaf cakes are wonderful for those of us with limited time.

    i’m a big apricot fan, yet have never seen them used this way. great job!

    Reply
  6. Di-licious says

    May 19, 2011 at 8:41 am

    I love brown butter biscuits (cookies) but have never had brown butter cupcakes – I’m inspired! Personally I think there’s nothing more di-licious than a plate of cupcakes (but then I would say that!) ;-)

    Reply
  7. Kate from Scratch says

    May 19, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    NOM NOM Brown butter. So good. I mean really…if you’re gonna do butter…do it right! I don’t think there’s any better fat in the whole world than brown butter. Fantastic!
    p.s. Everyone loves a cupcake. Do what you love. It’s more fun that way. ;)

    Reply
  8. Rachel says

    May 20, 2011 at 2:31 am

    Yum! This looks fabulous. Don’t think I’ve ever had cupcake w/ apricot, but I think I will soon. :)

    Reply
  9. The Food Hunter says

    May 20, 2011 at 7:54 pm

    This is a new one for me too…sounds yummy!

    Reply
  10. Meaghan says

    June 23, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    I made these a couple weeks ago and they were amazing – a definite crowd pleaser! I used fresh apricots in the frosting (luckily mine were ripe!) and I also used the frosting recipe with fresh strawberries – both kinds were a hit. Thanks so much for the recipe!!

    Reply
  11. nicole says

    February 3, 2013 at 11:24 pm

    Hi,
    I’ve just recently come across your website and was wondering if any of your recipes could have the butter substituted for oil.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Farm Fresh Goodie Basket & Zucchini Muffins | Just Like Perfect! says:
    March 8, 2015 at 10:25 pm

    […] I found the recipe at The Baker Chic when searching for Apricot Buttercream. Here is her link for Apricot Frosting: https://www.thebakerchick.com/2011/05/brown-butter-cupcakes-with-apricot-frosting/ […]

    Reply

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