This Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting is super rich and loaded with sweetness and flavor. It’s easy to make and goes well with pretty much everything!
ITTTTTT’SSSSS Frosting Friday again!!! I have taken a few weeks off from our frosting adventures, but I am back and it’s a GOOD ONE! Today we’re talking about Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting. It’s sweet, creamy and crazy delicious.
It crusts perfectly, if you are looking for a great crusting frosting, and the flavor is out of this world! I would eat this stuff with a spoon if my dentist would let me!
The only “downside” to my recipe is it isn’t stiff enough to pipe flowers, or anything that needs a firm edge. And that’s ok! It’s the perfect “spreading” frosting if that makes sense. This brown sugar frosting is absolutely thicker than an icing, although you could easily add less powdered sugar to the recipe and make it more “pourable”.
Let me essplain…
Tips for Creamy Frosting
The trick for me, is to cook the brown sugar with some butter and heavy cream, thus basically enough to dissolve the brown sugar. You could make this without doing this step, but your brown sugar would still be a little crunchy in the frosting…
I’m not opposed to that, actually, but if you want ultra-creamy, you need to melt the sugar.
Just bring this mixture to a boil and then remove it from the heat. If you boiled it longer, you’d be making candy, like caramel.
Cool Completely Before Adding Powdered Sugar
You really need to let it cool completely before whipping it up with powdered sugar. It would get completely solid as it cools, but it will be a thick glorious butterscotchy sauce. Girl, yes.
You could stop there…yes you could.
But I have never been one to back down from adding more sugar.
SO yep…add in some powdered sugar and mix it using your whisk attachment to thicken this all up and create a more traditional type frosting.
This frosting is fantastic on ANY cake…vanilla, chocolate, yellow…
And you could absolutely add chopped pecans to it as well to make a praline frosting. How good would THAT be?!
Happy Frosting Friday, indeed!! Don’t forget to post your pictures on Instagram and use the hashtag #cookiesandcups and if it’s FROSTING use #FrostingFriday
To catch up our Frosting Friday adventures, check out these other great recipes:
Print
Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Frosting
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting is super rich and loaded with sweetness and flavor. It’s easy to make and goes well with pretty much everything!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium low heat bring the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat immediately and allow to cool completely.
- Transfer the brown sugar mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the vanilla and then powdered sugar. Turn the mixer speed up to medium and continue mixing until creamy and combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Notes
This frosting is creamy and will pipe, but isn’t stiff enough to pipe roses. It also is a great “crusting” frosting.
Store airtight for up to 5 days in refrigerator. Bring back to room temperature before using.
Want To Save This Recipe?
After I had boiled the butter and brown sugar mixture, I realized I had less than a cup of icing sugar so just decided to go with what I had and just mixed it by hand in the pan. It turned out great.
I Revamped this recipe several years ago, with adding the granulated sugar to the flour and milk with a pinch of salt and cooked it much like you would a very thick custard. Chilled in the fridge and then added softened butter and a couple Tablespoons of heavy cream. With this method you can rewhip it with it breaking.
Delicious on cake, but leftover frosting is even better on graham crackers!!!!
LOVe frosting and graham crackers! We ate that growing up as a special treat!
I must have done something wrong bc when I mixed the powdered sugar into the sauce, it turned into a dough. I had to add additional cream. It’s spreadable now but it’s still very gritty. Any ideas as to what I did wrong?
Is the brown butter supposed to be thick when you take it off the stove?
Nope, it should be thin. Just the viscosity of regular melted butter 🙂
This recipe looks amazing. I don’t have heavy cream. Is there something I could substitute or am I running to the grocery store?
I would use evaporated milk as a substitute. I have made this exact recipe using canned milk.
how much would i need 1x 2x or 3x for an angle food cake?
every recipe card when you print it allows you to increase the amounts. Just click the button in the printable recipe to automatically change the amounts!
Followed exactly & beautiful creamy frosting. Cool completely & if too thick when whipping add 1 tsp at a time of cream. Was very sweet so topped cake with roasted salted walnuts. OMG!