This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes are perfect for summertime celebrations. Made with browned butter, these peachy cupcakes have a moist, tender crumb that will keep you coming back for more.
Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes
Nothing says summertime quite like a fresh ripe peach, complete with juice dribbling down your chin. However, it is a challenge to get that bright peach flavor into my baked goods, but I have figured it out with this easy cupcake recipe.
Peaches have to be my absolute favorite fruit to eat fresh in season and they work beautifully with browned butter. If you have never worked with browned butter, you’re in for a treat.
Browned butter is super easy to make and adds a rich, nutty flavor to your baked goods. All you have to do is cook melted butter over medium heat until it barely starts to brown and then remove it from the heat before it burns. It doesn’t take long at all.
It is tempting to brown the butter in every recipe calling for plain old butter. The flavor is enchanting and it is perfect paired with sweet, juicy peaches.
Peach Cupcakes
Once I decided to use the browned butter in the batter, the next trick was to get that fresh peach flavor into the cupcakes. Peach puree provides a mild flavor that easily gets lost in the sugar and butter.
My first attempt at making these cupcakes with peach puree ended in utter, dismal failure. The batter overflowed the tins and the cupcakes didn’t taste anything like peaches!
I went back to the drawing board. And after further experimenting, I added chunks of peach into the batter along with the peach puree.
It was magical. I was thrilled to discover that the peach chunks provided a burst of fresh peach in each bite and actually enhanced the peach puree flavor in the batter.
There is also bit of peach puree in the frosting, but it is not overpowering. The tangy cream cheese is a perfect compliment to the tender cupcakes.
These understated cupcakes are excellent for picnics or showers. Or you can box them up to give as a thoughtful gift. When frosted in a rose pattern, these cupcakes make a wonderful dessert for summertime brunches. The soft, natural color of the cream cheese frosting and peach puree is lovely.
I have some exciting recipes in the works that I can hardly wait to share with you, starting with this one. These Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes rank up there as one of my favorite cupcakes ever.
If you can’t get enough peachy keen flavor this summer, try some of my other delicious peach recipes. Peaches and Cream Bars are a peach custard meets cookie bar that my family loves.
If you liked these Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes and want to keep rolling with browned butter and peaches, try my Brown Butter Peach Sweet Rolls. Yes, you should. You won’t regret it.
And summer just isn’t summer without peach pie, but instead of a traditional peach pie, I love making these Fresh Peach Pie Bars.
Whatever you decide to make this summer, Enjoy!
COOK’S NOTE: PLEASE note that you do not use the full amount of peach puree that is made in the blender. If you do this, they may fall apart. Measure out the amounts indicated in the recipe for both the cake and the frosting.
Also, after browning the butter, you should be left with just over 1/2 cup of butter. You will not be adding 3/4 cup of browned butter to the cake batter.
Peach Cupcake Recipe
- Brown the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove the butter from the heat and pour into a separate heat proof bowl to stop the browning. Cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Whisk together the brown butter, peach puree, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Gently stir into the large bowl along with diced peaches, mixing until just combined.
- Fill lined cupcake tins 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until the spring back when lightly touched. Cool completely on wire racks.
- To make the frosting, beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in peach puree and vanilla. Add enough of the powdered sugar until a piping or spreading consistency is reached. Spread or pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
Brown Butter Peach Cupcakes
Ingredients
Peach Puree Ingredients
- 3 cups diced fresh peaches
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
Cake Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 cup peach puree, prepared as directed
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups finely diced peaches
Frosting Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup peach puree, prepared as directed
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Peach Puree Instructions
- Heat peaches, lemon juice, water, and white sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and let cool to a warm temperature. Blend in a blender until smooth. Cool completely before use.
Cake Instructions
- Brown the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove the butter from the heat and pour into a separate heat proof bowl to stop the browning. Cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 325 F. Whisk together the brown butter, peach puree, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Gently stir into the large bowl along with diced peaches, mixing until just combined.
- Fill lined cupcake tins 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until the spring back when lightly touched. Cool completely on wire racks.
Frosting Instructions
- Beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in peach puree and vanilla. Add enough of the powdered sugar until a piping or spreading consistency is reached. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 8/4/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/11/21}
Recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod.
Hi, I just wanted to say that I’ve made your recipe today and it was the best muffins recipe I’ve ever made! seriously, thank you very much… Except, I have replace the butter with the same quantity of unsweeted apple sauce and put a bit of litchys in the puree. It was perfect!
Hi there!
I wanted to make these cupcakes and noticed that you had two different amounts posted for the brown butter in the cupcakes.
Hi Megan! Thanks for pointing that out. For some reason I had two version of the recipe posted. I’m not sure what happened there. I removed the wrong one! Happy baking!
I assume these would be good for a few days at least. Is refrigeration best? I am making these for “Princess Peach” cupcakes for my daughters Mario themes birthday party, and would love to make these a day or so in advance, but I am worried the peaches in the recipe will make the cupcakes soggy. These sound delish and I can NOT wait to bake them:)
Hi Jessica, I’ve only kept mine overnight and they were still good the next day. I can’t vouch for longer than that. That sounds like a fun birthday party!
Your cupcakes look and sound delicious! I am about to make them but that seems like a lot of butter to me. How many cupcakes does this make? Most recipes I use make about ~30 cupcakes and use ~1/2c butter… what does adding more butter do? Can I decrease the butter? Thanks!
Thanks, Tasha. I know this is a lot of butter, but that is the amount before it is browned. Browning the butter reduces it and shrinks all the fat particles down so it’s not as much as you think. I would recommend sticking to the amount in the recipe. But if you don’t mind a failure or two, you can always experiment. I made these cupcakes several times before I got the right ratios.
How long do u brown your butter for? Are we talking dark brown, or just a tent of brown? Thanks looking forward to making these!
I brown it pretty dark, just a shade before burnt. It all depends on the flavor you want and I like a strong brown butter flavor. However, make sure the butter isn’t burnt, because burnt butter is pretty terrible. Hope you enjoy!
These are AMAZING!!! I just made them, and oh my GOSH, the brown butter makes all the difference. I personally will add a bit more diced peaches next time; but other than that, SUCH a great recipe! I will definitely be making these again and again.
So, what I have to wonder, does the 3 cups get split into the batter and icing. Or all 3 cups in batter and another 1:2 cup in icing?
Divide the purée. Measure out the stated amount for the cupcakes and the frosting. I still had some left.
I made these tonight and the flavor is amazing! However, the cupcakes fell and we’re extremely gooey and wet, falling apart. The batter itself looked normal though before baking. These are so good that I want to try another batch tomorrow night. I followed the recipe to a Tee though. After eating one baked, it’s almost like the wasn’t enough flour. Trying to find where I messed up. Thoughts? Thanks, these are worth getting right!
It’s nice to hear from you, Megan. While I was testing them, I made a batch that were wet, gooey and fell too. I tried the recipe again, adding more flour and they turned out okay for me, which is the recipe I have posted. So I would say try adding a bit more flour as well. I’m going to make them again and see how they turn out for me. Thanks for the comment!
These look lovely! Novice question here: do you peel the peaches for the puree or leave the skin on?
I would recommend peeling the peaches first.
Such pretty cupcakes and I’m loving the summer fresh peaches! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!