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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.
I just made these and the peach cake recipe is amazing! But for the frosting, I added the powdered sugar up to six cups and it still didn’t get to the right consistency… too runny to frost the cupcakes.
Just made these and they were a huge hit!
Thanks for the recipe!
The cupcakes are delicious! But the frosting is a bummer. The flavor is good but the texture is all wrong-foamy and runny, not smooth and creamy. I think 1/2 cup peach purée is way too much. I can’t imagine what I did wrong, the instructions are simple and I’ve made frosting a hundred times, but advice is always welcome. Thanks for the cake recipe, that alone is great.
So, I am making these for my son’s first birthday this weekend but I was wondering if it is possible to adapt the peach puree to home canned peaches? My peaches are canned in a simple syrup and I didn’t know if that sweetness would effect the amount of sugar that goes into the puree.
Thanks!
I’ve never tried it, but it may work. I would just make sure the peaches are very well drained.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! How did you make the rose shape? I’ve been out of decorating for a couple of decades and this doesn’t look like any tip I have….how did you make it sooo gorgeous?
Would these work well if I left out the cinnamon? They sound so good but I despise cinnamon and find that it’s too overwhelming for me to put in any recipe (no one on earth agrees with me haha).
Can you make the puree days before mixing it with the ingredients for the frosting? I’m making the cupcakes for Friday and it’s Tuesday.
I made these and while they are delicious, the cupcake turned out more dense and muffin-ie. I am pleased to have discovered the wonder of browned butter! *drool*
This may be a dumb question but are you just browning the butter for the cupcakes or for the frosting also?!
I just browned the butter for the cupcakes. But browning it for the frosting would be good too!
Hi,
If I want to use regular butter and not the browned butter. How much should I add.
Also instead of browned butter can I used clarified butter.
Regards
I’ve never substituted regular butter in the recipe so I’m not sure. Mans I’m not familiar with clarified butter either.