Brown Sugar Icing -

Vertical shot of buttermilk icing dripping from a silver whisk into a liquid measuring cup; in the background, a blue and green floral print hand towel

5 from 1 vote

Brown Sugar Icing

Brown sugar is the star of the show in this homemade icing with deep notes of caramel and molasses, mingling in this pourable, dreamy frosting.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 139kcal

Ingredients

⅓ cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⅔ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

While your cake is baking, combine the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk to combine and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to low heat and add the buttermilk. Whisk again until combined.
Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Whisk again until smooth. Pour the warm frosting over the cake while the cake is still warm from the oven. Spread gently with a spatula, as needed, to cover the cake.

Notes

This is enough frosting for a 9x13 cake, approximately 16 servings. If you are making a smaller cake (i.e. an 8x8 cake) you'll only need half of the frosting. You can adjust the ingredient amounts by adjusting the serving amounts higher or lower in the recipe card. For a half batch, set the servings to 8.

Nutrition