Pack a punch into your macarons with this 5 ingredient brown butter cream cheese filling. The rich and nutty flavor perfectly balances the sweetness of the buttercream.
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After making hundreds of macaron filling recipes (you can find many of them in my Flavorful Fillings cookbook), this buttercream made with cream cheese and browned butter is still one of my favorites!
What I love about this easy macaron filling is that:
- It's so flavorful, thanks to the brown butter.
- The addition of cream cheese makes the smoothest and silkiest texture.
- You only need 5 ingredients and less than 20 minutes.
If you love this recipe, definitely check out my brown butter frosted cinnamon rolls (it uses this same buttercream recipe)!
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- My favorite tip for getting a light and fluffy macaron filling.
- The best macaron shell recipe to pair with brown butter filling.
- Helpful storage and make ahead tips.
If you enjoy baking macarons, don't forget to sign up for a free e-book with my favorite macaron filling recipes.
Ingredients You Need
- Unsalted butter: If you use salted butter, taste before adding the additional salt.
- Cream cheese: While not necessarily traditional in an American style buttercream recipe, cream cheese adds a unique and delicious taste.
- Confectioners' sugar: Always sift the confectioners' sugar for the best (smooth) texture.
- Heavy cream: Make sure the heavy cream is fresh so the filling lasts longer.
- Vanilla extract: Use a high-quality vanilla extract for delicious flavor - I love Rodelle.
- Fine sea salt: I prefer to use fine sea salt over kosher salt as it distributes better throughout the filling.
How To Make This Recipe
Here's an easy step-by-step guide for making brown butter filling.
1. First, it's time to brown the butter. Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until there are golden brown flecks at the bottom of the saucepan and you smell a nutty aroma. Don't walk away while browning butter - it happens faster than you think!
2. Beat the cooled butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer until it's light and fluffy.
3. Add the confectioners' sugar, along with heavy cream, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt then mix until it's fully combined.
4. Finally, to get the best, most light and fluffy texture, set the mixer to medium high speed and allow the buttercream to beat for an additional 5 minutes.
Expert Tips
- I like pairing this buttercream filling with a brown macaron shell. Try my French meringue shell recipe if you need a go-to macaron shell recipe.
- If the buttercream is too warm when serving the macarons, the filling will push out the sides of the shell when you bite into it. Serve the macarons shortly after pulling them out of the refrigerator from maturing, once they reach room temperature.
- If you live in a warm environment, the buttercream may become thin during the whipping process. Allow the buttercream to chill slightly in the refrigerator before piping.
- I prefer to pipe 1 teaspoon (about 5 - 8 grams) of brown butter cream cheese filling sandwiched between two macaron shells.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can make it up to 3 weeks ahead of time, then store it in the refrigerator (as long as the heavy cream and cream cheese are fresh). Before you pipe the filling, allow it to come to room temperature. You may even want to re-whip the filling for 2 - 3 minutes to help it pipe smoothly.
No, unfortunately, because of the dairy products, the filling must stay refrigerated until you are ready to serve the macarons.
You can check out my shelf stable macaron filling recipe if you need a filling that's safe to stay at room temperature.
To serve the macarons, remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to come up to room temperature. Once at room temperature, dig in and enjoy!
More Macaron Filling Recipes
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Brown Butter Buttercream Macaron Filling
Equipment
- stand or electric hand mixer
- piping bag
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar measured then sifted
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Heat butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until there are golden brown flecks at the bottom of the saucepan and you smell a nutty aroma, about 3 - 5 minutes. Be sure to watch the butter throughout the entire browning process to ensure the butter does not burn. As the butter melts down, foam will begin to form. As soon as you can see golden brown flecks, remove the butter from the heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl to cool.
- Beat cooled butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 - 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed.
- Add confectioners' sugar; mix on medium-low speed until combined.
- Add heavy cream, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt; mix until fully combined.
- Set the mixer to medium-high speed, and allow the buttercream to beat for an additional 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
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