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This brown butter ganache delivers a nutty, caramel vibe without any fuss. It’s soft, spreadable, and totally beginner-friendly—perfect for drizzling on cakes, dipping eclairs, or filling macarons. Or anything else, really.

Recipe Info

This recipe is:

Soft and spreadable. Thanks to a generous amount of butter (needed to make it a proper brown butter ganache), the ganache stays soft and spreadable at room temperature even if you let it set for a long time.
Easy to master. Brown butter might sound fancy, but it’s just butter cooked until golden and fragrant. After that, the ganache comes together quickly.
Great for desserts. Whether you need a filling, a glaze, or a dip, this ganache adds a rich, nutty taste to cakes, cookies, pastries—pretty much any sweet treat.

Making brown butter ganache for the first time? Read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re familiar with the recipe, feel free to jump to the recipe card.

Ingredients and Substitutes

Milk chocolate. A decent-quality milk chocolate is all you need. Melting chocolate (callets) also works well.
Heavy cream. I use regular 30% fat heavy cream, but a 36% version is fine if you want a slightly firmer ganache.
Butter. Regular ol’ butter. I use unsalted and add salt to taste.
Salt. A pinch or two can enhance the overall flavor and balance the sweetness. Skip it if you’re using salted butter.
Honey. Adds a bit of extra sweetness and helps keep the ganache smooth.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Brown Butter Ganache

Step 1: Make Brown Butter

(Never made brown butter before? Check out my brown butter tutorial.)

Melt the butter. Cut the butter into cubes, place it in a saucepan, and set it over medium heat. Stir occasionally as it melts.

Melting butter over medium heat — Place cubed butter in a saucepan

Melted butter — Place cubed butter in a saucepan

Listen for the sizzle. As it heats up, the butter will start to sizzle around the edges, and there will be a gentle sizzling sound. Keep stirring occasionally, especially if it starts to foam.

Butter starts foaming — stir occasionally as the butter heats and sizzles

Crackling begins. The sizzling will turn into a crackling sound—tiny, sharp pops instead of a continuous sizzle. Keep stirring. You’re on the right track.
Crackling fades. That pleasant crackling sound you got used to? It will slowly die down, and things will get quiet. You’re almost there.

Melted butter foaming — The sizzling turns to crackling, then fades as it quiets—keep stirring, you’re almost there.

Check the aroma. Start watching closely, stirring as needed. You’re looking for a nutty smell and brown specks forming on the bottom of the pan. There will likely be a lot of foam at this point, so use a spoon to check underneath. If it smells rich and nutty and you see brown specks, it’s done.

Browned butter — Check for a nutty smell and brown

A spoonful of browned butter — Check for a nutty smell and brown

Brown butter is ready. Take it off the heat. It’s now ready to use.
(Optional) Strain the butter. If you prefer a smoother texture, pour the brown butter through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the toasted milk solids. I pretty much never do that – those toasted specs are where the flavor is.

Step 2: Make Ganache

Prep chocolate. Chop the milk chocolate.

Chopping the chocolate — Chop the milk chocolate

Warm the cream. Heat the heavy cream on the stove until it’s hot but not boiling—small bubbles form around the edges and pop back up after stirring. Stir in the hot brown butter (including all the dark bits) and continue cooking until it bubbles. Take it off the heat.

Adding the brown butter — Heat the heavy cream, then stir in

Brown butter and heavy cream — Heat the heavy cream, then stir in

Combine with chocolate. Add the chopped chocolate to the pot and let it sit for a minute. Stir until it’s fully melted. If any bits refuse to melt, return the pot to low heat and stir continuously until everything is smooth.
(Optional) Blend. For an ultra-smooth texture, use an immersion blender for about 10–20 seconds. Keep the blade below the surface to avoid whipping in air.

Adding the chopped chocolates — Add chopped chocolate, let sit for a minute, then stir until

Mixing in the chopped chocolates — Add chopped chocolate, let sit for a minute, then stir until

Add honey and salt. Add the honey and salt (if using unsalted butter). Taste and add more salt if needed.
Cool. Let the ganache rest at room temperature, stirring now and then, until it’s the consistency you want—pourable for glazing or firmer if you need more control. To speed things up, set the pot in cold water and stir.

Adding salt — Stir in honey and salt. Adjust seasoning if needed

Stirring in the honey and salt — Stir in honey and salt. Adjust seasoning if needed

Refrigerate or use. Once it’s how you like it, use it right away or pop it in the fridge for later.

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Tips

Soften in a warm water bath. While this ganache stays fairly soft at room temperature because of the butter, it does firm up in the fridge. To soften, fill a large bowl with warm tap water and set the container of ganache in it. Stir as soon as the bottom and sides begin to melt, and keep going until it’s as soft as you need.

A bowl of smooth milk chocolate brown butter ganache — A bowl of rich and nutty brown butter ganache

Blend if it separates. If you leave it in a warm water bath a bit too long, you might come back to a puddle of melted butter on top. That’s separation. Usually you can whisk it back together, but an immersion blender is even better. A few seconds, and your ganache should be nice and smooth.

Storage

You can store this ganache sealed tightly in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Warm it up before using.

Similar Recipes to Try

Looking for more? Check out the following recipes:

Peanut butter ganache. Another sweet and nutty ganache, this time made of white chocolate and peanut butter.
Earl Grey ganache. If you’re into tea-flavored desserts, you’ll love this white chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey tea.