A high altitude recipe for a simple one layer brown butter cake, drizzled with sweet homemade bourbon toffee sauce. This moist toffee cake is easy to make, and is delicious served warm, so you don’t have to wait long to dig in. Serve the cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the most delectable dessert.
You might also love caramelized banana toffee ice cream, soft brown sugar pecan cookies, and pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. Whisk the cake batter up in a bowl, and bake. No mixer needed.
One Layer. With a one layer cake, there’s no fussing with stacking, frosting and decorating a layer cake. And while this toffee cake make look plain and simple, but trust me that it’s moist, tender and big on flavor. Even on its own, it’s a delicious cake, but it’s especially decadent served with warm bourbon and brown sugar toffee sauce.
Standard Pantry Ingredients. You only need simple ingredients from your fridge and pantry that you’re likely to have on hand.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, so bakers can be assured of consistent, reliable results when baking at high altitude.
Versatile. If you don’t want to make the toffee sauce, you can serve the cake with a store bought jar of salted caramel sauce, and it’ll be just as good. Or, a simple dollop of freshly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And if frosted cakes are your favorite, try a vanilla bean cream cheese buttercream on top for a dreamy dessert.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Brown Butter Cake
- Butter. By browning the butter first, you’ll add a rich, nutty flavor that’s just fantastic in this cake. I use unsalted butter, so if you use salted, you should omit the extra salt in the recipe.
- Sugar. Light brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture and a hint of toffee and molasses.
- Eggs. Gives the cake structure.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Milk + Sour Cream. Whole milk and full fat sour cream adds moisture, fat, richness and acidity for a moist, tender cake.
- Flour. Gives the cake structure and strength.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the cake so it rises as it bakes.
- Spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg add warmth and coziness to complement the brown butter and toffee sauce.
Toffee Sauce
I have a separate post for my bourbon and brown sugar toffee sauce recipe, so I won’t go into it in detail here. But it’s a sweet sauce that’s similar to (but easier than) caramel sauce, made of butter, brown sugar, salt, bourbon and cream. It’s fabulous, and so good with today’s brown butter cake.
Instructions
Brown Butter Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for about 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Throughout the process, the water will evaporate, hiss and splatter a little. When a layer of foam starts to form on top of the butter, and it quiets down, it’s just about ready.
- Use a spatula to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, and pour the butter and browned bits into a mixing bowl.
- Add the brown sugar to the hot browned butter and whisk until combined, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Next, whisk in the milk and sour cream.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined and mostly smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 28-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are pulling away from the edges slightly.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and let the cake cool for at least 45 minutes before serving the cake warm, or let it cool to room temperature. Cut into squares and serve with the toffee sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Toffee Sauce
- While the cake is cooling, get the toffee sauce ready.
- Prepare the Bourbon and Brown Sugar Toffee Sauce, as instructed. Pour into a jar, and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve the cake.
- If the sauce gets too thick as it cools, rewarm in 20-30 second increments at 50% power, until pourable.
Recipe Variations
- Salted Caramel Sauce. If you don’t want to bother with making the toffee sauce, go ahead and serve the toffee cake with a jar of store bought salted caramel sauce for a quick and easy treat.
- Whipped Cream or Ice Cream. I love a simple cake topped with real whipped cream. It’s light, elegant, and absolutely delicious. Just whip 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar until fluffy peaks form, and serve with the cake. Alternatively, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is fantastic with this cake.
- Frosting. Brown butter buttercream or vanilla bean cream cheese buttercream would both be wonderful instead of the toffee sauce.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the leftover cake?
Store leftover cake (separately from the sauce) in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Can the cake be frozen?
To make the cake in advance, bake and cool the cake. Wrap it in two layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3-6 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Will this toffee cake recipe work as a layer cake instead?
Yes, for a layer cake, you can double the recipe and bake the cake batter in three 8-inch round cake pans for about 22-28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Fill and frost with any buttercream you like.
You Might Also Like
Gingerbread Cake Pumpkin Cupcakes Almond Cupcakes Banana Walnut Bundt Cake
Favorite Products
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude One Layer Brown Butter Toffee Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
Brown Butter Cake
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup whole milk, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Toffee Sauce
- 1 recipe Bourbon and Brown Sugar Toffee Sauce
Instructions
Brown Butter Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for about 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until nutty golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan. Throughout the process, the water will evaporate, hiss and splatter a little. When a layer of foam starts to form on top of the butter, and it quiets down, it's just about ready.
- Use a spatula to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan, and pour the butter and browned bits into a mixing bowl.
- Add the brown sugar to the hot browned butter and whisk until combined, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Next, whisk in the milk and sour cream.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined and mostly smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 28-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are pulling away from the edges slightly.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and let the cake cool for at least 45 minutes before serving the cake warm, or let it cool to room temperature. Cut into squares and serve with the toffee sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Toffee Sauce
- While the cake is cooling, get the toffee sauce ready.
- Prepare the Bourbon and Brown Sugar Toffee Sauce, as instructed. Pour into a jar, and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve the cake.
- If the sauce gets too thick as it cools, rewarm in 20-30 second increments at 50% power, until pourable.
I am dying to try this and will post a review when I do…one question: if I don’t live in a high-altitude area, do I have to change the recipe at all?
Please see my FAQs for information on adjusting recipes for altitude: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/