My simple instructions for How To Make Brandy Butter will give you everything you need to make this delicious Christmas staple. It’s a shame we don’t make it at any other time of year as it’s good enough to just eat with a spoon! But you should probably aim to serve it with mince pies or Christmas pudding instead!
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Brandy butter is definitely a niche recipe and rather old fashioned now. But it appears in the fridges of the supermarkets during every festive season so I have to assume that other folks are still eating it too. And I cannot stress how easy it is to make at home. And it’s almost certainly going to be the cheaper option.
Brandy butter is basically just a compound/flavoured butter. These kind of butter based sides which are traditionally served with hot puddings are called “hard sauces”. They’re used in place of hot sauces like custard or cream which would have been less easy to keep and preserve back in the day. They might have been born from necessity but that certainly doesn’t make them any less delicious.
How to Serve Brandy Butter
The brandy butter is usually served cold but with hot or warm sweets. Mince pies and Christmas puddings are the prime suspects. It’s also great served with hot crumbles – my mash up mince pie/crumble is an especially great candidate.
Brandy Butter Ingredients
Butter
I only use salted butter and this recipe is no exception. Sweet needs salt just as much as savoury recipe do so it is not out of place here, in fact, if anything, it literally enhances the delicious. So if you must use unsalted, add a little bit of fine salt to make up for what’s missing.
You do need to make sure that your butter is on the softer side when you start to mix it. Otherwise you won’t be able to fully combine the sugar and brandy. You don’t want to end up with chunks of unflavoured butter.
And it is important to use proper block butter. No spreads, margarines or spreadable butters. They just don’t have the right consistency.
Sugar
Icing sugar, confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar. Whatever it is called in your area, you need to be using the powdery fine sugar that you would usually be using for a fondant or buttercream icing.
In theory you can make your own by putting regular sugar into a food processor and blitzing it. But in honesty I’ve never found it possible to get quite a fine enough power. And this is a recipe which relies on the sugar being super fine. It shouldn’t provide the butter with any actual texture.
For the same reason, you should consider sieving the icing if it is at all clumpy. Definitely do this if you are going to mix the butter by hand.
Brandy
If you have any brandy in the house, use that. You don’t need much at all. If you are buying brandy specially for the recipe, just get the cheapest option. Unless you are a super connoisseur or have a genuine preference for a particular type, you’re not going to discern much difference.
The miniature bottles can be quite handy for this sort of recipe if you’re unlikely to drink the rest of a larger bottle.
Be Flexible
There are a few ways to vary this recipe. First off, you can add other flavours. A little orange zest is my favourite option. Don’t add juice as this will water down the mixture and change the texture in an unpleasant way. You could maybe risk a couple of drops of a flavouring extract like orange or almond if you’re feeling fruity.
The second way is to take the basic premise of a sweet butter with added booze and change the booze. Whiskey butter and rum butter are common variations. All you need to do is change the alcohol on a 1 for 1 basis.
You can try other spirits too. Going back to my orange obsession, Cointreau is a lovely option. A flavoured brandy like cherry kirsch or palinka would be ideal. I would avoid cream liqueurs like Baileys however as the flavour isn’t strong enough and the texture change will again be odd.
Vegetarian or Vegan Brandy Butter
Brandy is more than likely to be suitable for veggies and vegans but sometimes the base spirit is filtered using animal products. So it may be worth checking the bottle if this is a concern.
To make a vegan option, you will need to use a dairy free butter. You must make sure that it is a proper block alternative and not a softer texture.
Make Allergy Friendly Brandy Butter
This recipe is free from egg, gluten and nuts.
Dairy Free: Simply swap the butter for a dairy free block type butter.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Equipment Notes for Brandy Butter
You can make this by hand. With a good bit of elbow grease to make sure the sugar is really well incorporated.
But if you do have the option, I would highly recommend using some kind of electric mixer if you can. I used my little mini chopper. But an electric hand whisk would work well too. Unless you are at least doubling, or ideally tripling the recipe, most stand mixers will likely be too big for this kind of recipe.
A comprehensive list of the equipment used to make this recipe is included in the main recipe card below. Click on any item to see an example. There are no hard and fast rules so many items can be sensibly substituted to achieve the same results.
Get Ahead
Brandy butter will store in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Make sure to wrap it well or store it in an airtight container.
You can also freeze brandy butter. Again make sure it is wrapped really well to prevent freezer burn. It will be ready to use as soon as it’s defrosted.
Brandy Butter Making Tips
Make sure the butter is just soft enough to beat with a spatula. But that is is not very soft or melted and it will just turn to a puddle when you start mixing.
Talking of melting when mixing, don’t overmix as the heat from the blade/beaters will eventually soften the butter too much.
Don’t skip scraping down the sides of the bowl as you are mixing. You will be surprised how much of a difference it can make.
Do add the brandy a little at a time. If you add the whole lot at once, you will likely split the mixture. You want a flavoured butter, not a brandy soup with sweet fatty floating chunks.
If you do find that it splits, pour out any excess liquid, put the whole thing in the fridge, chill it well and then beat again. It should come back together and you can slowly add the drained liquid back in.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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More Festive Recipes
The Recipe
How To Make Brandy Butter Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 125 g Salted Butter
- 125 g Icing Sugar (Confectioner's Sugar)
- 3 tbsp Brandy
Instructions
- Measure 125g Salted Butter and 125g Icing Sugar into the bowl of a small food processor. I've used my mini chopper as it's perfect for small quantities like this.
- Blitz the butter and sugar together until it starts to come together – only around 30 seconds or so.
- Use a small silicone spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixer to make sure everything is fully mixing together.
- Blitz again for another 30 second or so. If you aren't confident that everything is getting fully incorporated, repeat the scraping and blitzing until you are.
- Add the first tablespoon of 3 tbsp Brandy to the butter.
- Blitz again until fully incorporated. Scrape down again and add the next tablespoon.
- Repeat until all the brandy is mixed in. Don't be tempted to add more than a tablespoon at a time or it is liable to split.
- Decant the brandy butter into a serving dish and serve!
Karen says
I had no idea how easy this was to make at home. Great recipe that I’ll be using again over the festive period.
Janice says
This is sooo delicious. I couldn’t resist making it early and trying it with some mince pies. I’m not sure its going to last till Christmas.