If you’ve ever wondered how the British looked at a rich Christmas pudding and decided it needed butter, sugar and brandy on top, welcome to brandy butter.
Also known as hard sauce, brandy butter is a traditional British Christmas accompaniment made by beating softened butter with powdered sugar and brandy until light, creamy and wonderfully boozy.
A small spoonful is served over warm Christmas pudding, mince pies or other festive desserts. As it touches the hot pudding, the butter begins to soften and melt into all those rich fruit and spice flavors.
It’s incredibly simple to make, requires no cooking and can be prepared ahead of time — exactly the sort of recipe you want when the rest of Christmas dinner is considerably less cooperative.
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Homemade Brandy Butter
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Place the softened butter in a medium mixing bowl.
- Beat for 2–3 minutes, until smooth, creamy and slightly lighter in color.
- Add the powdered sugar gradually, beating well after each addition.
- Continue beating until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy.
- Add the brandy 1 tablespoon at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
- Don’t pour all the brandy in at once, as adding too much liquid too quickly can cause the mixture to split.
- Beat in the vanilla, if using.
- Continue mixing for another minute until the brandy butter is smooth and creamy.
- Taste the mixture.
- If you’d like a slightly stronger brandy flavor, you can add another teaspoon or two, beating thoroughly after each addition.
- Avoid adding too much additional liquid or the butter may begin to separate.
- Transfer the brandy butter to a serving bowl or covered container.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes if you’d like a firmer consistency, or serve immediately if you prefer it soft and creamy.
- Serve with warm Christmas pudding or mince pies.
Notes
What Is Brandy Butter?
Brandy butter is a traditional British sweetened butter flavored generously with brandy.
Despite sometimes being called brandy sauce, it isn’t really a pourable sauce. At room temperature it’s soft and creamy, while refrigeration makes it considerably firmer.
Traditionally, it’s served cold or cool alongside a hot Christmas dessert.
The contrast is part of what makes it so good: the brandy butter slowly melts over the warm pudding rather than disappearing immediately like a liquid sauce.
Is Brandy Butter the Same as Hard Sauce?
Essentially, yes.
Hard sauce is an old-fashioned name for a mixture of creamed butter and sugar flavored with alcohol.
Brandy is particularly traditional in Britain at Christmas, although versions made with rum or whisky also exist.
The word “sauce” is slightly misleading to modern ears because there’s nothing particularly saucy about it when it comes straight from the refrigerator.
Give it a warm Christmas pudding, though, and things start making much more sense.
What Does Brandy Butter Taste Like?
Rich, buttery and sweet — followed rather enthusiastically by brandy.
The powdered sugar sweetens the butter without leaving a gritty texture, while the brandy provides warmth and complexity that works particularly well with dried fruit and Christmas spices.
A little vanilla can round out the flavor, but it shouldn’t overpower the brandy.
This is one of those recipes where the ingredient list is tiny, so the balance between them matters.
What Kind of Brandy Should You Use?
You don’t need an expensive bottle.
A decent everyday brandy that you enjoy the flavor of is perfectly suitable for cooking and baking.
Avoid anything extremely harsh because the alcohol isn’t cooked out of this recipe — you’ll taste the brandy exactly as it goes in.
And because the brandy remains uncooked, this is an adult accompaniment rather than something to serve to children.
The Secret to Smooth Brandy Butter
Start with properly softened butter.
Butter that’s still cold won’t combine smoothly with the powdered sugar, while butter that’s beginning to melt can produce a greasy mixture.
You’re looking for butter that’s soft enough to press easily with a finger but still holds its shape.
Beat the butter first until creamy, then gradually incorporate the sugar.
A good set of mixing bowls makes this particularly easy, especially if you’re using an electric hand mixer.
Add the Brandy Gradually
This is the most important part.
Once the butter and sugar are light and creamy, add the brandy a little at a time.
If you pour a large amount of liquid into the butter all at once, the mixture can split.
Adding it gradually gives the butter time to absorb the brandy and keeps everything smooth.
It also provides a very respectable excuse to taste-test as you go.
Purely for quality control, obviously.
How Much Brandy Should You Add?
Brandy butter should taste unmistakably of brandy without becoming loose or harsh.
The exact amount can be adjusted slightly according to taste, but don’t keep adding alcohol indefinitely.
There is a point where you’re no longer making brandy butter.
You’re making brandy with butter-related complications.
The recipe card gives a reliable starting quantity, and you can add a small additional splash if you’d prefer a stronger flavor.
What Do You Serve with Brandy Butter?
The classic partner is Traditional British Christmas Pudding.
Place a spoonful of chilled or cool brandy butter on top of a warm serving of pudding and allow it to soften slowly.
It’s also wonderful with warm Traditional British Mince Pies, where the cold buttery topping melts into the spiced mincemeat filling.
You can serve it with other warm fruit desserts too, although Christmas pudding and mince pies are where brandy butter truly belongs.
Brandy Butter vs. Brandy Sauce
These are two different Christmas accompaniments.
Brandy butter is made primarily from butter and sugar, so it’s rich, concentrated and served by the spoonful.
Brandy sauce is usually a warm, pourable sauce made with milk or cream and thickened in a similar way to custard or white sauce before brandy is added.
Both are traditional with Christmas pudding.
Choosing between them is largely a matter of personal preference.
Or you could serve both.
Christmas isn’t particularly famous for restraint.
Can You Make Brandy Butter Ahead?
Absolutely.
In fact, it’s an ideal make-ahead Christmas recipe.
Prepare the brandy butter, transfer it to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.
Making it ahead also gives the flavors time to settle together.
Take it out of the refrigerator shortly before serving if you’d prefer a slightly softer texture, or serve it cold over piping-hot pudding and let the dessert do the work.
How to Store Brandy Butter
Keep homemade brandy butter covered in the refrigerator.
Because it’s butter-based, it firms considerably when chilled.
For the best texture, allow it to soften slightly before serving unless you specifically want a firm spoonful that will melt slowly over your dessert.
It can also be frozen for longer storage, making it an easy recipe to prepare well before Christmas.
More Traditional British Christmas Recipes
Serve Homemade Brandy Butter with Traditional British Christmas Pudding or warm Traditional British Mince Pies for a proper British Christmas treat.
And if you’re planning the full feast, Brit & Skillet’s Christmas collection also includes Traditional British Christmas Roast Turkey, Crispy British Roast Potatoes, Traditional Sage and Onion Stuffing, Honey-Roasted Parsnips and Carrots, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Chestnuts, Traditional British Pigs in Blankets, Traditional British Bread Sauce, Traditional British Christmas Cake and Traditional British Chocolate Yule Log.
We’re rapidly reaching the point where we’re going to need a larger Christmas table.
A Little Spoonful of British Christmas
Brandy butter isn’t complicated.
It’s butter, sugar and brandy transformed into something that tastes unmistakably like Christmas.
Make it ahead, keep it chilled and bring it out when the Christmas pudding arrives.
Then place a spoonful on top and watch it slowly melt.
For three ingredients, it puts on a surprisingly good Christmas performance. 🎄
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