Citrus and Vanilla Bean Butter
Orange and Lemon Zest are combined in this Citrus and Vanilla Bean Butter and makes the perfect accompaniment to your breakfast table.
When I first published this post several years ago, I had no idea how much I would come to really love this book. It had been a tough assignment for sure; reviewing a book all about compound butters.
First there was the huge effort of deciding sweet or savory…that was almost unfair so I decided to try both before making a decision.
One savory version using caramelized onions was terrific but in this butter competition to win 1st place in my heart, I must admit that the sweet version won first prize; we just LOVED this combination of butter, vanilla bean and citrus zest…and so did our English muffins!
That has not changed; I make this all the time and thought it high time to update photos and share again. Lucy Vaserfirer has crafted ‘Flavored Butters,’ a simple book with outstanding combinations of one of my very favorite things.
Butter. All butter. Butters with fruit, with caviar, with vegetables and with spices. Butter, butter, butter. And more butter! Her blog at www.hungrycravings.com is also filled with her recipes and techniques which focus on demystifying chef techniques for everyone.
A friend of mine was here when I originally wrote this post and she was glancing through Lucy’s book. At that time we made a list of favorites but I’ve now had a chance to try all of them and more including Coffee Butter (butter, turbinado sugar and dry espresso), Gorgonzola Chive Butter, and Lemon, Parsley and Caper Brown Butter. So far…not one we didn’t love!
This particular butter is fantastic; creamy sweet butter is combined with vanilla bean and is brightened with both orange and lemon zest for the perfect morning treat.
While I know I would love it on some cranberry scones or simple crepes; a more typical morning for me would have me slathering it on English muffins straight from the toaster (or even better, this English muffin bread).
It elevates such a simple morning staple into something much more special and I just know that friends and family will love it too. It’s easy. You must get this book and make some of your own!
PIN IT! ‘Citrus and Vanilla Bean Butter’
Citrus and Vanilla Bean Butter
Ingredients
- 8 Tbsp 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 vanilla bean I used a tsp of vanilla bean paste
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp grated orange zest
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Beat the butter in a mixer until light and creamy.
- Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the beans out of the pod; save the pod for another use (I love to put them into a bowl of sugar; vanilla sugar is wonderful).
- Add the beans, sugar and both orange and lemon zests to the bowl and beat until blended.
- Scrape from the bowl and either pack into ramekins or pipe into a bowl.
I am looking for another simple and delicious recipe for my breakfast. This looks like what I am looking for. I love the butter, it looks beautiful. Thanks.
This is highly addictive Tiana…I found I wanted it on everything but it’s especially delightful filling the nooks and crannies of an English Muffin or on a biscuit. Now I need to make some more!
Compound butters never go out of style. Neither does this post! 🙂 Good stuff — thanks.
I would have posted one of the others I made but we ate them before I got photos! They are so easy and add such a nice touch; I will soon need a compound butter refrigerator. 🙂
Thanks for prompting me to explore the possibilities for flavored butters. Looks like the perfect book for ideas!
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Just when I thought butter couldn’t get any better!
Not entering the contest but you had me at Vanilla Bean 🙂
One of my favorite things to add to compound butter is roasted red pepper! Super delish!
I’m so intrigued by this butter! This sounds fantastic. Shh… but I’ve actually never made or had a compound butter but I promise if I won this lovely book I would be making a ton of them. Either way, I think I’ll need to own this lovely cookbook. So many creative butters!
I love rosemary as it is so wonderful then to spread onto homemade bread! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I would love to learn more though & making other compound butters!
I’ve never had compound butter. But this looks amazing.
I love how the flavors come together in a compound butter.
I love all the extra flavor you can get using a compound butter.
Good thing I cleaned out my freezer… from the sound of this book, I’m going to be making a LOT of compound butters over the next few weeks!! Thinking that espresso one is next on my list!!!
What a good idea having butter with different flavors! I usually just dab butter on food just as it is, but this creates a new dimension. Squeezing the butter out of a pastry nozzle for this recipe really dresses up the presentation!
What a good idea having butters with different flavors! Normally, I just dab butter on food just as it is. The use of a pastry nozzle for presenting the Citrus and Vanilla Bean butter recipe really dresses it up!
I love how the flavors, when combined with the fat in the butter, seem to marry. Fat = flavor and that is the good thing about compound butters. Not to mention, they sure are yummie!
Yum! compound butters are such a fabulous finishing touch on things – or in the case of this butter – a fabulous edition to an english muffin, toast, or hot from the oven blueberry muffin – that would be heavenly!
The carmelized onion butter sounds amazingly good too! Now I’m hungry for lunch and drooling…
I think savory butters are the best and can be used on so many different things. Love the thought of savory butter on a steak!
There are so many varieties u can make.
Wow! I love butter, it is such a love/hate relationship. It is sooo very delicious and I love flavored ones too. Thanks for sharing this!
Mmmm, my favorite thing about a compound butter is versatility! Use it on meat, breakfast food, dessert, you could probably even have it on a cheese plate! Yummmm
Oh my heavens – I need this book – ASAP! I love making honey butter for weekends but now I think I need to (a) make butter from scratch and (b) learn that coffee butter ASAP. Oh the possibilities are endless!!!
This butter sounds lovely. My favorite is to add sirraccha and dollop it on my whole wheat waffles with blackberry muddled maple syrup (oh yeah the butter goes good on fried chicken for those chicken and waffle lovers!)
I love these flavors, perfect with breakfast!
What I love most about compound butters are their simplicity, versatility, endless combinations and applications. As part of my “Holy Triad”, (butter, cheese and cream) I am fascinated by all things Butter. 🙂 Congratulations to Lucy on the publication of her new endeavor.
Now this sounds absolutely scrumptious…. I could have a bite of that right now with my morning coffee!
I love garlic and rosemary and coarse grain mustard in my butter!
Funny timing – I was first introduced to compound butters years ago at a restaurant that was featured (and slammed) on Kitchen Nightmares this week with Gordon Ramsay. They introduced me to Fried Green Tomatoes too (yummm). I can’t remember all the flavors now, but I remember a strawberry and an alligator (that I was afraid to try). I love making fruit compound butters for scones and that sort of thing and garlic/herb butters for veggies, etc. I’m really curious to see all the combinations in this book – although I honestly can’t imagine one with caviar?!?!
This looks yummy….I have some vanilla beans and this looks like the perfect way to use one..
Love, Mona
I can not live by bread and rice and meat and fish and vegetables and fruits alone ! I want BUTTER and I want this lip smackingly luscious, velvety, sexy citrus-vanilla compound butter. And your eye-popping buttery pictures….my my ! quite a sight for my sore eyes! 🙂
Compound butter deliciousness! Love the citrus flavors here, Barb 🙂
Good golly, Barb, all you had to do is list some of the recipes and now I want this book! I love compound/flavored butters and have been meaning to dig mine out and make some but now I see I have to buy this book . Wow they sound delicious! I love the vanilla-y citrussy sound of this one. I’ll bet it is great on chicken, too, even with the bit of sugar. But I’ll bet this tastes heavenly on hot-off-thr-griddle crêpes! I LOVE butter-lemon crêpes when we go out to a creperie.
Compound butters are wonderful. I love adding a dollop of a savory one to top a steak. I haven’t done much with sweet ones, though – terrific idea. Good review, and I love all the texture in the photos.
Easy! The best thing about compound butters is that they can be froze, therefore, instantly ready to make a dish taste wonderful. So easy!
I love using savory compound butters. They add sooooo much flavor! Especially grilled meat! I would love to try some sweet compound butters. Never heard of this cookbook but will certainly check it out!
The perfect finishing to a great steak is a delicious herb butter. This book sings to me. Hope I win it.
Just love using all different fresh herbs in my compound butter, along with a little lemon juice. And seriously, if I don’t win this book, I am definitely buying it!
I have to purchase this book immediately. I love, love, love compound butters. They add so much to the simplest dishes! I just made a southwestern flavored one last weekend – great on corn and other grilled veggies. Your citrus and vanilla combination sounds incredible!
O saw this in my inbox and ran right over just because the butter sounded so good! I love all things creamsicley flavored. And then I saw it was a giveaway, even cooler!
So what I love most in a compound butter…. probably a garlic chive compound butter. traditionally I’ve always loved them on steaks, I love the ability they have to just simply transform a steak, with BUTTER, who would have thought that?! It was one of the first things I learned at the CIA!
We just had some wonderful compound butter at a restaurant this past weekend. I don’t know if it was the low light or the cocktails, but I’m not quite sure what was in it. I believe it was caramelized onions and maybe some Parmesan. It was wonderful. This looks like a fun book.
A whole book dedicated to butter?! This woman has clearly got her priorities right. I’ll have to look out for it.
I’ve been looking at this book–it’s on my wish list! What I love in a compound butter is that it can take the everyday ordinary anything and turn it into something completely special and wonderful. That Coffee Butter you mentioned? Hello! I need that.
Lovely book!
I love raspberry and butter compound!! I put it on english muffins and on my pancakes!! Yum 🙂