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This homemade compound butter flight includes four different flavored butters. They range from savory and briny to sweet and rich, so there’s a little bit of everything. Serve these with bread as an appetizer or wrapped up as an edible gift.
About The Taste
If you love butter, this is for you. And if you’ve never tried cold butter on a piece of warm toast, that’s something worth fixing. This compound butter recipe is built as a four-way flight: garlic tomato crunch, dirty martini, brown butter honey, and fig goat cheese. It’s designed as a mix-and-match situation, so you can serve all four or make just one.
That contrast is what makes each one pop. When you first serve this recipe, the butter starts cold and dense, then softens a little as it hits warm bread. You get everything from savory and salty to sweet and nutty. Eating them side by side makes the differences obvious, especially once you start mixing and matching.
Table of contents
Prep the Ingredients
The Butter
Unsalted butter | Softened
Have all butter set out at room temperature 1-2 hours ahead, until fully softened and easy to mix, but not melted.
The Garlic Crunch and Tomato Butter
Garlic Cloves | Sun-Dried Tomatoes | Tomato Paste
Peel and thinly slice the garlic, and finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes so everything is ready before the pan goes on the heat.
The Dirty Martini Butter
Castelvetrano Olives | Blue Cheese | Scallions | Chives | Lemon
Stuff the olives lightly with blue cheese, then slice them lengthwise into thin pieces so they layer cleanly in the butter. Chop the scallions and chives finely so they blend evenly without overpowering the mix. Zest the lemon directly over the bowl so the oils stay fresh and fragrant.
The Honey Browned Butter
Unsalted Butter | Honey
Browned butter typically takes about 5-7 minutes over medium heat. It’s ready when the butter turns a deep golden color and smells nutty, with amber milk solids at the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat as soon as it reaches that point, since it will continue browning briefly. Transfer the butter to a bowl set over an ice bath and whisk continuously, scraping the sides and bottom, until it thickens and turns opaque. After a few minutes, it will return to a creamy, spreadable consistency and be ready to mix with the honey.
The Goat Cheese and Fig Butter
Goat Cheese | Fig Jam | Edible Pressed Flowers
Set the goat cheese out so it’s room temperature, which makes it easier to layer. If piping, have it ready in the piping bag. Have the fig jam and flowers ready also.
The Buy-Ahead
Cheese Mold | Gift Box
Make sure you have silicone cube molds, edible pressed flowers, and a small gift box on hand if you plan to package it as a gift. These are things you can’t usually just pick up at the store, so plan ahead.
Chef Nadia’s Tips
This is one of those recipes where temperature really matters. Cold butter straight from the fridge is too firm to work with, but butter that’s too soft loses structure fast. I like it fully softened, easy to mix, but still holding its shape once chilled again.
A quick wipe around the molds before chilling gives everything that finished, perfect cube and makes it easier coming out of the molds.
- I serve these straight from the fridge with warm bread. As they sit out, the texture changes slightly, which is part of the fun.
Ingredient Swaps
- Castelvetrano Olives: Cerignola olives work just as well here and keep the same mild, buttery taste. Avoid anything overly briny or sharp, which will overpower the butter.
- Blue Cheese: Danish blue is a good substitute and stays creamy when mixed. It’s milder than many blue cheeses, which works well for those who aren’t a fan of stronger blues.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes are best. If yours are dry-packed, rehydrate them first so they blend smoothly and don’t pull moisture from the butter.
- Honeycomb: If honeycomb isn’t available, a drizzle of good honey layered into the butter works fine. You’ll lose the texture, but the flavor stays intact.
- Edible Pressed Flowers: These are optional. If skipping them, the butter still tastes great, just without the decorative finish.
Similar Recipes
Radish Herb Butter Terrine: Radishes and butter are a classic for a reason. This elegant terrine layers paper-thin radishes with herby butter for a crunchy, refreshing contrast to rich, creamy slices.
Dirty Martini Terrine: Think of this as a boozy, briny butter inspired by the classic cocktail, with olive brine, vodka, and blue cheese as the base with olives spread throughout. It’s especially fun with fried baguette slices and is the perfect make-ahead showpiece for gatherings.
The Perfect Pairings
Dirty Milky Lemon Martini: Salty, briny, and bright with lemon, this martini cuts straight through all that butter. It keeps things sharp between bites and feels like part of the spread, not just a drink on the side.
Mediterranean Dip with Crispy Onion & Herb: This whipped appetizer is loaded with crunch. It works right alongside the butter flight, and the same toasted bread can be used for both.
Soft Fried Cheese Wheel: Warm, melty cheese brings a totally different feel to this appetizer lineup. It’s rich and cheesy, with crisp potato bites for dipping.
Baked Brie with Fig Jam and Prosciutto: Sweet fig jam and prosciutto stuffed into a melted brie wheel. Honestly, need I say more?
Cocktail Hour
Dirty Milky Lemon Martini
Appetizers
Crispy Fried Cheese Wheel
Appetizers
Baked Brie with Fig Jam and Prosciutto
Homemade Compound Butter FAQ
Yes. All of the butters can be made a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated. Assemble and mold them when you are ready to serve or gift so the edges stay clean and the layers look sharp.
Stored tightly wrapped or sealed, it keeps well for up to one week. Because this flight is served cold, texture holds nicely throughout that time.
Silicone cube molds make shaping and releasing the butter much easier, especially for the layered versions. You can use small ramekins in a pinch, but they will be hard to get out and the presentation will be more rustic.
Warm bread is the best place to start. Toasted baguette, sourdough, or anything with a little crunch lets the cold butter soften just enough as you spread it.
Homemade Compound Butter Flight (Four Ways)
Equipment
- Skillet
- small saucepan
- Mixing bowls
- spatula
- Whisk or hand mixer
- Ice bath
- pastry brush
- Piping bag or spoon
- Square Gift Box, optional
Ingredients
Garlic Crunch and Tomato Butter
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- olive oil, for frying
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 pinch salt
Dirty Martini Butter
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 8 Castelvetrano olives
- 2 tbsp blue cheese, plus more for stuffing
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 3 tbsp chives, divided
- 1½ tsp vodka
- 1½ tsp olive brine
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 1 pinch salt
Honey Browned Butter
- 10 oz unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp honey
- flaky salt, to taste
- 2 pieces honeycomb, for assembly
Goat Cheese and Fig Butter
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 3 oz goat cheese
- ¼ cup fig jam
- 1 pinch salt
- edible pressed flowers, for assembly
Instructions
Garlic Crunch and Tomato Butter
- • Add the garlic slices to a cold skillet and cover with olive oil. Place over medium heat and cook until lightly golden, stirring often to prevent burning. Transfer to a cutting board, finely chop and set aside.• In the same pan, sauté the sun-dried tomatoes and tomato paste over medium heat for 3 minutes. Let cool completely. • In a bowl, combine the softened butter, chopped garlic, tomato mixture, and salt. Mix until fully incorporated.8 oz unsalted butter, 5-6 garlic cloves, olive oil, ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, 3 tbsp tomato paste, 1 pinch salt
Dirty Martini Butter
- • Stuff the olives with a small amount of blue cheese and slice thinly lengthwise.. • In a bowl, combine the softened butter, 2 tablespoons of blue cheese, scallions, half of the chives, vodka, olive brine, lemon zest, and salt. Mix until smooth.8 oz unsalted butter, 8 Castelvetrano olives, 2 tbsp blue cheese, 3 scallions, 3 tbsp chives, 1½ tsp vodka, 1½ tsp olive brine, 1 lemon, 1 pinch salt
Honey Browned Butter
- • Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat and cook until deeply golden and nutty, stirring frequently. • Remove from heat and pour into a bowl set over ice. Whisk until the butter thickens and becomes opaque.• Mix in the honey and flaky salt to taste.10 oz unsalted butter, 3 tbsp honey, flaky salt
Goat Cheese and Fig Butter
- • Mix salt to taste into the butter.8 oz unsalted butter, 1 pinch salt
Assemble the Butter Flight:
- Garlic Crunch and Tomato Butter: Fill two molds with the garlic crunch and tomato butter.
- Dirty Martini Butter: For this, we layer. Add a sprinkle of chives, about 3 slices of the stuffed olives and ⅓ of the butter. Repeat until the butter is gone.
- Brown Butter and Honey Butter: Place a piece of honeycomb into two clean molds and pipe the brown butter and honey butter around it, filling completely.2 pieces honeycomb
- Goat Cheese and Fig Butter: • Brush the sides of two cube molds lightly with butter and press edible flowers along the sides. • Fill each halfway with butter. Using a spoon, push the butter up along the sides to create a small well in the center. Freeze for 10 minutes to set. • Once set, layer goat cheese and then fig jam in the well until filled.¼ cup fig jam, edible pressed flowers, 3 oz goat cheese
- Clean the edges of each cube and refrigerate until fully set. Wrap and place in the gift box, if you would like.
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
