We cook a lot around our house. And if it’s too much for one day we pack it up to go. In our lunches or the kids lunches – our kids definitely win in the lunchroom for the best lunch box food! Not too many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for them…it’s usually something left over from the night before.
This Brown Butter and Thyme Potato Cake is a perfect example of a side dish for dinner turned into a light lunch the next day. And no need to worry about heating this one up, it’s just as tasty cold, I promise you.
What makes this potato torte out of control good is the brown butter combined with the balsamic glaze. We looked at a lot of these torte recipes, sometimes called “Potatoes Anna” and they looked amazing but had tons of butter. Not that anyone around here is opposed to tons of butter, but we wanted to try and lighten it up a little and that’s where the balsamic glaze comes into play. It adds lots of flavor and it works perfectly in this recipe.
We go through so many potatoes in our house, it’s good to know how good they are for you too. Did you know that one potato has more potassium than a banana? Potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C too – more than a tomato….and there are only 110 calories for a medium sized potato.
Serve it alongside dinner then pack it up for lunch the next day. Or before that, even with your eggs in the morning. So good you can’t stop at one slice.
Brown Butter Potato Cake with Balsamic Glaze

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
Description
Thinly sliced potatoes luxuriously layered with brown butter and baked into a compact cake, finished with a fabulous balsamic glaze.
Ingredients
Units
- 4 lbs. yukon gold potatoes
- 6 tablespoons butter (divided)
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme (chopped)
- 1/4 cup balsamic glaze
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Peel the potatoes then slice on a mandoline into 1/8″ slices.
- Pour 3 tablespoons of the melted butter in a 10″ cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Start layering the potatoes into concentric circles in the skillet until you have a couple of layers down. Then sprinkle in some salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the fresh thyme.
- Working quickly, add in another couple layers of potatoes, more salt and pepper and thyme and now a drizzle of the balsamic glaze.
- Repeat with the potatoes, salt, pepper and thyme, then when you get about halfway down pour in the three tablespoons of melted butter.
- Repeat with the reaming potatoes, glaze, salt, pepper and thyme until you’re done.
- Press down firmly with an 8″ dinner plate or cake pan and then transfer the skillet to the oven for 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the skillet to the oven and press down once again with the cake pan.
- Return to the stove and cook another 25 minutes.
- After the torte has cooled slightly, run a knife around the edges of the skillet and then flip out onto a large plate and cut into wedges. See note*
Notes
To flip the torte out of the pan, place a dinner plate on the top of the torte with one hand and grab the skillet with the other hand (use a hot mit!)
Then flip the skillet upside down and now the torte will be on the plate. Slide off to a cutting board to slice.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 55 mins
Category: Side
Method: Oven Baking
Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 300
If you liked this recipe, you are going to love these favorite potato recipes:
Rustic Hungarian Potatoes: Tócsi
Andouille Sausage and Cajun Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes
The Crispiest Smashed Potatoes
Raclette Potatoes au Gratin
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