No one can resist a good brownie. Top it with chocolate sauce and ice cream and you’ve nearly reached heaven. We all have reached out for brownies when in need of comfort, be it the occasion of a break up or even a denied promotion at work.
Baking brownies however is not as simple as it looks. There are a few tricks that determine the making or breaking of a brownie.
1. Recipe
- The most important aspect in making a brownie is selecting the recipe.
- First of all decide whether you want to make a cakey brownie or a fudgy brownie.
- If you want a cakey brownie then look for one that has a recipe like a cake, where the chocolate butter ratio is same or lesser than dry ingredient ratio.
- Similarly if you love gooey fudgy brownies then opt for a recipe that uses a lot of butter and chocolate and is greater than the fry ingredients ratio.
2. Size of the dish
- Follow the size of the baking dish as mentioned in the recipe.
- What happens when you decide to bake it in a larger dish is that the batter gets poured thinned and is spread out, so the cooking time needs to be reduced.
- So when you bake it for the prescribed time in the larger baking dish you land up overcooking the brownie and might land up with crusty and burnt edges.
- But if you are an expert in baking then you might also understand that the timing needs to be adjusted accordingly when you decide to change size of the baking dishes.
3. Taking it out too late
- The test of a fully baked brownie as is with cakes is the toothpick test, where the toothpick has to come out clean with crumbs when inserted.
- Some think that it need not come out clean, but then they land up with a gooey mess.
- So wait for your toothpick to get crumbs which is a sign that it’s almost cooked.
- Remove from the oven and it will continue baking while it cooks.
4. Not allowing them to rest
- The best brownies are best when you allow them to rest. You will land up disfiguring them if you cut them out too soon.
- If presentation doesn’t matter then you can slice away when they are piping hot.
5. Temperature of the ingredients
- Do not use hot chocolate or butter while creaming the batter for your brownies as you will only land up with scrambled eggs.
- Instead use ingredients at room temperature that is slightly cool for a smooth and creamy mixture.
So learn from these tips so that you can bake perfect brownies at home and indulge.