The Best Brownies

We love brownie’s right?! YESSS… so let’s firstly say a big thank you to Fannie Merritt Farmer, who while baking cookies, accidently reduced a lot of the quantity of flour in her recipe. THE MOST DELICIOUS MISTAKE EVER, DON’T YOU AGREE???  🤪  🤪 

Now lets go through some technical and theoretical details first, shall we?? Don’t frown or roll your eyes!!!  🙄 🙄

In these next paragraphs ,Ill talk about ingredients and methods… you can skip it and go straight to the recipe, but remember: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, and the reason why I am sharing mine is to give you more than a balanced recipe. It’s to empower you and make the kitchen your element! If you skip the theory, please, check the bottom page for very important tips.

Some information about the brownie

A brownie has chocolate as it’s main ingredient as I am sure we all know , this is why your rule number one will be to choose THE BEST chocolate possible for your recipe.

Its peculiar texture is a result of three variables:

• Quantity of fat- Butter and Chocolate
• Amount of dry ingredients- Flour and Sugar
• And baking time and temperature

What does this mean?

To achieve a DENSE, HUMID AND CREAMY brownie you need to add more butter ( more fat), less flour and less sugar.

But for a more firmer Brownie ( called by Americans – fudge brownie ), you would add a bit more sugar, a bit more flour and also full eggs into the recipe. The egg whites will bring more structure to the batter.

In order to get a lighter texture, closer to a cake and with it’s interior a bit more dry and less dense, we have to have less butter ( fat ), more flour and a rising agent, like baking powder.

Now that we know this consider your baking time – you have to always keep in mind that a Brownie’s texture will be dramatically affected by OVEN TEMPERUATURE AND BAKING TIME.

If you bake it higher than 170 Celsius for shorter time, it will have a very creamy texture. When you “over bake” it , you will loose it’s moistness. TIME is the key here!

However should you bake between 155 and 165 degrees, it will be very creamy inside. To check if its ready, start your tests after 16 minutes. Gently touch the center top and if it’s starting to get a bit firm, its time to insert a stick to check. The stick should come out slightly “dirty” but not too wet and never absolutely clean.

Apply your knowledge

With all this powerful knowledge you now have I am certain that you can play with the recipe balance. It will allow you to create different textures in your brownie. Try to use this knowledge to make your tests in the kitchen and find out what is your favorite texture and density. I can guarantee that the JOURNEY WILL BE SWEET AND DELICIOUS.

In conclusion it’s Very difficult to flop a brownie, even when get’s “wrong “it will be still delicious. So relax and go start BAKING!

Tips for to make the best brownie!!

Fridge: After preparing your brownie and put on a baking tray, rest in the fridge for at least 1hour ( some very famous chefs rest it overnight even )

Oven: When using a simple home oven, place the tray in the center and at half of the baking time, turn the tray to allow even baking.

Flavor addition: Using this recipe as base, you can create an amazing combination and make your brownie even better. Add any nuts of your preference ( around 100g ) . Add frozen or fresh raspberries ( around 120g ). Add Hazelnut cream ( around 120g ), add on top after placing on the tray and marble it with a fork or a tip of a knife, then bake it.

Interrupting Cooking: This step is very important!!! Remove the brownie from oven and immediately place it on your freezer ( YES GIRL! PLACE IT IN THE FREEZER ), for 6 to 10 minutes to interrupt the cooking process. This will maintain the moistness in your brownie.