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Brownies are a classic dessert, and one of my favorites. But despite how simple they seem, they can be difficult to get just right. A good brownie has chewy edges; a shiny, crackly top; and a delectably fudgy center with a rich, chocolaty taste. (I’m personally all for those corner pieces to get the ultimate textural experience.)
But how can you ensure you’ll get the fudgiest brownies every time? I spoke to three professional pastry chefs to get the scoop: Amanda Haubrock, pastry chef and culinary advisor at Cargill, Kristina Lavallee, celebrity cake artist and founder of The Cake Girl, and Lucie Franc de Ferriere, founder of beloved New York City Bakery From Lucie. Here are their top 10 tips on how to make the fudgiest brownies.
1. The ratio of ingredients is important.
“The secret to a fudgy brownie is that it has to have a balance of fat, sugar, and flour,” says Lavallee. “To get the fudginess, you want to have more fat and less flour.” Too much flour makes the batter tough and results in a more cake-like texture (which is not what we’re after here), but the same can be said for any ingredient. “Never just scoop things right out of a bag,” Lavallee says. In order to get the most consistent results, the pastry chefs recommend measuring your ingredients with a kitchen scale. Franc de Ferriere says her brownie recipe “uses only 70 grams [of flour], so the butter, chocolate, and cocoa do most of the work. That’s where the fudginess comes from.” (You can find her signature brownie recipe in her cookbook, Cake from Lucie.)
2. Use different forms of high-quality chocolate.
Another crucial step to getting a super-fudgy brownie is to use high-quality chocolate — and a variety of it. “Cocoa powder contributes a nice flavor, melted chocolate adds a rich mouthfeel thanks to the cocoa butter, and chocolate chips give a luscious chocolate pop to the mix,” says Haubrock. She likes to go for melted semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate chips, and 70% cacao cocoa powder for a balanced flavor that isn’t overly sweet.
Franc de Ferriere chooses dark chocolate and Dutch-process cocoa for “a deeper, rounder chocolate flavor.” And the quality of your ingredients matters here, as they’re the stars of the show, so don’t skimp! Lavallee, who uses a mix of semisweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder, says, “In my bakery, I’m a huge believer that quality ingredients make a difference in your end product. I always use very high-quality chocolate and real butter in my brownies. If you skimp on these two things, you are jeopardizing your entire end product.”
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together.
It may seem simple, but in order to get that signature crackly top, the way you combine the eggs and sugar will make a difference. “Whip the eggs and sugar until they’re fluffy and doubled in volume. Then fold the rest of the ingredients in gently so you don’t lose that air,” says Franc de Ferriere. “This is one of the little tricks that gives you those professional bakery-looking brownies right from your home oven,” adds Lavallee.
Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk
4. Add salt, vanilla, and espresso powder.
Haubrock says these three ingredients will really take your brownie from good to extraordinary. “Sprinkling a little Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt on top is the true chef’s kiss for a dynamite brownie. It enhances the taste and flavor of the rich chocolate,” she says. “Adding a little instant espresso powder can deepen the chocolate flavor, and I never skimp on the vanilla. The warmth of vanilla rounds out any kind of brownie.”
5. Don’t overmix.
As important as getting your ratio of ingredients right is, ensuring you don’t overmix the batter is equally important. “Don’t overdo it with mixing, as that can create more gluten development, resulting in a tougher and drier brownie experience,” says Haubrock.
6. Use a metal baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Fudgy brownies might stick to the pan a little, so to save yourself the hassle when you go to pull them out, the pastry chefs recommend lining your baking pan with parchment paper. And a light colored metal baking pan is the way to go (most often an 8×8). “Sheet pans or light colored metal pans provide more even baking than a glass dish,” Lavallee says. “Glass retains a lot of heat and can cause your edges to overbake.”
7. Use a smaller pan.
Another hack for getting fudgy brownies? Bake them in a smaller pan. “A smaller pan allows for thicker brownies,” says Haubrock. “If you are targeting a luxuriously moist brownie, then a thicker, slower-baking brownie could be worth a try.”
8. Err on the side of underbaking.
All the chefs agreed that overbaking is the biggest mistake you can make when it comes to brownies and can leave them dry. You’ll also want to throw the adage of “until a toothpick comes out clean” out the window. “If you are waiting for the toothpick to come out clean, chances are you have already overbaked them,” says Lavallee. Instead, the pastry chef says to look for moist crumbs on a toothpick inserted near the center of the pan. “You do not want to see wet batter, but crumbs are perfectly OK,” she says.
In fact, they recommended not fully adhering to the recipe’s suggested bake time, given that ovens and pan types vary. “Brownies will continue to bake from residual heat once removed from the oven,” says Haubrock, adding that baking on the lower end of 325 to 350°F seems to be the sweet spot. “Anything higher runs the risk of baking too fast, creating crispier edges and an increased risk of dryness.”
Lavallee also recommends checking the brownies before your timer goes off. “You never want to wait until the recipe says; start checking a few minutes before,” she says. “You should also avoid opening and closing the oven repeatedly during baking. Each time you do this you release heat and affect the baking environment.”
Franc de Ferriere ditches the toothpick altogether. “For soft, fudgy brownies, 20 minutes at 350°F on the middle rack. If you like them firmer, go closer to 25 minutes. Look for slightly cracked, set edges and a center that still looks a little underdone,” she says.
9. Cool them on a wire rack.
An even cool is just as important as an even bake. “Placing the pan on a wire cooling rack helps promote airflow so the brownies cool more efficiently,” says Haubrock. “If you leave it on a hot pad or solid surface, it will trap the heat in the pan and continue to bake the brownies.”
10. Refrigerate before slicing.
It might be hard to resist, but both Lavallee and Franc de Ferriere recommend letting the brownies cool fully and then refrigerating them before slicing to get even cuts and beautiful lines. Trust us — you’ll be rewarded for your patience.
Further Reading
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