King Arthur Flour Fudge Brownie Recipe - Barbara Bakes (2024)

FAQs

What makes a brownie more fudgy? ›

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.

Too much flour? Go back to your edges - if they're not burnt, look a good colour (similar to the centre) but the brownie is too cakey and dry throughout, the recipe probably included too much flour.

Add semisweet chocolate chips

That's when I realized that the extra step of adding chocolate chips to the brownie batter helps the brownies get a crackly top.

While butter is the only fat used in fudgy and cakey brownies, chewy brownies benefit from the addition of canola oil (which is also why this version may remind you of the boxed mixes). The addition of brown sugar is also crucial, because it speeds gluten formation, resulting in a chewier texture.

Achieving a fudgy brownie is all to do with the ratio of fat to flour. A fudgy brownie recipe will use more fat than flour. Generally this is achieved by adding more butter or real chocolate to your brownie recipe. A cakey brownie recipe on the other hand will call for more flour in the ratio of fat to flour.

For an easy boost to your boxed brownie mix, sprinkle in about a half cup of add-ins to give brownie batter a personal touch. Although nuts, chocolate and peanut butter chips, and mini marshmallows are easy wins here, this method invites creativity, and the options are truly limitless.

The Best Flour for Making Brownies

Cake flour has a low protein at 6-8%, which is not enough to hold the batter together and will result in a flaky mess. Bread flour on the other hand has too much protein at 12-15 % for this recipe, creating a thick hard chocolate bar. So, all purpose flour is the winner!

If you accidentally add baking soda instead of baking powder to baked goods, they won't rise because there is not enough acid. To fix this, add about one tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar for every half teaspoon of baking soda to the liquids before mixing with the dry ingredients.

If the brownies still look wet or aren't pulling away, they aren't done. Even fudgy brownies will pull from the edges once they've finished baking. You'll see that the edges look dry while the middle still looks soft or slightly wet. Chewy and cakey brownies will have dry edges with firmer-looking centers.

Whether you use butter, margarine, or vegetable oil, putting too much in your brownie batter causes it to be greasy. Don't worry, you're not alone. Many people fall into this trap when trying to substitute butter with oil.

What is the flaky stuff on top of brownies? ›

The egg wash is a mixture of an egg and a little bit of water and should be brushed lightly over the top of the brownies before baking. The sugar will caramelize on the top as the brownies bake, resulting in a flaky crust.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

After greasing the pan, many bakers like to line it with pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil that have been cut larger than the size of the pan so that the edges hang over the sides like a sling.

Fudgy brownies are moist, dense and gooey, with almost the texture of fudge, but not quite as compact. Chewy brownies are dense (like fudgy brownies), but have a little more “bite” to them or elastic texture when you chew them.

To test for doneness with a toothpick, insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies and pull it back out. For fudgy brownies, you'll want to see some moist crumbs attached to the toothpick when you pull it back out. If it looks like it's covered in brownie batter, the brownies will need to bake a bit longer.

You can make brownies with cocoa powder. For very fudgy brownies make sure that there is more sugar than flour/cocoa combined, and not much liquid, if any, besides eggs. A little baking soda will make the batter more alkaline and have it more soft/not set.

Chewy brownies must be slightly under-baked. One of the top mistakes to avoid when making brownies is waiting until there's no more crumbs on the toothpick to pull the pan from the oven. By that point they're close to over-baked, and you will lose out on that chewiness you want.