There was a time when baking brownies scared the life out of me. I was never sure if they would turn out fudgy enough or if they’d have that signature shiny top crust. The perfect fudgy brownies were like a dream.
I like calling this recipe foolproof because I have tried it time and again, multiple times. I’ve doubled and tripled the recipe as well as halved it. It just works. Every time.
There are two things that make excellent fudgy brownies! Wanna know what they are?
- Fudginess – the perfect level of fudginess will elevate your brownies to the next level. They shouldn’t be too gooey to come off as under baked. And they shouldn’t be over baked that they come off crumbly or cakey.
- Shiny crackly top – although a shiny crackly top does not add to the flavor profile of brownies, somehow it is considered the mark of the perfect brownie. Somewhere along the line, a shiny crackly top became a benchmark for excellent brownies.
Out of these two important determining factors, the shiny crackly top seems to be the toughest to get a handle on. But no worries, I will tell you how to achieve it in no time.
So, let’s get into the secret behind the perfect shiny crackly top for your fudgy brownies!
How To Get A Shiny Crackly Brownie Crust
When I first started my endeavor to achieve the gorgeous shiny crackly brownie crust, I went through a hundred or so recipes. Every recipe suggested something new and something different.
I wanted to create a recipe that was easy and simple and everyone could do it. Of course, having Dutch-processed cocoa powder and rich dark chocolate will absolutely elevate your flavors.
But, let’s face it! Not everyone has access to superb high quality ingredients and honestly, most bakers start off with the basic grocery store staples.
The secret to your shiny crust lies in how well you whip your eggs. That’s it.
Whip your eggs with your sugar on high speed until your mixture is thick, foamy, lighter in color and forms a ribbon consistency. You can check the ribbon consistency by lifting your whisk – notice that your batter will fall down in a thick ribbon that dissolves back into the batter. Achieving this consistency should take continuous whisking on high speed for about 5 minutes.
Using room temperature ingredients will make the entire process faster and easier.
It’s very important to achieve a ribbon consistency with your eggs and sugar batter.
How To Get Fudgy Brownies
The fudge levels of your brownies are determined by how long you bake your brownies for. Since I don’t use a standard baking pan every single time, and I double or halve my recipe depending on how big a batch I’m making, I don’t rely on baking times.
Your baking time will vary based on the size of your batch, the size of your oven, whether you pre-heated your oven or not and so on. So I like to work with a jiggle test.
What Is The Fudgy Brownie Jiggle Test
The jiggle test is when you shake the baking pan ever so slightly to check if your brownies are ready.
Of course, you cannot use the skewer method that we use for cakes because we need the brownies to be fudgy.
Take your brownies out of the oven and give then pan a jiggle. The perfect fudgy brownies will:
- have a shiny crust on top
- slightly jiggle in the center
- have a solid non-jiggly crust around the edges
Make sure you don’t have too much of a jiggle to save your brownies from turning out under baked.
It’s takes a bit of trial and error to get it right, but I prefer this method over any others.
You can then place your brownies back into the oven, turn the oven off, and let the remaining heat bake them through for another 10-15 minutes. This yields the perfect fudgy brownies, without fail!
Now that we have the more important factors out of the picture, let’s get to the recipe!
Foolproof Fudgy Brownies
6
servings20
minutes30
minutesKeep your device screen on
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of granulated white sugar
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
150g dark chocolate
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 cup of milk
a fat pinch of salt
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 180 °C. Butter and/or line your baking tray with parchment. For this recipe, I used a 7×7 baking tray.
- In a bowl, combine your room temperature eggs and sugar. Whisk together on high speed for about 5 minutes or until the batter forms a thick ribbon consistency.
- In a thick-bottomed pan, add your butter, dark chocolate and cocoa powder. You can use any chocolate you like (bars or chips). I like using 55-60% dark chocolate bars.
- Over low heat, melt the butter and chocolates together while mixing continuously to avoid lumps or uneven heating.
- Once your chocolate mixture is fully melted, turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Set aside for 5-8 minutes.
- Gently add your chocolate mixture to your egg and sugar batter in small batches. Make sure to continue whisking thoroughly as you add the chocolate mixture in. Due to the higher temperature of the chocolate mixture, your egg batter risks getting cooked which is why whisking thoroughly and only incorporating small batches at a time is very important.
- Once your chocolate is fully incorporated, add the vanilla and salt. In a small mixing cup, combine the coffee with the milk and add it to the batter.
- Next add the flour and gently fold the mixture until well combined.
- Your batter should be thick but still flows. If you find it too thick add some more milk until you have thick ribbons when you pick up the batter with your folding spoon.
- Transfer your batter to the baking tray. Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins. Keep an eye on your brownies and do conduct the jiggle test. I have found that the perfect fudgy brownies are achieved at 28-30 minutes.
- Serve hot or wait for your brownies to cool. I personally love them hot with a drizzle of heavy cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
