Scoring brownie points. By Matt Preston

The brownie is really the greatest of all baked sweet things, hovering in a delicious netherworld between fudge and cake. But what makes a great brownie and how can we pimp up our favourite brownie recipe to make even Snoop Dogg jealous of the way we ride, brownie-style. First up we need to work out whether you are a chewy, fudgy or cakey sort of a brownie person? I'm happy with either of the first two but feel cakey brownies are an aberration. If you love those then you'll just have to reverse all of the advice I am about to give on how to avoid cakey-ness!

So here are my 21 simple tips to bake a better brownie

1) The better the chocolate; the better the brownie.

2) Pick the right recipe. If there are no clues in the brownie description look for the following - lots of flour means it will be cakey, lots of butter and it will be fudgy. Brown sugar normally signals a fudgier brownie. Recipes that suggest just using the yolks of the egg tend to be fudgier too. The whites will make it chewier.

3) If fudginess is the desired outcome then slackly stir in the flour. Too much enthusiasm risks developing flour's gluten. This will give your brownie structure. Structure is the enemy of slovenly fudginess.

4) Follow the recipe; this includes using the size of baking tray or slice tin specified.

5) The one exception to Rule #4 is that you should always check on the brownies earlier than the recipe says. An overcooked brownie is a bad brownie.

6) You can butter your metal brownie tin but I prefer to line it with a sheet of baking paper that's long enough so you have an overhang jutting out on both sides. This will help you lift the brownies out of the tin neatly.

7) Room temperature ingredients are best - especially the eggs, as they'll incorporate better.

8) The creaming of butter and sugar together will make for a lighter brownie with less of a fudgy texture.

9) While an electric handwhisk or food processor can speed up the process I still prefer to use a wooden spoon. I have a sense that this reduces the incorporation of air into the batter. Also it offers the chance to "sell tickets to the gun show".

10) Turn up the volume of the chocolate flavour by adding unsweetened cocoa powder to your recipe along with the melted chocolate.

11) Add stuff to them. Start out with dried fruit like apricots or cherries, any nuts (excluding pistachios which can go waxy), contrasting chocolate pieces or berries. Next time, go a little crazier by adding odder ingredients such as shredded coconut, marshmallows or chunks of chocolate bars like Snickers, Mars or Cherry Ripe. If you really want to go nuts then play with adding some granola for crunch, or spice up your brownie with anything from powdered cinnamon or ginger, to chilli, chai spices or pop rocks.

12) Don't Frankenstein your brownies. Sure, be creative in your combinations - add marshmallows, peanuts and glacé cherries to make a Rocky Road brownie, or cherries and coconut to make a take on a Cherry Ripe - but don't just throw randoms together. No walnut and vegemite brownies please!

13) Layer your brownies. Everybody loves a surprise so how about putting half the brownie batter into the tray then adding a layer of caramel, a layer of smooth peanut butter that you've creamed with half a cup of sugar, salt and an egg, or even, in a dark brownie, slices of cream cheese. Top with the rest of the batter and bake!

14) Never overcook a brownie! You want a brownie that is firm to the touch but still with a little stickiness in the middle. For a perfectly cooked great brownie, there should be a few moist sticky bits still on your wooden skewer or toothpick when you plunge it into the centre to check whether it is done.

15) It is far easier to cut brownies neatly when they are cooled.

16) Keeping your fresh baked brownies in the fridge for a couple of hours will encourage fudginess.

17) A brownie's flavour will mature over time apparently (I've never been able to test this in my house).

18) Warm old brownies in the microwave. They will soften beautifully.

19) Top your brownies. I usually leave my brownies nude, or at best sprinkle with a little cocoa powder, a few diamonds of flake salt or icing sugar, but I'll show off by drizzling melted white chocolate, strings of thick caramel sauce or top the cooked brownies with a glossy ganache.

20) Add them to stuff. Chop up the last couple of brownies to stir through vanilla or chocolate ice cream or add to the topping of your cheesecake. Yes, I do think the first idea is better!

21) Make a dessert. The brownie was designed as a finger food but is just as much fun eaten with a spoon. Especially when you can pimp it up. This can be as simple as serving brownies with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche and berries, or with roasted or macerated fruit - whether grilled oranges in winter, or nectarines or figs in summer.

For more luscious brownie recipes, check out the collection on taste.com.au

Information in this article is correct as of 12th May, 2015.

Source

Taste.com.au — May 2015

Author

Matt Preston