Hazelnut Brownies Recipe ~ Barley & Sage (2024)

FAQs

What makes brownies fudgy vs cakey? ›

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.

The brownies are made with unsweetened chocolate, which is also known as baking, plain or bitter chocolate. It is chocolate in its rawest form and this means that unsweetened chocolate is just ground cocoa nibs that have been refined and contain between 50-55% cocoa butter (cacao fat).

Salt enhances the sweetness in your brownies. You might think that adding salt would make brownies, or any chocolate, salter, but it actually brings out the sweet quality in these types of desserts.

Brownie textures fall into three general camps… Cakey, fudgy and chewy. Cakey brownies, like the name implies, are light, moist and airy, with a slightly fluffy, cake-like interior. Fudgy brownies are moist, dense and gooey, with almost the texture of fudge, but not quite as compact.

If you want to get a little more creative with your brownie mix hacks, add an extra egg to the batter. The extra protein will help thicken up the batter and make it fluffier, creating a more decadent, fudgy texture. You can also add the yolk by itself in addition to the 2 eggs a box brownie mix typically calls for.

In brownies, both butter and oil will offer a moist, tender texture, but only butter will give the dish the aeration needed for rising brownies well. If you use a cake brownie, butter is a better option because it helps rise the batter. For denser, fudge type brownies, oil is permissable.

They're called blondies because they lack the brown cocoa powder of brownies. They're blonde with vanilla and brown sugar, not brown.

Chewy 4 oz. chocolatey brownie topped with a chocolatey frosting and color candy coated chocolate pieces. The Little Debbie® Vending Cosmic Brownie is a chewy 4 oz brownie topped with chocolatey icing then sprinkled with colorful candy-coated pieces to make it simply out of this world!

Girl Guides of Canada announced Wednesday it's changing the name of its Brownies branch to Embers in an effort to be more inclusive. The organization said in November it wanted to change the name of its program for seven- and eight-year-old girls to remove barriers for those who are racialized.

Using caster sugar in brownies also helps to get a super crinkly top. Caster sugar has a smaller grain size than granulated sugar, so it dissolves better in the egg mixture, to give that nice crinkly top. If you only have granulated sugar on hand it will still work fine particularly if you are in the US.

Is it better to use cocoa powder or chocolate in brownies? ›

As compared to those made with just chocolate or a combination of the two, cocoa brownies are reliably superior in terms of texture and flavor.

All the mix-ins

Experiment with pretzels, candy, or even potato chips (trust me, the salty crunch really is so good here) to add an extra boost of flavor and a crunchy texture. For a really fun addition that adds a ton of color, stir some strawberries or blueberries into the batter.

Did you know that Brownies were originally called 'Rosebuds'? Rosebuds was established in 1914 for girls to join before they became Guides. Just one year later, the name was changed to Brownies. Brownies are the second-youngest members of the Girlguiding family, for girls aged between 7 and 10.

A Brownie Pack was divided into groups of six girls called a Six. Each Six was called after 'little people' such as Elf, Imp, Sprite or Gnome. A brown wool beret was introduced for Brownies in 1950 and stockings were changed to socks.

So what were Brownies like in folk tales? They were described as small, good-natured spirits or goblins (sometimes called “magical little people”) that would appear during the night and do good deeds around the house, without ever having to be asked to help.

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.

Airtight Containers

Use parchment paper to layer brownies into an airtight container for best results. Tip: When storing brownies in an airtight container, add a slice of bread in with them. The moisture from the bread will help keep your brownies fresh and soft for a couple more days.

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.

Brownies are perfect when the middle is just baked, so it sets to a fudgy, moist consistency - if your flour and baking powder are causing the edges to rise, cook and set too quickly, they will give the appearance of a sunken centre, even if the centre is perfectly cooked.