Go to the Article: Help Us Create the Ultimate Brownie
I've just had a look at the new recipe and can't wait to try it. My (so far) fave tried and tested is fudgy and dense, lots of chocolate, less flour, and (also) has a layer of chocolate drops or buttons, though I throw them on the top mid-way through cooking. I think I started adding this after reading a Gordon Ramsey recipe. I also like to include pecans, and when I want to go all out I caramalise them in maple syrup first....
Moist and Dense
Interior piece is preferred to an edge piece
Not a huge fan of nuts in brownies. Other add-ins are good
Favorite add-ins: caramel, rum soaked dried cherries, chocolate chips, roughly crushed kettle chips, toffee
Box vs homemade: both are viable. If making homemade I prefer the Zingerman's Bakehouse recipe. Boxed, I prefer Ghiradelli
Blondies are also good, but that's it's own thing and doesnt belong in this conversation.
A brownie must be fudgy, otherwise it’s cake. A nice flaky top, firm caramel like corners, and semi firm gooey center.
ChefSteps, I see that you are revealing a new brownie recipe next week. Share with us any special ingredients so that we can make them when the recipe comes out!
I like to add flaky sea salt and take them out of the oven half way to bang the tray on the counter to crack the skin
So one of the best brownies I had swapped the liquid with rocky road ice cream. Might make a good area of investigation.
Rich and chewy with a glossy cracked top asking with flaky salt.
Bravetart's glossy fudgy brownies are the best I've found so far. I'd be very impressed if you could beat it but I have faith in you. If you do it perfectly you end up with that paper thin glossy layer on top and a moist interior with little bits of sugar that has recrystallized after baking and cooling.
This fat kid likes them RTF.. Rich, thick, chewy and fudgy.. No icing, walnuts are palatable but its all about the chocolate!
Thick and fudgy!
juicy white brownie with orange paste
Fudgey, slightly chewy and dense, from the middle. NO FREAKING NUTS! Nor any other inclusions or toppings. Pure semi-sweet or dark chocolatey goodness.
I love a fudgey brownie
made from scratch. corner crunchy piece. Fudgy but chewy. NOT cakelike. No icing. no nuts or toasted pecans. dark chocolate only.
...the perfect brownie imo has a shiny crackly layer, which forms typically with the use of oil and melted butter. Also a combination of cocoa powder as well as real chocolate has worked best in recipes i've tried. If you can figure out a way to balance the fudgey and chewy then perfection. but if the edges at least arent chewy i dont want em. I also like roasted walnuts or other nuts but theyre not a requirement.
Vanilla/yellow cake brownie = Blondie
My fav is dark chocolate with espresso shot. I am making gluten-free and using stevia and monk as sugar alternative. The key on making this is to make a dark chocolate custard and then mix it with the gluten-free flour.
I'm a fan of multi layers of chocolate - e.g chocolate cake, chocolate chip, chocolate glaze. I think the cake has to be moist; dry brownies are the worst.
If I had to reinvent the browny, it'd be with yellow cake filling or something. I'd love a vanilla browny for example.
I think darker chocolate is definitely the way to go. Hotter oven to start and turn the temperature down as soon as they go inside. Highest butterfat butter when possible. Last time, I put the batter in a chamber vacuum sealer to get out more of the air and they came out really well.
So far, one of the best brownie recipe I tasted and baked was from a new cookbook called Chez Leslie from Leslie Chesterman. They’re a bit of work to make (not an obstacle usually for chefsteps!). Just the perfect mix of fudgy, with a slightly crunchy top. Photo here:
Can you investigate letting the batter rest? I made the 100 hour brownie on youtube and it was by far the best brownie I've ever made. The recipe involves letting the batter rest in the fridge for 3 days. I add a few drops of amylase now whenever I whip up brownies, which replicates that long rest to a certain extent.
While our house loves chewy homemade brownies (in the all-edge pan) the most, the best box mix we have found so far is Annie's Organic Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. It is fantastically rich and chewy.
I don't like soft and fudgy or light and cakey brownies; I love CHEWY brownies that aren't too sweet. Why aren't there more recipes for dark, rich, chewy brownies?
good brownies are thick, and ranging from gooey to fudgy but not undercooked. They should be very chocolatey (cocoa AND chocolate, please), the butter should be good (browned, possibly), and the sugar amount and quantity not cloying and not leaving an unpleasant sensation at the back of your mouth. Depending on the intended audience mixins such as cream cheese swirl or nuts (walnuts, Sicilian pistachios, pecans) can do very well. If there are no mixins, a scoop of fiordilatte ice cream on the side is great. No toppings, it's just too much.
Malted milk. Make a real difference for fudgy brownie. The are also more fudgy if you put them in the fridge overnight.
I also really like the Ottolenghi halva brownies. Halva taste is awesome with the chocolate. I had better results with cheap halva, because pieces don’t dissolve in the batter.
I think the Fat Witch Brownies sold in Chelsea Market are my gold standard.
Dense, Fudgy, no toppings, no icings and no nuts.
if possible a hard crust, some times it goes 1 mm thick but I don't know how to do it each time for me is a matter of cosmos energy. And it looks great when that crust ends glossy finish
They have to be thick, dense and fudgey. Plenty of 70% chocolate and butter. No topping necessary except maybe a sprinkle of icing sugar for presentation.
Me encantan los brownies melcochudos, que tengan buen chocolate, que estén húmedos por dentro y por fuera un poquito crocante, que sean con un % de cacao superior al 50% para que haga una buena combinación con los dos tipos de azúcar (blanca y morena). Para mí el secreto están en la mezcla de los ingredientes y no dañar el leudado de los huevos al poner la mantequilla y el chocolate fundido.
For fudgy brownies my goto is the Tartine recipe. It feels like barely held together ganache yet still has enough bite to be recognized as a brownie.
Homemade Fudge like with large chunks of pecans
drop them at the end of preparation but before going to the oven, and pushing them down a little so they don't fall down when you eat them
and I use regular flour also
toasted hazelnuts
I use this exact recipe to do brownies and ad some hazelnuts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ggHz0gzmH/
