Chocolate Zucchini Brownies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes brownies cakey vs 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.

Fat. With any cocoa powder-based brownie recipe, we need quite a bit of fat to prevent the cocoa powder from drying the brownies out and making them crumbly. In looking at what makes box mix brownies so chewy, it appears that the combination of saturated (solid) fats and unsaturated (liquid) fats is the winning answer.

A more certain result is to choose a brownie recipe that has a higher amount of chocolate and butter. A brownie recipe with baking powder should be avoided as you'll most certainly end up with a cakey texture. Another reason your brownies may be cakey is too much mixing or beating during the cooking process.

Either you're melting chocolate into your batter and/or adding chocolate chips. One thought is that the melted chocolate contains more fat and less moisture than butter. So if a large portion of the fat in the recipe comes from chocolate, there will be less water to prevent that crust from forming.

They give brownies a lighter, drier, and more cake-like texture. If you prefer this over the chewy variety, then go ahead and crack in that additional egg. On the other hand, too many eggs will yield brownies that are hard, heavy, and tough.

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.

The reason we melt butter in brownie recipes instead of beating room temperature butter with sugar is because that helps give a rich, chewy, fudgy texture. Beating butter incorporates air and gives a more light, airy, cakey texture, which we don't want in a brownie. Well, you might want that, but I don't!

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.

Add nuts – Add a handful of finely chopped pecans or walnuts if you love brownies with nuts. Add mix ins – Jazz up a basic brownie mix with chopped mini peanut butter cups, white chocolate chunks, or your favorite chopped up candy bar. Add a swirl – Swirl in spoonfuls of peanut butter or Nutella before baking.

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.

Should brownies still be wet in the middle? ›

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.

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.

Lower the oven temperature: One possible reason for the uneven cooking is that your oven temperature is too high. Lowering the temperature can help ensure that the middle of the brownies cooks properly without burning the edges [1]. Reduce the baking time: Another factor to consider is the baking time.

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.

If the edges of your brownie are hard once it's cooled it's because you've over baked it. If your brownie has a whole lot of chocolate in it rather than cocoa, (most do) then the centre will seem underbaked because the chocolate is still molten.

Don't overcook them. Unlike cake, brownies only need to cook until a toothpick inserted in the batter comes out clean. Also the oil and butter tip is a good one, and looking for a recipe that uses less egg. More egg= cakier brownies; less egg = denser, moister brownies.

It's useful to know that the internal temperature of a regular cake should read 210°F for moist-but-not-fudgy fluffiness. So fudgy, gooey brownies will be done at around 165°F while cakey brownies will be done at around 210°F. The higher the temperature, the more cakey your brownies will be.

The best option is to wrap each brownie in an airtight wrapping such as plastic wrap. Wrapped brownies can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator and should be consumed within 1-2 days before they become dry and stale.

Brownies made with a vegetable oil spread that has less than 65% fat will be slightly more dry and cakelike. The only "no-no" is using melted vegetable shortening in place of the oil.