5 mistakes to avoid if you want to make the most delicious brownies

Brownies – although drooling may not sound particularly appetizing, there’s not much we can do about it… Just thinking about a perfect fudgy, gooey brownie with a slightly crisp top makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?! And the great thing is: it’s really not difficult to make delicious brownies (unlike impossible baking projects such as a croquembouche, for example). You just need to make sure you avoid these common mistakes:

Because it remains an incredible sweet bake, with its rich, deep chocolate flavor and the almost unavoidable dark crumbs on your fingers or in the corners of your mouth… What goes better with a glass of ice-cold milk, a strong espresso, or alongside a scoop of top-quality vanilla ice cream? (Okay, a slice of warm apple pie is insanely delicious with that last one too.) And we’re not going to do the things below, agreed?

Using inferior chocolate

Why would you use chocolate that you wouldn’t happily eat on its own? You generally need only a little over 100 grams for a baking tin yielding around sixteen brownies, so you might as well go for top-quality chocolate (with a cocoa content of at least 72%).

Using the melted chocolate piping hot and making scrambled eggs with it

You are indeed going to melt that chocolate and then mix it with eggs. So always let the melted chocolate cool down a little first, because otherwise you’ll end up with set egg and the smell of scrambled eggs… not what you want.

Going overboard with the extras

You can go completely wild when it comes to add-ins, but be honest: after two extras, can you really still taste exactly what’s what? Just choose one; you know what you truly crave in a brownie: toasted nuts, for example, or pieces of salty pretzels, or mini marshmallows. Think about what will enhance or complement the flavor of the fancy chocolate you chose—not overpower it.

Underbaking

You may think that secretly shaving a little off the baking time will give you an extra fudgy, sticky brownie. Usually, it won’t. Stick to the recipe; if all goes well, you’ve weighed and balanced the ingredients so carefully that the gooey texture will come from that, not from taking the tin out of the oven too early.

Diving in too quickly

Of course you’d preferably attack them immediately, two minutes after the baking tin comes out of the oven. But that would be a shame! The longer you manage to leave them alone, the better the flavors can develop and deepen, and they’ll also be easier to cut once they’ve cooled.

Go go go

Feel like rolling up your sleeves and getting baking? Again, this really isn’t difficult! Here’s a link to Rutger’s brownies from Rutger Bakt, and believe us: these are TOP brownies! With the above no-gos and tips, you’re completely ready to go.

Also read:

• The secret ingredient for vegan brownies
• Recipe: espresso martini pancakes (yes!) with Angostura cocoa bitters
• Bounty is the least favorite Celebrations chocolate

Source: Bon Appétit