Fudgy brownies are a tricky beast: overbake them and you enter cakey territory, underbake them and you get a squishy mess. Katzie Guy-Hamilton, Global Director of Food and Beverage ofMax Brenner, knows a thing or two about baking with chocolate, and she puts it this way: “There is nothing better than either raw brownie batter or a perfectly cooked fudgy brownie. But the in-between is brownie custard, and I’m not a fan.”
Nobody is. Even people who think they like "underbaked" brownies (as our editor David Tamarkin claims to) don'treallywant their brownies undercooked—they just want a brownie that's gooey and rich. And if your recipe has enough butter, chocolate, and sugar, that's what you'll get, even when the brownie is fully cooked. (Usingthe egg-sugar ribboning method, a la flourless chocolate cake, helps, too.) (Underbaking doesn't work because unless you completely cook out the flour, your brownies will have an off-putting flour flavor.)
So how do you avoid under- and overbaking? Unfortunately, a cake tester is no help—if your brownies are fudgy, a cake tester or toothpick willalwayscome out with crumbs attached. (See no crumbs? You've overbaked.) But there are a few other steps you can take to ensure your brownies are perfect.
1. Follow the Recipe
Sounds obvious. But because of the aforementioned cake tester problem, cooking times are especially important in brownie recipes. Use a recipe from a trusted source that thoroughly tests (like, ahem, us).
2. Rotate Your Pan
Oven temperatures vary substantially—what's 350 degrees in your oven might be more like 375 in your mom's. To correct for this, always rotate the pan of brownies halfway through. This not only ensures even baking, but also reminds you to check in on your brownies. Which brings us to….
3. Look for the Crack
When done, the edges of the brownies will be visibly baked through and the center will be set (that is, not wiggly) when you shake the pan. Guy-Hamilton looks for the first sign of cracking on the brownie’s top—which should be shiny and set—and then pulls them out. These cues override the recipe; even if the instructions suggest baking for five more minutes, when your brownies exhibit these signs and look done, take them out.
