Brownie Help

[Mattchewone]

Hi,

I am having some issues with brownies! I started making brownies and taking them in to work a few months ago and people were loving them, but I was baking 2-3 times a week and thought there must be a better way.

So i invested in a large pan, 42cm x 30cm (ish) and since then I have had complete disaster! Everytime I bake I end up with it so soft that I cannot cut it even after it cooling in the pan over night. Where as before if I baked it and left it to cool over night by the morning it will have gone reasonably solid.

I think I may have messed up the recipe some how, as I lost the recipe I was using and wrote down what I thought it was lol but obviously its not. for the large pan I was using this recipe, 500g butter, 500g chocolate, 500g sugar, 6 eggs, 160g flour, 4 TBSP cocoa.

I am sure when I started to cook them at the start that the centre would be wobbly still and then it would stiffen up as it cooled, now im confused as I look online lots of people say it shouldnt be wobbly, so I cooked it for longer and now it just comes out like a goey mushy cake. Rather than a firm fudgy brownie.

Any help would be very much appreciated!
Matt

[taxlady]

That sounds like way too little flour.

Can you try to remember the recipe for how you made it in the smaller pan?

[LindaLou]

Baking is also a little tricky if you are doubling the recipe. You are always better off to make two pans instead of doubling.

[bakechef]

I never double a baking recipe, every time that I have, even if it didn't fail, it would be off.

The brownies that I make have very little flour as well. I find that they are perfect if I bake them to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, I use an instant read thermometer. I know it sounds silly, but I have undercooked and overcooked brownies too many times. This way they are nice and moist but not too gooey, but not dry and hard.

[Mattchewone]

Thanks, The smaller recipe was, 200g choc, 200g butter, 200g sugar, 65g flour, 3 eggs, 2 TBSP cocoa.

Surely you must be able to make it on larger scale? Its the same depth just in a larger pan, I adjusted the time to a bit longer in order to cater for the fact that its larger and will take longer to cook throughout. I thought cooking in a larger pan would be easier as eventually when I start my own company id like to have 2-3 of the large pans in the over at once so I could make lots rather than having to do lots of little ones.

Sorry what is an instant read thermometer?

[bakechef]

Originally Posted by Mattchewone

Thanks, The smaller recipe was, 200g choc, 200g butter, 200g sugar, 65g flour, 3 eggs, 2 TBSP cocoa.

Surely you must be able to make it on larger scale? Its the same depth just in a larger pan, I adjusted the time to a bit longer in order to cater for the fact that its larger and will take longer to cook throughout. I thought cooking in a larger pan would be easier as eventually when I start my own company id like to have 2-3 of the large pans in the over at once so I could make lots rather than having to do lots of little ones.

Sorry what is an instant read thermometer?

Here is the one I use. I also use it to cook meats as well.

Baking is chemistry, so some recipes can be very tricky to double. I would look for a recipe for brownies in a larger pan, before I would double. When I need more than an 8x8" pan of brownies, I use two pans, and make the batter one batch at a time, works for me, but more hassle. This method yields perfect brownies every time.

[Kayelle]

Every once in a while I read a thread like this, to remind me why I don't bake. I've heard for years that it's always risky to double a baking recipe, resulting in a total failure. Yet another baking mystery.

Best of luck to you!

[Mattchewone]

Thanks lol.

I am trying a new recipe today in a small pan and hopefully if all goes well I will try it in a larger pan later on or tomorrow and see how that goes lol. Hopefully it will go ok if I make sure I do everything correctly but who knows!

[Mattchewone]

I had a bit of success with the new recipe it's very tasty but I still feel its a bit too soft. I want it nice and soft and moist but it's a too soft, to the point where it's really awkward to pick it up without it breaking or you squash it lol.

The new recipe is 3 eggs, 5tbsp cocoa, 65g flour, 200g chocolate, 250g butter, 360g caster sugar and 1/2 tsp baking powder.

I baked it for a bit longer than the recipe required it said 25 minutes but the whole thing was like jelly so went for 5 mins more and the out side is better it's the middle that's the most squiddgy.

Any tips? Thanks!!

[Alix]

Here are two brownie recipes I make regularly. Brownies #2 is the favorite in our house. Its pretty close to your recipe. When I double the batch (and I do that often) I use 2 pans. Don't try to make a double batch in one single, larger pan...your cooking times will be too messed up and you will burn the edges and have goo for the middle.


Brownies #1
Brownies #2