Cakey or Fudgy ?

Did you know that there are 2 types of brownies ?  The cakey ones and the fudgy ones.  I am strictly on the fudgy camp, so when my attempt at this new brownie recipe resulted in cakey brownies, I was kind of disappointed.  I should have known better, judging by the ratio of butter and chocolate to flour in the recipe.  But I was sold by the call of sour cream in the recipe, so I decided to test it out.

Oh yes, over the last few days, I also did little survey which tells me that team fudgy outnumbered team cakey, like almost unanimously.  Yay, team fudgy.  So tell me, where do you stand in the great brownie debate ? 

Now, if you are one of those who are diehard fudgy gooey brownie fans, then you can stop short here (and refer to my other brownie recipes here and here), otherwise, this may be a good cakey brownie recipe for you.  This recipe is taken from the Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri.  Truth be told, I am unlikely to attempt this cakey brownie recipe again, but if you were to try this, I would advise you to add one or two tablespoon of cocoa powder to the batter, as the chocolate flavour in this brownie is somehow lacking.  But I may be bias, having come from team fudgy.  But please, it's not like these are bad brownies or anything - they just don't fit my criteria as the ultimate or world's best brownie.

Robert’s Absolute Best Brownies

David Lebovitz is another pastry chef / author / blogger that I really like.  His sense of humour is hilarious, while his acerbic wit and remarks make his stories a pleasurable read.  When I was looking for an almost last minute dessert to bring to E's Christmas party, I decided instantly on this Robert’s Absolute Best Brownies  recipe which I had earlier bookmarked in Lebovitz's latest book, Ready for Dessert.  In case you are wondering who Robert is, this brownie recipe had come to Lebovitz via the late Robert Steinberg, co-founder of the Scharffen Berger chocolates.

I quote from Lebovitz "I have a blanket mistrust of any recipe with a superlative in the title. “The Ultimate” or “The World’s Finest” always makes me raise an eyebrow. But how else can I describe these brownies? I’ve made a lot of brownies in my life, and these really are the best."  I felt a little ashamed after reading this as I had in my earlier brownie post, personally decreed Ottolenghi's brownies as the ultimate brownie.  Perhaps I had used the wrong choice of word, perhaps not, as this Robert’s Absolute Best Brownies is equally as good and scrumptious.  Possibly the world's finest.  Oops, wrong choice of words again.

Anyway, although I've baked brownies before, it was quite daring of me to use E's guests as my guineas for this recipe.  For this purpose, I decided to throw in some homemade vanilla ice cream as good measure, in case the brownies flopped.  But guess what, they didn't.  I am quite sure that E and her guests had enjoyed the brownies as much as I did.

The Ultimate Brownie

Rich, chocolaty, fudgy and slightly gooey with loads of nuts and chocolate chunks, this brownie is so outrageously good (or in other words, decadently sinful !).

Based on the brownie points and thumbs-up received from my most ardent chocoholic friends, I dare say that this is the ultimate brownie.  So, if you are in the mood for one of the most iconic brownies of all time, look no further and do try this recipe which I have minimally adapted from Ottolenghi the Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

I quote from Ottolenghi "There is nothing worse than a brownie that turns into a cake.  It is worse even than overdone meat".  Sounds serious.  So, here's an important tip.  The challenge with brownies is the baking time.  A minute too far, and your brownie will turn from being moist and gooey into one that is dry.  For this purpose, I always like to test with a skewer even before the recommended baking time ends.  In fact, I am an extremist, I sit in front of my oven and observe :).  For brownies, the skewer should not come out clean - It must come out covered with gooey crumbs, not dry crumbs, but not the same goo you started with.  If your skewer comes out clean (as you would want with a cake), it means you have overbaked your brownies.  Confused now ? Don't be.  If you are not too sure whether your brownies are done or not, my best advise would be to err on the side of under-baking.  Your batter will continue to cook from the residual heat of the pan when you take it out of the oven.