Why are my brownies soggy?

Everyone loves a good brownie, especially ones with a soft, gooey, dulce de leche texture. But they don’t always turn out like this, even if you’ve made the recipe a thousand times before!

Baking is a science, and knowing exactly why certain things happen, especially when they go wrong, will help you understand what you need to do to fix them.

One of the biggest “mistakes” when baking brownies is related to their texture.

Why are your brownies soggy?  Brownies come out more “doughy” when they have higher proportions of flour and lower proportions of fat. Chocolate brownie recipes may also turn out mushy when overcooked.

The secret to getting your favorite type of brownie is in the proportions. But if your favorite brownie recipe turned out too doughy just this one time, chances are you just overbaked it.

To get fudgy brownies, bake them a little less or adjust the recipe.

Today we will look at the differences between fudgy and cakey brownies. Then, we will talk about what exactly you need to get one or the other. Lastly, we’ll also answer a bunch of frequently asked questions about other brownie baking problems.

Muddy Brownies vs. Soft Brownies

Before looking at what affects the texture of brownies and why they turn out the way they do, you first need to understand what the different types of brownies are so you can make the right ones.

Taste aside, what makes some brownies better than others is their texture. Some brownies have a more cake-like texture, while others are chewier and dulce de leche-like.

Dulce de leche brownies, also called chewy brownies, are much denser, softer, and moister than cake brownies. This is due to its higher proportion of fat . Creates a sticky, smooth and delicious texture.

Pastry brownies have a much higher flour content than chocolate brownies and create a more cake-like and lighter texture. These brownies contain much less moisture because they have more flour, and therefore are drier (not in a bad way).

Neither is better (although you may disagree!). It’s just a matter of personal preference.

Naturally, many people find it frustrating when their brownies turn out the opposite of what they prefer. Let’s help you avoid it!

Why are my brownies soggy?

Now that we’ve talked about how different ingredients affect the texture of brownies, it’s much easier to understand why they turned out a certain way.

Dough brownies are almost always the result of the recipe and the ratio of its ingredients.

Recipes high in flour almost always result in doughy brownies. If you’re not sure what “high flour” means, check to see if the recipe contains baking powder or baking soda.

If so, it means they want the texture to be fluffy to create doughy brownies.

Low-fat recipes will also give doughy brownies . Fat comes in the form of butter, oil, chocolate, and even milk.

Any recipe that doesn’t contain a ton of liquid will also be doughy. A recipe that contains a lot of eggs is another indication that your brownie will be doughy.

Lastly, overbaked brownies will also be doughy since all the moisture has been removed.

Can doughy brownies be fixed?

There is no way to fix doughy brownies once they are baked. Since the texture depends mainly on the ratio of the ingredients in the recipe, once baked there is nothing you can do to change it.

Even if the proportions were correct but you overbaked them, you still can’t bring them back to a chewy or caramel texture.

The best thing to do is pour chocolate or simple syrup over the brownies while they’re hot . This will add some moisture, but it won’t change the crumbly texture of the baked cake.

You can also eat your brownies with ice cream to balance out the dryness.

What affects the texture of brownies?

Now that you understand the difference between doughy and fuzzy brownies, we can take a look at the different factors that affect this texture.

By understanding what creates the different textures, you’ll be able to easily identify what you need to get a specific texture or what you can do to fix a faulty one.

fat and flour

A basic brownie recipe is made up of butter, flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate, a raising agent, and sometimes a liquid such as milk or oil.

Therefore, the most important element that affects the texture of brownies is fat. Fat can be incorporated by using butter (which is all fat) or chocolate (especially milk chocolate, which is high in fat).

The fat adds a ton of moisture and mouthfeel and is essentially the core of any good fudgy brownie. The more fat in a recipe, the moister the brownie will be.

Next, we look at the flour.

As we’ve briefly mentioned, the more flour a recipe has, the creamier the brownie will be. This is because the flour absorbs moisture from the other ingredients. So if you want a doughy brownie, you need a lot of flour, and if you want a sticky brownie, you want a little flour.

other ingredients

Baking soda or baking powder are common raising agents used in brownies. They are almost always included in doughy brownie recipes to help create a tall structure.

You don’t want a dry, dense brownie, but rather a crumbly, airy one.

The amount of sugar doesn’t really affect the texture of a brownie, unless you use something like brown sugar, muscovado, or molasses. These are high moisture sugars, so they will add something to the mix.

“Sticky” sweeteners (like honey, muscovado, or syrup) will definitely add a ton of liquid and chewiness.

Oil and milk naturally add moisture as well, but the ratio of these will determine the texture of the brownie. More liquid will result in a chewier, fudgier brownie.

baking time

In addition to the ingredients, the baking time of the brownies will also directly affect the moisture levels. The longer it bakes, the more moisture will be removed and the drier the product will be.

So, for chewy brownies, you don’t want to bake them too long, you may even want to bake them a little less. Doughy brownies will always bake for the full amount of time, if not a bit longer.

As a word of caution though, be careful when trying to bake fewer brownies. It is generally considered risky or even unsafe to consume raw or undercooked baked goods with eggs.

When we say rare, we mean the minimum amount of baking time that continues to cook your brownies. Just like you can take cookies out of the oven when they’re a little sticky or a little crunchy, a couple more minutes can take a toll on your brownies.

How to avoid doughy brownies

While there are no ways to fix doughy brownies, there are plenty of ways to prevent them from turning soggy.

1. Most people overbake their products. To avoid this, it is important to follow the baking times exactly.
2. You should also check the temperature of your oven . Many if not most ovens have uneven temperatures and hot spots. Make sure you know your oven before using it.

If your oven is hotter than it’s supposed to (or colder), adjust the temperature accordingly. But don’t adjust the cooking times.

If, for example, your oven is too hot and you bake the brownies with less time, you will only overcook the outside and undercook the inside. Better make the oven a bit cooler and bake for the correct amount of time.

3. If your oven works fine, doughy brownies are due to the recipe. You can check a recipe before making it or you can adjust it.

Again, a doughy brownie will be high in flour, low in fat, and low in liquid.

If you want to adjust a brownie recipe to create a doughier brownie, you can do one of the following:

• Reduce flour content
• add more liquid
• Add more fat or chocolate
• Do not lightly bake brownies

Try one of these solutions at a time to make sure you don’t change the entire recipe. Remember to write down the changes you’ve made so you can improve the next batch!

How to Fix Underdone Brownies

There is a difference between chocolate brownies and those that are rare. Rare brownies often still have the consistency of batter, while chocolate brownies are downright gooey.

Even if you like your chocolate brownies and baked goods moist, there is something that can be too moist. Just like with rare cakes, you’ll want to cook those rare brownies a bit longer.

To fix undercooked brownies , simply pop them back in the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes (depending on how raw they are).

Again, it is important that you make sure that your oven is working correctly and that there are no fluctuation points.

An oven running colder than it’s supposed to will cause brownies to be undercooked, so turn it up a little higher next time.

Related questions

Why are my brownies flat?

Brownies are not cakes, and many people believe they need to rise a lot. Brownies, especially chocolate recipes, only go up a bit .

But if your brownies turn out to be extremely flat, it may be the result of over-mixing .

You can also see if the recipe included baking powder or baking soda, which are essential ingredients for making brownies doughy and for any baked goods to rise.

Another big reason why brownies get extremely dense is because there is very little sugar . By creaming the sugar and butter together, you are incorporating air. So without a lot of sugar, your brownies will have no air or structure.

Why are my brownies hard?

Hard brownies can be the result of a few things:

• You’ve refrigerated your brownies at some point. The sugar crystals harden and will cause the texture to do the same. Refrigerators also dry baked goods.
• You have overbaked your brownies and it has completely dried them out. It is better to bake them little.
• You’ve cut the brownies before they’ve fully cooled, over-drying them.

To soften hard brownies, you can try putting them in the preheated oven for a few minutes . This will soften the sugar crystals and create a much more attractive texture. It may be best to brush a little butter on top to add back some moisture.

Why do my brownies crack on top?

This is the result of over-mixing the dough and incorporating too much air.

The air bubbles in the dough expand when the batch is baked, and once taken out of the oven they shrink. When they shrink, they create cracks at the top or even cause the center of the dough to sag.