The Eggy Mistake You're Making When Baking Brownies

No matter how many times you get brownies right, there's always a possibility that they won't turn out as expected. At some point, everyone who's wanted fudgy brownies has ended up with an angry, over-baked chocolate mess. Even if you meticulously measure the ingredients to achieve a nice, chewy texture, you can end up with cakey brownies instead.

There will always be a tiny chance of messing up your brownie recipe, but some mistakes are easily avoidable. For instance, if your brownie batter frequently gets clumpy after you combine all the ingredients, it's probably because you're using cold eggs. When eggs are too cold, they don't mix well with the other ingredients, which produces brownies with a stodgy texture. You might also have to bake them for a longer period.

For creamy, smooth brownie batter, always use room-temperature eggs. If you store your eggs in a cold environment, bring them to a neutral temperature before mixing. To do so, just put them in a pot of warm water for a few minutes. (Make sure you keep an eye on them, though, so they don't end up cooking.)

On your quest to bake the best homemade brownies, you have to treat eggs like the delicate, gooey mess that they are. This includes paying attention to the temperature of your other ingredients. One warm ingredient that will likely go into the brownie mix with the eggs is melted chocolate; if it's piping hot, it might end up scrambling the eggs, so make sure the temperature is high enough to keep the chocolate melted, but not hot enough to ruin the eggs.

Eggs are what give your brownies structure, maintain their moisture, and enhance their flavor, but just because eggs are good for baking doesn't mean you should go overboard with the quantity. The number of eggs required for a recipe depends on whether you want the brownies to be chewy, fudgy, or cakey. Adding extra whole eggs will give the brownies a lighter, cakey texture. To make your brownies rich and fudgy, add extra yolks. The number of eggs you use also depends on the amount of brownie batter you're making, so it's always a good idea to measure everything beforehand.