Brownie Experiment-Along

Hi!

Great that you’d like to join us in our brownie experiment-along! Here we can gather your results and input, discuss your findings and share new ideas.

It’s a work in progress, so if you have any ideas on how to make this easier/better, let me (Annelie) know at scienchef@foodcrumbles.com.

Need a reminder of what the experiment-along is all about? Read the full post here.

Goal

In short, we want to know why and when a brownie has a crispy smooth top. Much like brownie C in the photo below.

Suggested hypotheses to test

In the article, I come up with 6 hypotheses that I’ve found from various sources. I’d like to know whether these are true/false. You can pick any of these to test, or, just can test a hypothesis you came up with yourself!

1. Whipped eggs are key: You can only get a crackly top by whisking the eggs into a light and fluffy foam. Gently fold these into the brownie batter and bake immediately.
2. Creaming sugar & butter is key: You have to cream the butter and sugar before adding in any dry ingredients.
   • Note, this hypothesis would mean that recipes that use molten butter or oil won’t work?
3. Mixing sugar into molten butter & chocolate is key: You have to melt the butter and chocolate on forehand and add the sugar while the butter and chocolate are still warm.
4. A) More chocolate = less crust B) More chocolate = more crust: Yes, I’ve found both statements on the world wide web, which one is true? Does adding (molten) chocolate help to get that crackly top?
5. Refrigerate the batter overnight
6. Using icing sugar is key: Using icing sugar instead of granulated sugar helps to create a crackly crust.

So how does this platform work? I’m trying to figure out a (private) platform that allows everyone who wants to join an experiment-along to join in and contribute, both while the experiment-along is running, as well as afterwards.

Use the menu on the left-hand side to head over to the upload and discussion sections. And use the comments below to ask any and all questions!