Brownies that are flaky all the way through?
May 28, 2021 9:12 AM   Subscribe

I used to get brownies at a long-bankrupt cafe that were my platonic brownie ideal. Not caky at all, very little crumb, but kind of separating into dense horizontal flakes. And not just the crust either, these were flaky all the way through. Does anyone have a recipe like that?

Googling it is fail because it only brings up recipes for a flaky crust with a fudgy center. I've tried several of those and nope, not the thing. Even hints of how to get the texture would be helpful, because I'm a fairly competent home baker.

Those particular brownies were heavy on the candied orange peel and had candied orange slices on top, but I can handle that part. It's the texture I can't recreate!
posted by I claim sanctuary to Food & Drink (10 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
With pie crust, you do it by freezing the butter and always always keeping the butter cold. Maybe look at flaky pie crust recipes.
posted by aniola at 9:29 AM on May 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


I've had amazing cafe bakery brownies too! I think an important part of that dense, flakey layer has to do with baking them really thick, then cutting them, and leaving them out in the open air for 3-6 hours, letting them dry out. I think a standard boxed brownie mix, but with a thick pan, then cut and let rest for 8 hours on your counter, would give you similar results.

Kind of unrelated, but I really enjoyed eating Adam Ragusea's recipe. His cooking videos are unique that he shows every single step of cooking, not skipping anything. It does NOT answer your question in any way though, and rather, focuses on the fudgey chewy inside and flakey top. Still useful to brush up on your brownie skills though.


Here's the recipe video


Here's the science-y video.
posted by bbqturtle at 10:33 AM on May 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Intriguing. Your description made me think of meringue layers, which got me to this recipe for almond chocolate meringue brownies.

Or, maybe try making a fudgy brownie recipe and stacking?
posted by zennie at 10:50 AM on May 28, 2021 [3 favorites]


The flakiness makes me think of pie crust, but that involves mixing in largeish pieces of butter that melt and form pockets/lamination. Not sure how that would work with brownie batter, which is usually more wet. Maybe you could substitute some of the oil with butter cut into pea-sized lumps, flattened, and lightly stirred in?
posted by music for skeletons at 12:32 PM on May 28, 2021


A variation on that idea is to use a vegetable peeler to cut a very cold stick of butter into very thin pieces. Pour a little batter in the pan, slice butter onto batter, repeat, topping off with the last of the batter. An offset spatula can help you spread the thin batter layers evenly.
posted by jedicus at 3:52 PM on May 28, 2021


I second zennie’s idea of pursuing a chocolate meringue/pavlova recipe. Did the texture of the brownie you remember seem at all marshmallow-y? Tenderly crunchy? Or was it more akin to puff pastry-the kind of soft layers you get from a laminated dough? I’ve never had a brownie like the one you’re describing, but I would love to try!
posted by little mouth at 8:27 AM on May 29, 2021


Response by poster: Nope, not marshmallowy at all - like flake-shaped chunks of mostly chocolate, maybe fudgy brownies with a lot less liquid. Very flat, less than an inch, which I think contributed to the texture. Adding cold butter is definitely an idea, if I can find a decent recipe that doesn't rely on melting it with the chocolate.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:25 AM on May 29, 2021


I wonder what would happen if you spread the brownie batter in a sheet pan and froze it, then cut squares and layer them up in the brownie pan. You'd have to line the sheet pan with something that will peel off frozen brownie batter.
posted by CathyG at 11:36 PM on May 29, 2021


If you have to melt the butter with chocolate, could you refrigerate the chocolate+butter afterwards and then add THAT once it's cold?
posted by aniola at 12:02 PM on June 1, 2021


Freeze. I mean freeze.
posted by aniola at 3:57 PM on June 1, 2021


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