Decadent Flourless Brownies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a good substitute for flour in brownies? ›

Almond flour is an excellent alternative to have in your kitchen cupboard. It's easy to find in shops and commonly used in plenty of sweet and savoury dishes, including brownies, pancakes, puddings, cakes, falafel and more. Made from ground blanched almonds, it's high in protein, rich in fibre and gluten-free.

One change is to use milk or heavy cream instead of water. This change will make brownies more moist and gooey since milk is more fatty and flavorful than water. A second change is to use butter instead of oil. For similar reasons to using milk, butter adds a rich and more decadent quality to the batter.

If you don't use enough flour, they won't harden up at all. They'll flatten down to the bottom of the pan, and you'll end up with a sort of “brownie brittle”. The amount of flour you use is going to determine how firm your brownies are.

Sifting the flour will give your brownies a better texture

Kitchn explains that sifting incorporates air into the flour, giving it a lighter texture, and prevents any chunky bits from falling into your smooth batter and making it heavy.

Oat flour might be one of the greatest flour substitutes because of how damn convenient it is. If you've got oats in your pantry, then you've got oat flour. It's got a nice amount of protein and fiber, plus a tender texture and mild taste that make it pretty versatile.

Any recipe that that calls for all purpose flour, salt and baking powder can use self-rising flour. Just omit the salt and baking powder. This is a huge time saver. Since the salt and baking powder are already mixed in, I have found my baked items are lighter.

If you opt to add more eggs, say double the amount, something interesting happens. Even though you are adding more moisture, the air bubbles that you catch in the extra eggs add volume, which decreases the density of your final product. This makes your brownies rise and gives them a much more cake-like texture.

the butter brownies actually had a fudgier texture. they were softer, and they really just melted in your mouth. they also had that shiny crust and just better flavor, whereas the oil brownies were actually chewier. they were crunchier at the top and at the edges.

Replacing Oil with Butter

It couldn't be easier to substitute butter for oil using a 1:1 ratio. This should work with olive, canola, vegetable, and coconut oils. Simply melt and cool the butter to room temperature, then continue with your recipe. (If the recipe calls for ½ cup oil, use ½ cup melted and cooled butter.)

Many brownie recipes don't contain baking powder or baking soda; these recipes tend to be for the dense, sometimes chewy, kind. Cakelike brownies usually contain a leavening agent, which helps give them their fluffy texture. The technique you use also makes a difference in the texture of the final product.

Why do my brownies taste funny? ›

While less common, bitter brownies could be caused by other factors: Your chocolate could have been slightly burnt - this is common if you melt your chocolate it in the microwave, Your oven might have been too hot - slightly burnt edges can impart a nasty bitter taste.

The leavening power of baking soda is about three to four times stronger than baking powder. This means that you need a lot less baking soda in your recipes. If a recipe calls for baking soda and you only have baking powder, you need to use the right baking soda to baking powder conversion.

If a recipe calls for “1 cup sifted flour,” sift the flour first and then measure. What sifting does is aerates the flour (and other ingredients) to make them light. One cup of unsifted flour weighs 5 ounces, and 1 cup of sifted flour weighs 4 ounces.

If a recipe calls for “1 cup of flour, sifted”—measure the flour, then sift it. If a recipe calls for “1 cup of sifted flour”—sift the flour then measure. It all depends where the word “sifted” is in the ingredient wording. If “sifted” is before the ingredient name, sift before measuring.

Flour's primary role in brownies is to bind and set the matrix of ingredients. “Sugar sweetens; chocolate, vanilla and salt boost flavor; eggs contribute structure and mouthfeel; and flour provides the backbone,” Phillip says. “The beauty of this is that brownies can be made very well with gluten-free flours.”

Flour provides the structure in baked goods. Wheat flour contains proteins that interact with each other when mixed with water, forming gluten. It is this elastic gluten framework which stretches to contain the expanding leavening gases during rising.

You'll do best to substitute 1:1 to begin with, as many recipes respond well to this direct replacement. But be prepared to add more almond flour as you go to compensate for the wetter batter. You'll also want to keep a few extra egg whites handy if you want to ensure that your bake doesn't fall apart.

Flour Substitute: Oat Flour

If you simply can't find any flour at the store, pick up a bag of rolled oats and zap them in a blender or food processor for a few seconds until you have a powder-y, flour-like texture. The fiber from the oats makes it a healthy option for swapping with AP flour!