How do I make a brownie mix more cakelike? (2024)

FAQs

How to make a brownie mix more cakey? ›

Cake-like brownies? Add an extra egg to your brownie batter to make more cake-like brownies. There are directions on the back of the box.

Fudgy brownies have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cakey ones. So add more fat—in this case, butter and chocolate. A cakey batch has more flour and relies on baking powder for leavening. The amount of sugar and eggs does not change whether you're going fudgy or cakey.

If you want to get a little more creative with your brownie mix hacks, add an extra egg to the batter. The extra protein will help thicken up the batter and make it fluffier, creating a more decadent, fudgy texture. You can also add the yolk by itself in addition to the 2 eggs a box brownie mix typically calls for.

Add a teaspoon of instant coffee or espresso powder. Throw in a handful of nuts—pecans, walnuts, macadamia, whatever you have on hand. Scoop in a palmful of dried or frozen fruit. Add an extra splash of the top-shelf vanilla extract, or a dab of vanilla paste, or a dash of vanilla powder, to the batter.

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.

It's a sliding scale, and you can make just about any brownie texture from very gooey, to very cakey. Some might call brownies that fall in the middle chewy, however, we'll just call them slightly gooey, or slightly cakey.

In brownies, both butter and oil will offer a moist, tender texture, but only butter will give the dish the aeration needed for rising brownies well. If you use a cake brownie, butter is a better option because it helps rise the batter. For denser, fudge type brownies, oil is permissable.

If the brownies still look wet or aren't pulling away, they aren't done. Even fudgy brownies will pull from the edges once they've finished baking. You'll see that the edges look dry while the middle still looks soft or slightly wet. Chewy and cakey brownies will have dry edges with firmer-looking centers.

You're probably mixing it too much, like the pps said. Only mix it until its all combined, not until it's smooth. -use mix from a red box (betty crocker, duncan heinz) never a blue box! I love the ghirardelli recipes for brownies and cakes.

Adding a layer of cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, caramel, or peanut butter goes a long way towards turning a mix into something special. You can add this layer before or after baking the brownies.

How much vanilla extract should I add to brownie mix? ›

Use a dash of vanilla.

Adding a teaspoon of it to your batter won't make it taste like vanilla, but it will give your brownies an extra layer of flavor. You can also swap the vanilla for something more potent, like almond extract or mint extract.

Boxed cake mixes tend to be lighter in consistency, but if you're craving that thicker, moister, denser cake, then all you have to do is add an extra egg to your mix. The additional fat in the egg yolk helps create a more tender and moist cake that is full of flavor.

For cake like brownies, most box brownie mixes have you reduce the water by half, then ad an extra egg. These two small changes really do make a difference.

Use Milk Instead of Water

We've encountered mixes in which water is the only liquid. Replace it with a richer, more flavorful liquid, such as milk, buttermilk or coconut milk. The extra fat from the milk will turn a normal box of brownies into a moist and gooey treat.

Add Salt. If you've ever found boxed brownies to be too sweet for your taste, stir a pinch of salt into the batter before baking. This'll help bring out the deeper chocolate flavors. You can even try sprinkling some flaky sea salt on top of the brownies as soon as they come out of the oven.

If your brownie mix is too thick, you can add a small amount of liquid such as water, milk, or oil to thin it out to the desired consistency. Add the liquid gradually and mix well until you achieve the right texture.

Adding baking powder or a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar to a brownie recipe makes it much more like chocolate cake, creating a lighter and airier texture.

If your brownies are turning out dry, it's for one of two reasons - either you've overcooked the brownies or there is too much flour in your recipe. Overcooked brownies? You can tell the difference using the edges; if they are a little burnt-looking and very dry, it's likely that the brownies are overcooked.