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Published 2003

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Why does Adding Extra Eggs Make Brownies Cake-Like?

Some people like their brownies dense and fudgy, others like them light and cakey. Everybody has their favorite brownie formula, which can vary widely in the proportion of chocolate to sugar, fat, and other tenderizers, and to flour, eggs, and other structure builders. Brownie formulas also vary in mixing methods.

Sometimes, however, the difference is as simple as the number of eggs added. Eggs can provide aeration and structure, and cake-like brownies are lighter and hold their shape better than fudgy ones. But the added lightness from cake-like brownies is as likely from the moisture in the eggs as it is from aeration. Moisture converts to steam when heated, and steam is very powerful leavening gas, important in lightening the texture of baked goods. The moisture in eggs also allows starch to more fully gelatinize, and gelatinized starch is essential for a cake-like crumb.