BEST Eggless Cakey Brownies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes brownies cakey? ›

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.

Use 1–1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1–1/2 tablespoons water, and 1 teaspoon baking POWDER, not SODA. So if you needed 2 eggs, you would just double the recipe: 3 T veg oil, 3 T water, and 2 t baking powder.

Egg Substitutions That Worked

¼ cup yogurt: I used 2 percent plain Greek yogurt. I was wowed. By far my favorite! ¼ cup applesauce: The texture of the brownies wasn't compromised.

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.

Achieving a fudgy brownie is all to do with the ratio of fat to flour. A fudgy brownie recipe will use more fat than flour. Generally this is achieved by adding more butter or real chocolate to your brownie recipe. A cakey brownie recipe on the other hand will call for more flour in the ratio of fat to flour.

Cookbook author and food stylist Jerrelle Guy might have given away the secret: In an article for The Kitchn, Guy suggests the secret to a "glossy" and lifted brownie — like the ones you see in bakeries and restaurants — is to beat the eggs and the sugar together for 10 minutes before adding additional ingredients.

A simple combination of water, baking powder, and vegetable oil mimics eggs almost to a T. It's a great option for cookies, quick breads, and brownies.

Plain yogurt is an excellent swap for eggs in brownies. For every egg called for, swap in 1/4 cup yogurt. Since brownies are chewy and dense by design, you don't have to worry about adding in extra baking powder or baking soda to counter the fact that yogurt won't help with leavening.

It's a swap that makes sense since mayonnaise is made of mostly oil and egg. It provides moisture, which keeps the baked goods soft and tender, just like oil does.

How much mayo to replace 1 egg? ›

Mayonnaise. Eggs are a key ingredient in mayonnaise, so it makes sense that it can be a perfect substitute when you're out of eggs. Use 3 tablespoons of mayo as an egg substitute.

Mayonnaise. If you have a jar of mayo in the fridge, you can use 3 tablespoons in place of one egg. "Mayonnaise has been used as an egg substitute because of its moistening properties and is best suited for cakes with strong flavors, like spice cakes and chocolate cakes," Tutunjian says.

While butter is the only fat used in fudgy and cakey brownies, chewy brownies benefit from the addition of canola oil (which is also why this version may remind you of the boxed mixes). The addition of brown sugar is also crucial, because it speeds gluten formation, resulting in a chewier texture.

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.

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.

Cakey brownies, like the name implies, are light, moist and airy, with a slightly fluffy, cake-like interior. Fudgy brownies are moist, dense and gooey, with almost the texture of fudge, but not quite as compact.

Milk is the key

If you look at the back of a box of brownie mix, the directions usually call for the cook to add three things: water, oil, and eggs. Adjusting these ingredients to make fudgier brownies is as easy as swapping out the water for milk.

If you add too much flour, your brownies will likely come out too dry and taste stale. If you're following a recipe to a T and your brownies still taste too dry, you may be overpacking the flour during the measuring process.