Cake-Like Brownies – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Earlier this week I posted a recipe that used applesauce and whole wheat flour as two of its ingredients and today I am sharing another recipe with those two ingredients… A brownie recipe. Granted these brownies were more like snack cakes, but, were delicious nonetheless. And truth be told, that’s all that really matters.

After making the batter I poured it into an 8×8-inch pan I sprayed with baking spray. I’ve come to realize that greasing your pan isn’t enough when it comes to making brownies. The addition of flour in the baking spray ensure that the brownies will not stick the pan when removing them. I then sprinkled the top of the batter with a walnut, chocolate chip and sugar mixture.

Next, I baked them in a 350 F preheated oven for about 30 minutes and after letting the brownies cool in the pan for a few minutes…

I removed them from the pan so they could cool completely on a wire rack…

Before slicing and enjoying them. As I mentioned, the texture is definitely more cake-like than brownie, and yes, I know that cake-like brownies are a thing, but, having had and made cake-like brownies, these definitely were not reminiscent of that. The brownies themselves aren’t overly sweet so the chocolate chips in the topping is a welcomed sweetness as is the crunch from the walnuts.

Applesauce Brownies

Servings: 12 Brownies
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Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons cocoa powder*

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 unsweetened applesauce

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 chopped walnuts

1/4 chocolate chips (any type)

*I used a 50/50 combination of Hershey’s 100% Cacao / Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. The original recipe called for King Arthur’s Triple Cocoa Powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8×8 inch pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the butter, cocoa powder, oil, sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla and using a hand mixer on medium speed beat the ingredients until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined.

Spread the batter in the prepared ban.

In a small bowl combined the ingredients for the topping and then sprinkle over the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 – 35 minutes, or until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted about 1-inch from the sides comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pan before slicing them.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

I love brownies, but, truth be told, they are not one of my favorite things to bake. Not because they are difficult to prepare, but, because I always have an issue with either removing them from the pan and/or slicing them. They always seem to stick the pan, even though I prep the pan, and/or crumble when I slice them, even though I wait until they are completely cooled before doing so. And I will point out that I have used parchment paper sometimes to make brownies, but, I still run into some issue with them, usually it’s them falling apart when I slice them.

Recently I tried a very simple recipe that resulted in perfect brownies… They didn’t stick to the pan when I flipped it over and I was able to slice them without any crumbly pieces. Who knew it was actually possible!?!? This great recipe is from Hershey’s, it’s their Deep Dish Brownie Recipe. I will tell you though that these brownies are more cake-like than fudgy, but, if you want a fudgier brownie you can reduce the egg count in the recipe from 3 to 2. I will admit I haven’t tried it with this recipe, but, I do know that eggs are one of the ingredients that changes the texture of brownies from cake-like to fudgy. One other thing I liked about these brownies was that they had some height to them as well. Great for topping them with ice cream after warming them up for a few seconds in the microwave.

Hershey’s Deep Dish Brownies

Servings: 12-16 Brownies (depending on how you slice them)
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Ingredients:

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 8×8 pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt – and set aside.

In another bowl whisk together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla extract until combined. Add in the eggs and whisk everything together until well incorporated. Gradually whisk in the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and when a cake tester inserted about one inch from the edge comes out clean.

Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before inverting and slicing.

Recipe from Hershey’s