Preparing and Baking Brownies | C&H® Sugar (2024)

FAQs

What is the purpose of white sugar in brownies? ›

Sugar's Role in Brownies

Sugar works with the other ingredients in brownies to contribute moisture, height, fudginess, and that crinkly crust on top, as well as providing sweetness. This is why altering the sugar in a recipe can have consequences beyond the sweetness of the bake.

Getting the perfect crust for you means choosing a recipe with just the right proportions of granulated and brown sugars. More brown sugar leads to dense brownies with incredible depth of flavor, but the additional moisture can cause their upper crust to be more solid than delicate as a result.

Unlike refined white sugar, raw sugar retains its natural syrup coating which gives it added flavour and a golden colour. It's this syrup coating that gives an extra depth to baking and cooking, and even enhances a simple cup of coffee.

Using caster sugar in brownies also helps to get a super crinkly top. Caster sugar has a smaller grain size than granulated sugar, so it dissolves better in the egg mixture, to give that nice crinkly top. If you only have granulated sugar on hand it will still work fine particularly if you are in the US.

Keep in mind when baking that brown sugar helps to promote a dense, chewy texture thanks to the moisture content in the molasses. Think: chewy brownies or soft, dense chocolate chip cookies. On the other hand, white sugar helps to create crispy, crunchy cookies that have a drier texture.

Can powdered sugar be substituted for granulated sugar in recipes? A. It is not recommended to substitute powdered sugar for granulated sugar. Since powdered sugar has a much finer texture, and it contains a small percentage of cornstarch to prevent caking, substituting can give you unexpected results.

Sugar does so much beyond providing sweetness. Reduced sugar brownies will become dry, crumbly, and will stale faster.

One of the main functions of eggs in brownie batter is to act as an emulsifier. Egg yolks contain a fat called lecithin. Adding egg yolk to brownies helps the dry ingredients combine with the butter or shortening. You can thank them for the creamy texture of your brownie batter.

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've ended up with cakey brownies and wanted fudgy you've probably used too much flour. It is difficult to play around with flour levels in brownies and cake recipes so if you're going to innovate then be prepared for several batches that may not result in perfect brownies.

Can brownies be overmixed? ›

Over mixing brownie leads to too much air incorporation and can leave your brownie looking and tasting like a chocolate cake. Under mixing will lead to insufficient combination of your core ingredients and so the brownie texture will not form to perfection.

Typically, raw sugar can be substituted for white sugar, in most baking recipes, by following a 1:1 ratio. The use of raw sugar in baking works best when it is used in denser foods like muffins.

Sugar easily binds with water, which accomplishes two main things. 1) It locks in moisture, keeping your baked goods from drying out; and 2) It inhibits the development of gluten which keeps your cookies, cakes and sweet breads softer.

The chemistry of sugar attracts water molecules, so cutting it out can make your baked goods too tough and dry. If you really want to cut back, sugar can usually be reduced by about a third without seeing a major difference in texture.

In most baking recipes, you can substitute brown sugar for white sugar in a one-to-one ratio. So, if your recipe calls for one cup of white sugar, swap one cup of brown sugar. The sweetness level will be the same, but the brown sugar may change the texture of your baked goods.

And indeed, sugar sweetens baked goods, savoury dishes and drinks. But it also serves other purposes – it can enhance flavour and texture. It helps to make dough tender, keeps egg whites stable when making meringues and pavlovas, and gives baked goods a nice golden brown colour.

Sugar easily binds with water, which accomplishes two main things. 1) It locks in moisture, keeping your baked goods from drying out; and 2) It inhibits the development of gluten which keeps your cookies, cakes and sweet breads softer.

Caster Sugar Substitute

Granulated sugar will usually work just fine as a caster sugar alternative. Substitute on a 1:1 ratio (if your recipe calls for a cup of caster sugar, use a cup of granulated sugar).