Why Greasy Brownie Batter Is A Bad Sign (And What To Do Before You Bake)

Baking requires fine balance of being able to read and recreate a recipe to a tee, while also being able to go by the feel, color, and other qualities of your bake. If you can use and apply your senses, and develop an understanding if when a batter or a bake looks "right" or not, you're bound to be a more successful baker in the long run. And one bake where being able to go by feel is especially important is with brownies. 

One of the biggest mistakes that folks make with brownie batter, more specifically, is not paying close enough attention to its shine, shimmer, and feel. If you notice your brownie batter is starting to separate, or appears greasier than normal, it may be a sign that there are some underlying issues with your batter — which will be manifested once it hits the oven. If you see your ingredients beginning to separate when you are preparing your brownies, you can always add in a bit of liquid, like milk, to reunite the ingredients again. Making this correction early on in the process will ensure that your brownies come out perfectly soft, fudgy, and decadent. 

There are several potential reasons why your brownie batter splits or takes on a super greasy appearance. The first is that you neglected to bring all of your ingredients up to room temperature before you added them to your batter. In essence, when you're combining the fat together with the eggs, you're creating an emulsion. If your eggs are too cold, they won't incorporate into this emulsion, and may even cause your butter to cool down too much and solidify, thus leaving behind greasy lumps. To fix this, you'll want to get your eggs to room temperature by submerging them in a warm water bath or leaving them on the counter while you prepare your other batter components.  

Another reason why your batter may be splitting is because you're incorrectly combining the chocolate together with the butter. In some cases, the recipe will call for melting the butter and the chocolate down together in a pan or the microwave before baking it. If the mixture becomes overheated, the cocoa butter will leach out too quickly from the chocolate and give your batter a greasy appearance. In order to temper the rate that your chocolate melts, you may want to chop it into smaller, finer pieces or try melting it over a double boiler. The double boiler method is a far more gentle way to melt the chocolate and the butter and will help ensure your brownies come out perfect.