Are Brownies Cake?

In my series of brownie questions, one of the top questions was, “Are Brownies Cake?”.

Brownies are not cake, but they’re definitely cake-adjacent. While both share similar ingredients like flour, sugar, and eggs, brownies are denser, fudgier, and unapologetically richer than their fluffy cousin, the cake. Think of it this way: cake is your fun, outgoing friend who loves a party, while brownies are their cool, mysterious sibling who steals the show by just being there. Same family, totally different vibe.

When it comes to technique, cakes will typically need air incorporated to make them light and fluffy. This can come from creaming butter and sugar, or whipping eggs and sugar to create lift and volume. With brownies, we’re not adding any of that extra air (unless you intentionally want a very light and cakey brownie, but, usually a denser quality is what you’re looking for in a brownie).