RECIPE: A way to settle the great brownie war

I love brownies but refuse to make them at my bakery. Why? Because picking a side in the dispute between cake brownie fans versus fudge brownie aficionados has always seemed like a profoundly bad business decision.

However, my newfound need for content for this baking column combined with my suspicion that there must be some common ground between the two sides in the great brownie war has pushed me to finally take a stand. Hear me, brownie partisans: There is a brownie that looks and acts like a delicate cake and still yields to fudgy goodness in the middle.

We can thank the Italians for inspiration for this wonderful cake called a Torta Tenerina. This version is modified to better suit American brownie standards. Rye flour adds malty depth, but you could easily make this a gluten-free cake by substituting potato starch instead. If you have a hard time finding super-fine caster sugar, just blitz regular table sugar in a coffee grinder or food processor until very fine but not powdery.