Recipe: Chocolate Orange Brownies

There’s only one recipe I know completely by heart, and that’s my brownie recipe. It’s probably the simplest recipe I’ve got in my arsenal, but I’m pretty sure it’s also the best one. Nothing beats a good brownie, in my opinion! I love trying new things to liven up a regular brownie, and last week, I realised I’d never tried making brownies with a hint of orange. It’s such a classic combination and I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and orange, so I can’t believe I’d never put the two together in a brownie before.

Last week, that finally changed! It’s a very simple alteration: I just added a bunch of orange zest and a few tablespoons of orange juice to the recipe. To make these brownies look a little different, and to add an extra little burst of flavour, I decided to add chocolate covered orange candy on top. Now, I have no idea if there’s any equivalent to these pieces of candy outside of the Netherlands, so you might have to improvise or just leave them out altogether. To qive you an idea: it’s basically a soft orange gummy type candy, covered in dark chocolate. Also, it’s very delicious.

Let’s move on to the recipe!

You’ll need… (for 16-20 brownies)

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 120 g butter
• 160 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 70 g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• zest of one large orange
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of orange juice (from that same orange)
• optional: chocolate covered orange candy (NL: Lonka’s Sinas Snippers)
• zester
• baking tin (mine is 20 x 24 cm)
• and an oven, of course! These brownies need to be baked at 150 °C (don’t forget to preheat your oven!)

So, let’s get baking!

1. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie Place a pot of water on the stove and make sure the water is hot but not boiling. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the pot and put your chocolate in that bowl. The chocolate will start to melt without there being any risk of it burning. Just make sure none of the water gets in with the chocolate.

2. Mix together butter and sugar While the chocolate is melting, get on with these next steps. Melt the butter in the microwave and then mix it together with your sugar in a large bowl, using a whisk.

3. Add the eggs and then the flour and salt Once your butter and sugar are mixed, add in the eggs one by one, whisking one egg through before adding the next. Once the eggs are mixed in, add the flour and salt and whisk that through as well.

4. Add the orange zest and juice Zest your orange and add all of the zest to the batter. Squeeze the orange for two or three tablespoons worth of juice and add that as well.

5. Add the chocolate Make sure your chocolate has melted completely and then take the bowl off the stove. Leave the chocolate to cool for just a few minutes so the hot chocolate doesn’t scramble the eggs. Then, pour the chocolate in with your mixture (this is the most satisfying step – apart from the eating) and mix it through with your whisk.

6. Transfer batter to tin Grease and flour your tin, or line it with parchment paper, and then pour in the brownie batter. Make sure you divide it evenly over the tin.

7. Bake! Put the tin in the oven and bake the brownies for 20 minutes at 150 °C. After those 20 minutes, add the pieces of candy on top of the brownie and press them down very gently. Then, bake the brownies for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. When they’re done, take the tin out of the oven and let the brownies cool for a while before cutting them into however many pieces you like.

And that’s it! You’ve got your own delicious chocolate and orange brownies! Enjoy!