I really love chocolate orange. Every Christmas, my mum used to get us all Terry’s Chocolate Oranges and I was usually the first in my family to finish mine. I was lucky if it lasted til Boxing Day! These brownies are a new variation on my old favourite brownie recipe. I simply chucked in some orange extract, whipped up some orange icing, and smothered it all in melted chocolate. It was hard to go wrong.

Except that taking two weeks off baking must have made me rusty! Things didn’t go exactly according to plan. I was being a bit absent minded when I was making the brownies and accidentally put in 1 tsp of salt instead of a 1/2 tsp. It didn’t ruin the recipe, but I noticed that the finished brownies were slightly more salty than usual. If that’s your thing, then go ahead and add the full 1 tsp. For this blog, I’ve written out the recipe as it was originally intended to be made (i.e. with only a 1/2 tsp salt).

My flatmates really liked these brownies. The brownie base is as rich as ever and is balanced out by the orange icing nicely. The orange icing also makes them even more moist and fudgey. Finally, the mixture of milk and dark chocolate on top is the perfect balance of sweet and rich. These are fairly quick to throw together and one of my tried and true recipes.

Happy baking!

Chocolate Orange Brownies

Makes 20 pieces (one 8″ square tin)

Brownie Layer

Ingredients

• 200g 70% dark chocolate
• 125g unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 200g white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp orange extract
• 100g flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Butter a 8″ square baking tin and line with baking parchment (the butter helps the baking parchment stick).
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl either over a water bath or in the microwave, stirring frequently. Set aside. 
3. Using a wire whisk, beat the sugar, eggs, orange extract and vanilla together until thick and frothy. The mixture should easily coat the back of a spoon.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and gently fold together. The mixture should become thick and glossy.
5. Sift in the flour and salt and stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
6. Pour into the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely on a wire rack. Top with the orange icing and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Top with the melted chocolate. When the chocolate has partially set, score the top with a knife to make cutting easier.

Orange Icing

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tbsp orange extract
• 1-3 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. Cream together the butter and the orange extract. With the electric mixer on low speed, gradually add in the icing sugar.
2. Add the milk as needed. The icing showed be easily spreadable but not sloppy. Beat on high for another 30 seconds until light and fluffy.
3. Spread evenly over the cooled brownies and chill for 30 minutes before topping with the melted chocolate.

Chocolate Layer

Ingredients

• 200g milk chocolate
• 100g plain/semisweet chocolate

Instructions

1. Melt the chocolate in a medium sized bowl over a water bath or in the microwave, stirring frequently.
2. Pour over the orange icing and chill in the fridge until set. If desired, score lines into the chocolate before it is fully set to make cutting them up easier.