Terry’s Chocolate Orange Brownies

These chocolate orange brownies have all the decadence of a devilishly chocolatey dessert with the added zestiness of orange peel: the ideal extra flavour boost to elevate a standard brownie to a more exciting treat! After experimenting with salted caramel brownies last term, I decided to make a few tweaks to the recipe and voilà: a delicious chocolatey orangey delight was born. This recipe also gave me a bona fide reason to make the most of a £1 deal for Terry’s Chocolate Orange – an opportunity I was never going to let pass me by!

Recipe | Chocolate Orange Brownies

Ingredients:

• 195g Terry’s Chocolate Orange
• 275g margarine
• 100g dark chocolate
• 325g sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 175g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Zest and juice of one medium-sized orange

Method:

1. Split the Terry’s Chocolate Orange in half; set half aside. Break the rest of it up into small pieces; do the same with the dark chocolate.
2. Put the broken chocolate and margarine into a heatproof bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt.
3. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the sugar.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time.
5. Stir in the flour, a little at a time, to prevent the mixture from curdling.
6. Add the baking powder.
7. Grate and juice the orange; add half of the zest and 25ml of the juice to the mixture.
8. Chop the remaining Terry’s Chocolate Orange into small pieces and fold in. Stir the mixture, ensuring that all the ingredients have combined.
9. Line a tin with foil or greaseproof paper; my tray was c. 28cm x 18cm x 3cm, as a guideline, and makes 15 brownies.
10. Pour the mixture into the tin, taking care to distribute it evenly.
11. Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes; when baked, the top should be firm but the inside soft and gooey.
12. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares and enjoy (ideally with a large dollop of ice cream!)

Tips:

• The weight of the Terry’s Chocolate Orange sounds a bit odd, but it’s the weight of a whole Terry’s Chocolate Orange, as sold in the UK.
• I use granulated sugar instead of castor sugar – it’s a lot cheaper and you’ll never tell the difference in this recipe!
• Oven times can vary hugely – I usually set a timer for 30 minutes and check, as you can always bake it for longer but you can’t unbake an over-baked brownie! Insert a cocktail stick/ knife into the mixture, and if it comes out clean/ with a few crumbs attached then it’s ready.