For me, Orange and Chocolate is one of the best combo when it comes to dessert. The sweet, smooth chocolate associated with the tangy oranges work perfectly together to make these delicious Chocolate and Orange Brownies!
Ingredients
To make these orange brownies, you will need your classic brownie ingredients plus a few original ones.
For me, the only way to make a good, fudgey, chocolatey brownie is by using real Cooking Chocolate (and not Cacao Powder).
The Orange is the second key ingredient and is found in three ways in this dessert: fresh for the topping, juiced and zested for the brownie batter.
Here are the ingredients you will need to remake these Orange Chocolate Brownies (Scroll down to recipe card for all quantities):
- Dark Cooking Chocolate (preferably 70% Cacao at least like this Callebaut one)
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Fresh Oranges
- Plain Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
If you love fruity brownies, you must also try my Chocolate Raspberry Brownies!
Fresh Orange Brownies
If you love chocolate and orange together, then you will be happy with this recipe! The orange is brought in in three different ways but is still well balanced with the chocolate and not overpowering!
There are a few ways to add oranges into your brownies, and I did the three...
- Topping your brownies with fresh slices of oranges: not only it will make your cake look pretty and original, it will also bring that touch of acidity you probably love in this flavour combo!
- With Orange Zest in the cake batter: probably the most "classic" way to bring in the taste of orange, orange zest will add a subtle flavour of oranges without being overpowering
- With Orange Juice in the cake batter as well: adding fresh orange juice directly into the brownie batter will do two great things. First, it will make your brownie batter super moist and fudgy and second, it will bring lots of natural sweetness that will allow you to reduce the amount of added sugar!
I personally love using the natural sweetness of fruits in baking as it allows you to cut down on the added, often refined and processed, sugar. It's exactly what I did in my Sugar-Free, Vegan and Gluten Free Banana Bread!
If you like the combination of chocolate and orange, you may also like these delicious treats:
- Orange Cacao Bliss Balls from Sweet Caramel Sunday
- Egg Free Chocolate Orange Drizzle Cake from Mrs Jone's Kitchen
How to make these Orange Chocolate Brownies
Making these Orange and Dark Chocolate Brownies are oooh so easy and don't require any fancy equipment or utensils. Here are the steps to follow to make this dessert:
- Melt the Dark Cooking Chocolate and Unsalted Butter together. To do so, simply place them in a heat-proof bowl and leave in the microwave to melt, stopping every 30 seconds to stir until fully melted.
- While the chocolate is cooling down, juice and zest your oranges if using fresh oranges.
- Stir in the Brown Sugar, then add the Orange Zest, Orange Juice and Eggs. Mix well until combined.
- Finally, sift in all the dry ingredients: Plain Flour, Baking Powder and Salt. Try not to overwork the batter.
- Pour the brownie batter in a 9x13 inch / 22x33 cm Cake Pan - I highly recommend lining the cake pan with baking paper to ease the cake release.
- Optional: thinly slice an orange and place the slices over your brownie batter before baking.
Tip: it is really important to leave your brownie to cool down completely before trying to slice it or remove it from the pan. If you try to do both things while the cake is still hot or warm, there are high changes that the brownie will break.
Storing this dessert
These Chocolate Brownies with Orange can be kept at room temperature in an air-tight, sealed container for up to 3 days. I recommend eating them as fresh as possible though as they will start to dry out quickly.
Can I freeze them?
I would not recommend freezing these brownies. They would easily break apart when being thawed with the slices of oranges on top dissociating from the rest of the cake.
Like most times when it comes to baking, this dessert is much nicer eaten fresh and straight out of the oven!
More Chocolate Dessert Ideas:
- Triple Chocolate Tart
- Chocolate Caramel Slices
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Double Chocolate Bavarois Cake
- Florentine Cookies with Dark Chocolate
- Israeli Chocolate Rugelach
More delicious Orange Recipes
- Almond Orange Cake (Gluten Free)
- Mini Blood Orange Semolina Cakes
- Orange Glazed Spiced Honey Cake
- Grapefruit and Orange Panna Cotta
- French Orange Tart
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Chocolate Orange Brownies
Ingredients
- 7 oz (200gr) Dark Cooking Chocolate - 70% Cacao prefered
- 1/2 cup (120gr) Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 cup (50gr) Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Oranges: Zest + Juice - about 1/2 cup - 120ml of Orange Juice
- 2/3 cup (100gr) Plain Flour
- 1/2 teasp. Baking Powder
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 Orange, Sliced - optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on 180'C / 350'F. Line or Grease a Square Baking Pan (8'' or 20cm pan).
- Place the Dark Cooking Chocolate cut into small pieces and the Unsalted Butter in a heat-proof bowl. Melt on a water bath or in the microwave (stopping every 30 seconds to stir - be careful not to burn the chocolate).
- When the Chocolate and Butter are melted, leave to cool down for 5 minutes then stir in the Brown Sugar.
- Add the Orange Zest and Juice then beat in the Eggs. The batter should be thick and shiny.
- Sift in the Plain Flour, Baking Powder and Salt and quickly stir until combined. Pour the brownie batter into the baking pan.
- Optional: cut thin slices of oranges and place them over the brownie batter.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The top of the brownie should have set but the centre should still be fudgy and moist.
- Leave to cool down completely before cutting slices and removing from the pan.
Notes
- Make sure to leave the brownies to cool down completely before slicing it and/or removing it from its pan - otherwise, they may break very easily.
