(Not so) tricky treats : chocolate and orange brownies

For this Halloween season it has to be a sweet treat! This easy brownie recipe has a little zing with the orange, but alternatively you could add half a teaspoon of nutmeg for a Halloween flavour or 150g of Nouvelle Aquitaine hazelnuts for a bit of a bite.

Ingredients

  • 200g butter chopped

  • 200g dark chocolate roughly chopped

  • zest 1 large orange

  • 4 large eggs

  • 350g caster sugar

  • 100g plain flour

  • 50g cocoa powder

  • 100g dark chocolate

  • orange, chopped


Recipe

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 24 x 20cm brownie tin with baking paper.

  2. Put the butter, dark chocolate and orange zest in a non-stick saucepan and very gently melt over a low heat, stirring every now and then, until smooth – take care not to overheat it. Cool.

  3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale, has doubled in volume and leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted. Gently stir into the cooled chocolate mixture.

  4. Sift over the flour and cocoa, stir in, then add the orange chocolate.

  5. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 35-40 mins. Cool in the tin, then cut into squares.

About the author

Emma studied food and nutrition before focusing on furniture and design history at university in Manchester.

With over 20 years in senior product design and communications roles, she has ghostwritten for publications including The Times, Business Insider and The Financial Times.

In 2024, she and her husband, Craig, founded Maison d'Aquitaine to provide sustainably made kitchens for traditional French homes. They have lived in France with their children since 2011.

Emma is a vegetarian at home and a pescetarian in French restaurants! In her spare time, she works with the Dordogne-based animal charity, Phoenix Association.

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