Ceramic Canvas

“This dessert sucks!”

That’s what I said to myself when I first pulled it out of the refrigerator. Since the moment that I put it in the fridge to allow the filling to set, I was in a state of anticipation – anxiously waiting to unveil what I was sure was going to be my latest great dessert discovery. After all, I had put some time into picking the right recipes to post for CeramicCanvas.com’s first Chocolate Week.

So after all of the searching, baking and chilling, I couldn’t wait to ‘taste-drive’ my handy work. I pulled them out of the fridge and began to cut myself a piece.

I am a very visual person so when I began to see the filling ooze out of the middle, I figured right then and there that my run of recipe good luck had come to a screeching halt. “Damn. This is gonna look like crap!” But then a funny thing happened. 

I tasted one of the Chocolate-Orange Squares. “Wow!” I loved it. I know this is a cliché but you really should never judge a book by its cover. (By the way, the recipe didn’t set correctly because I forgot a VERY important step…but I’ll get to that in a bit).

There is this beautiful combination of flavors that just fill your mouth. There’s the rich and deep (and I mean deep) chocolaty flavor of the base, the smooth chocolate flavor of the frosting and then there’s the little surprise. After the wave of chocolate washes across your mouth, you instantly get the counter balance – the bright citrus flavor of the orange filling. The sharpness of the citrus definitely stands up and says, “I will not be ignored.” And thank god, because all three elements work hand in hand to make an amazing little treat.

For what it’s worth, here’s my two cents. They’re perfect for serving as a side to coffee or tea. Or even a platter of them at a brunch. I wouldn’t serve them as large portioned desserts – the flavor is very rich.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the critical step that I left out. After you spread the orange filling onto the base, you are supposed to bake it for 5 minutes. This allows the filling to harden properly while it sets in the refrigerator. Somehow, yours truly wasn’t reading carefully and missed this entire sentence in the recipe. Actually, I didn’t notice that I skipped this step until I was retyping the recipe for this post. What a rookie, right?

The moral of the story? As a favorite cliché of my high school shop class teacher goes, “measure twice and cut once.”

If only I had been paying attention in high school, my Chocolate-Orange Squares wouldn’t have needlessly suffered.

Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE SQUARES

Via The Golden Book of Chocolate

Base:

1 cup all purpose flour

2 TBL unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ TSP salt

1 cup unsweetened butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 confectioner’s sugar

Filling:

Grated zest from 1 orange

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)

½ cup water

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 TSP lemon juice

1 TBL unsalted butter

½ cup orange marmalade

Glaze

3 TBL heavy cream

1 ½ TSP corn syrup

3 oz semisweet chocolate, grated

Base

Preheat the oven to 325˚. Line an 8-inch squared baking pan with parchment paper, letting the edges overhang. Mix the flour, cocoa and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioner’s sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and creamy.

With the mixer on low speed, beat in the mixed dry ingredients. Firmly press the mixture into the prepared pan in a smooth even layer. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake until firm to the touch, about 25-30 minutes. Let coo for 10 minutes.

Filling

Mix the orange zest, juice, water, cornstarch and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and marmalade.

Pour the filling over the base in an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about an hour.

Glaze

Bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.

Spread over the filling in an even layer. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Using the parchment paper as handles, transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares.