Chaotically Me

I like to sneak healthy ingredients into desserts to try and qualm the guilt of looking down to discover I’ve gobbled half of it fresh off the cooling rack.  It’s hard work pulling the wool over your own eyes, but I’m always up for a challenge.  These delectable brownies are made with arguably healthy: wholemeal flour (fibre?), walnuts (potassium and magnesium baby!) and orange zest (what’s healthier than real life fruity goodness…hmm?).  If we just choose not to see that big bowl of dark chocolate (anti-oxidants, anyone?) butter (yeah, I’m running out of material) and that packet of caster sugar (it comes from the earth?) then we’re all set.

If you’d like to bake these healthy mouth-wateringly gooey brownies then keep reading…

Wholemeal Chocolate and Orange Brownies

225g (2 sticks) Butter, softened

200g (7.1 oz) dark chocolate

1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped roughly (I buy walnut halves and then break them in half again as I throw them in)

zest of one large orange

65g (1/2 cup packed firmly) of Wholemeal Plain/All Purpose Flour

80g (1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

360g (1 cup) caster/super fine sugar

4 large eggs

1/  Pre-heat your oven to 180C (350F) and line or grease a 25cm (10 inch) square baking tin

2/  In a bowl melt the butter and chocolate until glossy and smooth.  You can melt it carefully in your microwave or over simmering water

3/  Add the walnuts and the orange zest to your chocolate mixture and give it a gentle stir to combine.  Reserve a little of the orange zest if you’d like to make the white chocolate drizzle below

4/  In a seperate bowl place the sugar and sift in the cocoa, flour and baking powder

5/  Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the chocolate mix.  Stir gently to combine all the ingredients

6/  In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and add them little by little to your mixture until silky

7/  Pour your mixture into your prepared baking tin

8/  Bake for 25 minutes or until it springs back when touched but is still nice and gooey!

9/  Leave to cool in the tin (otherwise they’ll just fall apart…trust this impatient dessert muncher who cut hers up warm out of the oven and ended up with delectably gooey hands and slightly unattractive brownies for photographing…oops!)

10/  Sprinkle with a little icing (confectioners) sugar if you like or try my white chocolate and orange drizzle

Melt 6 or so squares of white chocolate in your microwave and grate a little zest in.  Stir in a little orange juice, one teaspoon at a time until you are happy with the consistency

Drizzle over your brownies once cooled (there was an attack of the impatient monster again in my kitchen that involved drizzling them straight out of the oven.  It was messy to say the least, but still tasted great!)

*Recipe is a slightly altered version of Jamie Oliver’s Bloomin’ Brilliant Brownies