For sure our Christmas baking is heavy on shortbread and cookies – but we don’t ignore brownies either. Orange and Chocolate is a classic combo, and it works really well in our Vegan Orange and Chocolate Brownie. By using candied peel you really do get a better hit of Orange. To make our Vegan Orange and Chocolate Brownies a bit more ‘party ready’ we’ve added red and gold edible glitter.
With vegan or allergy baking – don’t forget to make sure your marshmallows are vegan – it’s not just gelatine that’s the issue but egg can sneak in as well.
If you’re in the mood for shortbread, take a look at these lovely vegan jam shortbreads.
The dark chocolate chips on the top of these brownies is a nice touch – surprisingly they don’t melt into shapeless blobs!
Vegan Orange Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 8 oz Vegan Dark Chocolate - 70% is needed to get a depth of flavour
- ½ cup Mini Vegan Marshmallows
- ⅓ cup Trex Shortening
- ⅓ cup Dairy Free Margarine
- 1 cup Caster Sugar Use Granulated if that's what you have in the house
- ½ cup Soft Brown Sugar
- 2 Large Zest of Oranges
- 3 tsp Caster Sugar to candy the zest
- 1 tsp Orange Blossom
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Paste Use Extract if that's what you have at home, but paste really does give a better flavour.
- 1 tso Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 2 ¼ Cups Plain Flour
- 4 tbsp Orange Juice
- ⅓ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°C 340°F and prepare the tin. Line your tine with baking parchment
- Grab a pot and fill 1/3 with water. Put a metal or glass bowl on top that fits snuggly but the bottom doesn't touch the water. Add the chocolate (broken up), marshmallows, dairy free margarine, and Trex. Bring the water up to simmering point. Let everything melt together, whisk at the end to fully incorporate the marshmallows.
- While everything is melting, zest the oranges. In a small frying pan add 3 tbsp of Caster Sugar with the Orange Zest. Increase the heat until the sugar starts to bubble and cook. Stir as the sugar bubbles away so that all the zest is covered and it turns a darker colour. Remove and cool on a plate or piece of parchment paper. When cool (give it a good few minutes) break it up into little pieces.
- In a mixing bowl combine flour, brown and caster sugars, salt, baking powder and candied zest. Mix to incorporate.
- Add the Vanilla and Orange Blossom to the chocolate mixture and stir into the flour mixture. Add in the milk and orange juice and mix until you've a nice glossy mixture.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips on top, along with some edible glitter if you fancy it. Bake for 30 minutes until a nice crust has formed and the centre has dropped a bit. If you like a firmer, more cake like brownie, bake for 35 minutes. Cool and cut into whatever size brownies you fancy.
