Dark chocolate orange brownies

I couldn't decide if these brownies looked better in the picture above or the one below, so I shared both. It's difficult to choose one when you know and acutely remember that no picture can actually do justice to the awesome moistness and density of possibly the best brownies you've ever tasted.

If you're a fan of the dark chocolate infused with orange that some of the fancier brands of chocolate offer, then you'll definitely love these brownies. It contains all that plus more (in terms of texture, mouth-feel etc) in a single bite. Enjoy :).
Recipe adapted from here.

Last year: Mozzarella in carozza (Italian fried sandwiches).
Two years ago: Boulangère potatoes (French).
Three years ago: Grasshopper hot chocolate.
Four years ago: Veronique chicken salad (French), Semolina milk pudding with pear-cardamom puree and honey and Polenta with sour cream and cheese (Romanian).




Ingredients (for a 24 X 20 cm tray):

• 200 g butter, chopped
• 200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• zest of one large orange
• 4 large eggs
• 300 g caster sugar
• 100 g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 100 g dark orange chocolate, chopped
• 20 ml Grand Marnier or Cointreau, to brush (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a 24 X 20 cm tray with baking paper. Melt the butter and the dark chocolate together, stirring gently, until even. Let aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and the orange zest. Pour the cooled chocolate-butter mixture over it and mix:

Mix the flour, the cocoa and the salt and gradually incorporate them in the wet mix. When it all seems even, add the dark orange chocolate:

Mix well and pour the whole thing in the prepared baking tin.

Put it in the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with only a few wet crumbs. Take out:

Poke some holes all around with a skewer and brush with orange liquor while still hot. Allow to cool a bit, cut into squares and dig in! :)