Chocolate Orange Shortbread
Buttery and melt-in-the-mouth, they’re enhanced with a delicate hint of salt and sweet orange, and generously studded with chunks of orange-flavoured milk chocolate. Quick to prepare and ready for the oven in minutes, they’re perfect served simply with a cup of tea or coffee. Be warned though – they’re dangerously addictive!
Makes 12
Ingredients
- 50g caster sugar
- zest of 1 large unwaxed orange, scrubbed
- 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 25g semolina (or use cornflour or an extra 25g plain/all-purpose flour)
- 125g plain/all-purpose flour
- 150g orange flavoured chocolate which is the equivalent of 1 Terry’s chocolate orange, chopped
Instructions
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat the oven 160°C/325°F/Gas 3 (fan 140°C). You will need an 18cm/7in loose bottomed square cake tin. If it is non-stick, you should not need to grease it, but if you are in any doubt, lightly butter/grease the tin.
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Weigh the sugar into a mixing bowl and then grate over the zest of an orange. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
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Weigh the room temperature butter onto the sugar/orange mix, add the salt, and beat together, with an electric whisk, until light and fluffy.
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Next, beat in the semolina before mixing in the flour. You can either fold in the flour or use the slowest speed on your electric whisk.
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Finally, fold in the chopped chocolate. Be careful not to over-mix at this stage.
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Transfer to the cake tin and press down to level the surface. The easiest way to do this is to cover the dough with some baking parchment and first, flatten the shortbread dough with your fingers, and then use a palette knife or flat sided jam jar to press/roll the top of the shortbread and ensure an even surface.
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Bake in a preheated oven for 25 – 35 minutes, or until lightly browned. Take out of the oven and leave in the tin for ten minutes.
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After 10 minutes, push the shortbread base out of the tin, onto a flat surface. Immediately cut into 12 fingers and set aside to cool. Try not to move them until cool – they will be soft and break easily at first.
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Serve as they are with a cup of tea or coffee.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
- kitchen scales and measuring spoons
- mixing bowl and electric whisk
- grater
- chopping board and knife
- 18cm/7in loose bottomed square cake tin
Where is this recipe from?
This recipe is an adaptation of my Buttery Lemon Shortbread. I’ve simply swapped the lemon zest for orange and added chunks of delicious chocolate orange. The base recipe isn’t overly sweet, so the chocolate provides a delightful contrast in texture, whilst adding just the right amount of balanced sweetness.