Chocolate-dipped candied oranges

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make chocolate-dipped oranges? Gather the ingredients. Take two large oranges and dark chocolate, which you can swap for milk chocolate if you like.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the oranges well under running water, since they'll be cooked with the peel on. Cut them into rounds about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. Cut thinner, and the flesh falls apart; cut thicker, and the peel stays bitter.

3. Step 3:

   

   Pour water into a pot and set it over the heat. Use good-quality filtered water. Lower the orange slices into the boiling water for 3–4 minutes.

4. Step 4:

   

   Transfer the oranges to a colander and let the water drain off. It's this cooking that takes all the bitterness out of the orange peel.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pour about 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of water into a suitable pot and add the sugar (or a heat-stable sweetener), set it over the heat, and wait until all the sugar dissolves. Add the orange slices to the syrup. Cook over very low heat for one hour. Check now and then, and if the water boils down, add a little more. Cook until the orange peel turns almost translucent and amber.

6. Step 6:

   

   Lift the oranges out of the syrup with a slotted spoon and lay them on a rack set over a baking sheet. Put them in an oven preheated to 265°F (130°C) for 20–25 minutes. Then let the oranges cool.

7. Step 7:

   

   Here are the sunny slices that came out. You can use them to decorate cakes or desserts, or just eat them with tea.

8. Step 8:

   

   Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If you happened to get low-quality chocolate and it forms lumps, add a little milk and butter and stir well.

9. Step 9:

   

   Gently dip the orange slices halfway into the chocolate and set them to harden on parchment paper or a flat plate greased with butter. Don't put them in the refrigerator — wait for the chocolate to set on its own. I dressed up my finished chocolate-dipped orange slices a bit by sprinkling them with colored coconut flakes.