Gooey Orange Chocolate Brownies

Rightly or wrongly accounts offices are often considered to be quiet and dull places, staffed by sour-faced bureaucratic bean counters. The Rembrandt control team of Manuela, Su, Grazia, Ada, Sammy and myself like to think that we deviate from this stereotype and throughout the year we like to have a celebration or two and what better way to celebrate at work than to have a proper civilised afternoon tea.

Traditionally afternoon teas conjure up images of scones and finger sandwiches but here at the Rembrandt we find that nothing beats a rich gooey chocolate brownie for that sugar rush to get us through the last couple of hours of the day!!!

So whether you are marking a birthday, an anniversary or exam success, I hope this recipe will convince you that brownies offer a delicious alternative to celebrating with a glass of champagne. (Of course if you are not at work you can always indulge in both!)

Ingredients:
90g Plain Flour
150g Icing Sugar
150g Plain chocolate
90g butter melted
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 Eggs beaten
Zest of one orange

Put on a CD of feel good music (I find any of the Rat Pack are especially good to cook to!)

Pre heat the oven to gas mark 4/ 180c/ 350f.
Grease a piece of grease proof paper and put it into a 25cm square baking tin. Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the butter and golden syrup and mix well. Leave to cool then mix in the beaten eggs. Then fold in the sugar, flour and orange zest, you should be mixing for the length of a song (Bohemian Rhapsody at 5 minutes 55 seconds may be a bit long and a minute concerto may be a tad short). Pour the mix in to the lined baking tin. Cook in the preheated oven for 30-45 minutes. The top should be gooey but not runny. Leave to cool. Dust with icing sugar.

Alternatives to orange could be raspberries, raisins that have been soaked in rum, walnuts or chocolate chunks.

Written by Ian Kingston, Accounts Supervisor at The Rembrandt