Chocolate Covered Orange Peels (Print Version)
Candied orange peels cloaked in dark chocolate — a zesty, elegant confection for gifting or everyday indulgence.
# What You Need:
→ Orange Peels
01 - 3 large oranges
→ Sugar Syrup
02 - 1 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 cup water
→ Chocolate Coating
04 - 7 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (at least 60% cocoa)
→ Optional Garnish
05 - 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt (optional)
# How To Make It:
01 - Wash the oranges thoroughly under running water. Using a sharp knife, score each peel from top to bottom into quarters. Gently remove the peel in sections, keeping as much of the white pith intact as possible.
02 - Slice the peels into uniform strips approximately ¼ inch wide for even candying.
03 - Place the strips in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain completely. Repeat this blanching process two more times to draw out excess bitterness from the pith.
04 - In the same saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has fully dissolved.
05 - Add the blanched peels to the simmering syrup. Cook gently for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peels become translucent and fully saturated with syrup.
06 - Using tongs, carefully transfer each strip to a wire rack set over parchment paper. Allow the peels to dry for at least 1 hour until tacky but no longer dripping.
07 - Melt the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over gently simmering water (double boiler method), stirring until smooth. Alternatively, melt in short 20-second bursts in the microwave, stirring between intervals.
08 - Dip each candied orange peel strip halfway into the melted chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place each piece onto parchment paper.
09 - Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt if desired. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes until firm.
# Handy Tips:
01 -
- The contrast between bitter citrus and dark chocolate is genuinely addictive, and you will eat far more than you planned.
- They look like something from a fancy chocolatier but require zero special skills beyond patience.
02 -
- Skip even one blanching round and you will taste it immediately, the bitterness cuts right through the chocolate and ruins the balance.
- If your chocolate seizes and turns grainy, a single teaspoon of neutral oil stirred in gently can sometimes rescue it, though tempering properly is the real fix.
03 -
- Toss the just candied peels in extra granulated sugar before drying if you want a sparkly, crystallized finish without the chocolate step.
- Tempering the chocolate by heating to forty five degrees Celsius, cooling to twenty seven, then warming back to thirty one gives you that satisfying snap when you break a piece in half.