Strips of candied orange with chocolate

How to prepare candied orange with chocolate. Of these strips we could say that they are treats for adults. And I say for adults because I did not like anything when I was little, but with age the tastes change and the touch between the bitterness of the orange and the sweetness of the chocolate delight my thirty-something … hehe. Chocolate is very good for this orange delicatessen, but if you don’t like the combination you can prepare this recipe to decorate other sweets, for example the traditional Roscón de Reyes de Nadal . In addition, the syrup resulting from cooking has been a great discovery since it can be used as “honey” for oranges to sweeten any dessert, cake or yogurt. Impressive, everything can be taken advantage of.  

My preparation is very simple and relatively fast (there are other formulas with blanches and more cooking hours), so if you want the most natural confit and with the own flavor of the fruit, increased in sweetness, I encourage you to try this method. The first time I made this dessert the orange strips were a little bitter (very good anyway) but they told me a trick and after a second test where everything was perfect I present the final recipe. Here you have it step by step with the relevant modifications and so that you dare to do it at home, it really has nothing to do with those that sell in an industrial way … Simply delicious.

Preparation of strips of candied oranges

1. We wash the oranges or citrus that we are going to use very well (the brave ones can try lemon or lime), if you have a brush better than better. We dry with a little absorbent paper.
2. We cut the top and bottom of the orange and place it on a cutting board (very similar to when we cut an onion). Once we have the fixed orange it will be much easier to manipulate. We make a few cuts in the skin horizontally (for example 5 strips) and remove it as when you peel an orange to eat it. We remove part of the white from the shell if we see that it has a lot, because it can become bitter more than necessary.
3. We put a large saucepan with the water on the fire and when it starts to boil, add the orange peel and cook for 5 minutes, remove from the water and drain. We throw that water and we return to repeat the same operation another 5 minutes. With this process we remove any impurities that may remain on the skin of the orange and at the same time we whiten the skin of the citrus. Now is the time to cut into several strips 6 cm long and 5 mm wide (approximate measurement), perfect for confit.
4. In another casserole, heat the sugar with the water until everything dissolves and syrup (concentrated syrup of water and sugar) is made. We add the orange strips and cook for approximately 1 hour and a half over medium heat until the orange is confit. It should be a little translucent in the light.
5. When the strips of candied orange are done, drain and place them unattached from each other on a rack (the one that comes from the oven works perfectly) until the excess sugar drains. Once they are cold we reserve for the next step.

Mix the orange strips with the chocolate

1. We heat the liquid cream in a saucepan and when we see that it begins to boil, remove from the heat. We cut the chocolate into pieces and add them to the saucepan. We stir very well until the chocolate is integrated with the cream and we have a dense cream. Add the butter and mix with the cream until it is perfectly linked, it will give shine to our chocolate coating.
2. Once we have the drained candied strips and they are easier to manipulate, we introduce them one by one in the covering chocolate. We can cover the entire strip or only half, as you like.
3. Let it rest on a tray with vegetable paper or sulfurized and if it is a cooler place, it will cool before and the chocolate will be perfect.
4. Store it in a jar or in a tightly closed jar and it will last you a lot of time, even several weeks … well in my house it did not take more than 4 days, but not due to expiration but because of sweet tooth.