Orange Bars begin as slabs. First, there are separate slabs of orange caramel and pecan nougat, and then they’re combined to form one two-layer slab. I spread tempered chocolate on the bottom of the nougat (to help with dipping more securely), the top of the nougat (to curtail moisture migration), and the top of the caramel (to keep moisture from the air out as it sets), and then cut to size. The top layer of chocolate was a bit thick this time, so that’s why there are scrape marks from my small offset spatula. One of the challenges of the Orange Bar is that it’s essentially a three-layer bar — the slice of candied orange peel on top definitely adds height to it. Since the cellophane bag that I use to package my bars can only fit a certain size bar, I have to be very careful about the height of each layer. A few millimeters too tall or a jutting edgee of candied peel or a too-thick layer of nougat or too much chocolate on the sides, and the bar simply won’t fit into the bag… which makes it a reject! I try to re-appropriate it as a sample when I can. I’ve gotten pretty good about judging those millimeters in advance, but it’s always a concern.

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