Rosie Makes: Blood Orange Cardamom Buns

Cardamom and blood orange buns with a cardamom filling, dipped in a cardamom citrus sugar 🍊

In these cold, dark months, citrus ingredients bring so much life and colour to the kitchen. A favourite citrus ingredient of mine that has a short but oh so sweet season is blood orange. I love its distinctive flavour: as well as the zestiness we expect from citrus, they have a more complex, almost berryish note, and a rich sweetness. I like that they are as at home in a salad as they are a cake, and never tire of finding different ways to use them. In today’s recipe I’m using blood oranges for something sweet: deliciously gooey cardamom buns, where the zest brings a fresh lift to warming Winter spice. I thought it would be a lovely recipe to share with Valentine’s Day coming up - they are well worth the wee bit of extra effort to make as a breakfast or brunch treat for a loved one, especially if you make the dough the night before so the buns just have to be filled, shaped and rested before they bake.