Blood Orange Buttermilk Scones + Giveaway
Aaah blood orange season, that short time in January/February when blood oranges with their deep red flesh are in the shops. All citrus fruits are in season at this time of year but I particularly love to squeeze blood oranges and enjoy a glass or two of deep red blood orange juice with its gorgeous colour. Apparently the dark blood-like colour of the flesh comes from a pigment and develops when the fruit develops with low temperatures overnight. I also love to use orange zest in baking to make the most of the fruit and use as much of it as possible. Read on for my recipe for my blood orange buttermilk scones.
Those vivid oranges produce the deepest red juice, which I made into a blood orange syrup to drench my blood orange scones. The scones contain zest and a few tablespoons of juice from the blood oranges too. Split them when warm and serve with ricotta, mascarpone or clotted cream. Just perfect, and making the most of the produce of the season too.
Buttermilk adds a lovely tang to your scones and goes so well with the sweetness of the blood orange syrup. You’ll find it near the cream and creme fraiche at the supermarket, I love to use it for soda bread too, as well as in chocolate cakes.
Blood Orange Buttermilk Scones
Ingredients
for the scones:
- 160 g plain flour
- 70 g self-raising flour (or just use all plain flour)
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- zest of 1 blood orange
- 55 g butter cubed
- 150 ml buttermilk
- 3 tbsp blood orange juice
for the syrup:
- 100 ml blood orange juice (juice of 2 blood oranges)
- 90 g caster sugar
to decorate:
- 1 blood orange thinly sliced
Instructions
- Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest.
- Rub in the butter until it forms rough breadcrumbs.
- Stir in the buttermilk and orange juice to form a soft dough.
- Turn it out onto a work surface and pat the dough into a rough rectangle shape out 4 cm thick.
- Using a small fluted cutter, cut out approx 10 small scones.
- Add a little more orange zest on top of the scones and brush with a little milk.
- Place the scones on baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 210 C for 9-11 minutes until golden.
- While the scones bake, place the blood orange juice and sugar in a small bowl. Microwave for approx 30 seconds and then stir, the sugar should dissolve.
- Then to reduce to a syrup, microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, keeping an eye on it and opening the door and stopping the cooking time each time it boils up to prevent it from boiling over.
- Once the syrup has reduced, leave it to cool and it will thicken further.
- Remove the scones from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Place a thin slice of blood orange on top of each scone and pour over a little syrup.
- Serve warm, split and filled with ricotta, mascarpone or clotted cream.
The colour of these oranges just looks so vivid on top of the scones. The blood like syrup dripping off too just makes you want to dip in your finger. As you eat them you have the blood orange syrup on top as well as the orange zest and juice inside. A cornucopia of orange flavours!
More blood orange recipe ideas from my food blogging friends:
- blood orange curd from Fuss Free Flavours
- blood orange squash from Tin and Thyme
- blood orange and berry smoothie from Food to Glow
- blood orange gin fizz from Supper in the Suburbs
Deiss Pro citrus zester/cheese grater Giveaway
To zest my blood oranges I use my Deiss Pro citrus zester and cheese grater (also available here for US readers). With a wide blade made of premium quality stainless steel, and dishwasher safe too, I find it indispensable in the kitchen whether for grating cheese, garlic, ginger or zesting lemons or oranges. Enter the giveaway below where you could win one of three Deiss Pro citrus zesters/cheese graters. Find Deiss on Facebook and Instagram.
Disclosure: BakingQueen74 was commissioned to develop and publish this recipe by Deiss Limited.
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I would make some homemade pizzas with my children and would use the grater to grate cheese to sprinkle over the top x
Deiss Pro citrus zester/cheese grater for a lemon cheesecake YUM! 🙂 x
I’d make some cheese straws for my grandchildren
I would make a lemon drizzle cake
I would use to make a lemon meringue pie, thanks.
I’m currently going through a spell of parmesan with (nearly) everything so that will be the first thing. My current grater is so blunt that you need to use a huge amount of pressure and inevitably grated knuckle gets added to the recipe!
a pizza and grate plenty cheese
I would make lemon custard ice cream.
Grating zest for lemon drizzle cakes but I think it is also perfect for parmesan and ginger
Love cheese scones, so perfect for grating the cheese x
homemade salmon pate
an orange tart
I would make a carrot cake, using the grater to grate the carrots
I would use it for lime zest for my key lime pie.
I would make an orange polenta cake and grate loads of oranges
These scones look sensational! I love the idea of the blood orange syrup. The grater looks super useful as well!
this is such a handy tool, I have been promising my kids a lemon meringue pie so this would be my first job 🙂
A lemon drizzle cake with lime
First thing would be cheese i think
These graters are fantastic, and I’d use mine to zest a lime into a drizzle cake
Homemade pizzas and scones
I would make a baked lemon cheesecake! 🙂
Not sure if I should confess but I used this grater to grate my thumb! It is seriously sharp. Fab recipe and great giveaway.
I’d use it to grate lemon for my lemon drizzle cake recipe and to grate parmesan for my pesto recipe 🙂
We like broccoli pesto past with added parmesan
Wow these are so beautiful, and such a clever seasonal idea! I am starting to prepare myself for blood orange season winding down by stashing some in my freezer for instant sorbet later in the year, when its hot. But while they are still around, this looks a totally yummy way to enjoy them. Other than raw, of course 😉
I meant to ask: where can I buy the Deiss citrus grater? It looks very robust and slim enough to not clutter my gadget drawer!
Lemon meringue pie yum
I would make broccoli pesto pasta with added parmesan
Think I would definitely be trying these blood orange scones! They look amazing!
A drizzle cake for starters and then a chocolate cake covered in grated chocolate
I would use it for Key Lime Pie
I think I would use it to make something like a lemon drizzle cake – all that fab finely grated zest in the sponge batter would be amazing!
Angela x
PS love the new blog lay-out Lucy 🙂 x
Great idea Angela, might have to bake one this weekend!
Thank you 🙂
I would use it to make a lemon cheese cake….delicious!
A chocolate cake with grated white, dark and milk choc on top and in the centre 🙂
I’d make a lemon cake
Firstly I would use it to make a wonderful carrot cake, then a lemon drizzle- take them to work for my colleague who have been covering my work since I left on Maternity..then I would use it day to day for grating veggies in my salads and for cheese too 🙂
Cheese scones -a favourite in our house
Candied citrus zest would be the first of many jobs for the Deiss Pro citrus zester/cheese grater
I would make a lemon drizzle cake.
A Spanish omlette with lots of cheese! Yum
I would make some fruit cakes
They look amazing scones wow will definitely try these out. Using my new zester fingers crossed
cheese on toast lol
I would love to make a lemon meringue pie.
I’d use it on my coconut and lime cake x
It would be perfect for zesting some lime to add to a chilli, lime and ginger dressing for an asian noodle salad I am planning!
I would make lemon and lime cheesecake
I would use it to make some toppings for a homemade pizza!
I’d love to give lemon cheesecake a go