44 Orange Desserts to Take Advantage of This Winter
Clementines! Blood oranges! Tangerines! Whatever your orange of choice, there are so many ways to use them. And different oranges are best for different things, like marmalade, snacking, juicing and, most importantly, baking. With citrus season on the horizon, here are 44 orange desserts that celebrate the fruit’s bright, sweet-tart flavor.
RELATED: 60 Lemon Desserts to Indulge in All Spring Long, from Pie to Cookies to Cake
1. Blood Orange Eton Mess
This English dessert is traditionally made with light-as-clouds meringue, whipped cream and strawberries. We gave it a wintry twist by substituting fresh blood orange curd for berries.
2. Mini Citrus Monkey Bread
Orange juice and zest give these handhelds all the citrusy flavor they need. They’re mind-blowingly easy to pull off too since they start with store-bought pizza dough.
3. Orange Flower Olive Oil Cake
It’s just the elegant finale for your next garden party. Serve it with orange slices, pomegranate arils and a dusting of powdered sugar.
4. Cranberry-Orange Pie
No offense, but your relatives are tired of apple pie. Serve this vibrant beauty at Thanksgiving instead and let the compliments roll in.
5. Baked Brie with Figs, Pistachios and Orange
Nothing says classy like serving cheese for dessert. Might we suggest washing it down with soul-warming mulled wine?
6. Citrus Shortcake
Like a giant dessert biscuit blanketed with fresh whipped cream. Serve alongside a bowl of mixed citrus pieces (grapefruits, tangerines, oranges…) and let your guests scoop their own fruit.
7. Orange and Chocolate Brioche Tarts
Not a single person will expect these stunners to show up at the holiday cookie swap. Leave the rinds on the orange slices since their bitterness will complement the chocolate.
8. Ombré Citrus Upside-Down Cake
Plop this baby on the table and watch your relatives’ jaws drop. Not only is it easy on the eyes, but the cake itself is super moist and wholesome, thanks to sour cream and whole-wheat flour.
9. 3-Ingredient Blood Orange Granita
Think of this refreshing treat as a chic, grown-up snow cone. The hardest part is waiting for it to partially freeze before scraping the ice.
10. Broiled Citrus Ricotta Toast
With that much honey, brown sugar and cinnamon in the mix, this brunch staple doubles as dessert in our book.
11. Orange Cinnamon Rolls
These mimosa-inspired breakfast delicacies are lined with orange zest-spiked cinnamon filling and topped with citrus Champagne glaze.
12. Glazed Orange Bundt Cake
It’s a miracle how a Bundt pan can take any ordinary cake recipe and make it look ten times fancier. (The three-ingredient orange glaze helps too.)
13. Orange Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Quality dark chocolate is the key to this unexpected scoop. Top your bowl with hot fudge, candied orange peel or orange marmalade.
14. Cointreau-Glazed Cranberry Clementine Tea Cake
Cream cheese in the batter offers moisture and tang to the cake, while fresh cranberries stud it with pops of juicy sweetness.
15. Ginger Cookie Sandwiches with Orange Buttercream
These are destined for your Christmas Eve holiday movie marathon. Be sure to save a few sammies for Santa—we hear he loves molasses cookies.
16. Orange Poke Cake with Honey-Orange Glaze
Buttermilk and Greek yogurt guarantee the cake’s moist, tender texture. But the buttery honey-orange glaze really seals the deal.
17. Orange Butter Cookies with Chocolate Ganache
Icebox cookies are a total godsend come the holidays. Just mix the dough, roll it out, let it chill in the fridge for an hour, then cut it into your desired shape and bake.
18. Blood Orange Tart
Blood oranges are sweet, fruity and slightly bitter, so tangy crème fraîche is just as impeccable a topper as fresh whipped cream.
19. Coconut Orange Bread
Like a tropical getaway in every bite. The recipe suggests topping the cake with a sprinkle of chopped coconut-orange almonds, but pistachios, toasted coconut flakes or orange zest would work too.
20. No-Bake Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake
As if this dessert couldn’t get any more nostalgic, the filling calls for a cup of mandarin oranges in light syrup, just like you’d get in your lunchbox as a kid.
21. Rhubarb-Orange Glazed Doughnuts
Sorry, strawberry: Rhubarb found a new BFF. They’re baked instead of fried, so go ahead and have two. (Or three…we won’t judge.)
22. Tangerine Olive Oil Pound Cake
The secret to this gem’s enchanting aroma is orange flower water, a distilled essential oil made from bitter orange blossoms.
23. Citrus Apple Pie
Complete with a dollop of cinnamon-infused whipped cream. Use tart-sweet apples like Granny Smiths, Honeycrisps, Braeburns or Golden Delicious.
24. Glazed Orange Poppy Seed Bars
Lemon does *not* have dibs on poppy seeds. And this blondie-cake hybrid packed with chopped white chocolate is proof.
25. Gluten-Free Orange Cranberry Crisp
Almond flour holds down the fort in this saucy, streusel-topped recipe. Since it pairs well with both yogurt and vanilla ice cream, you can indulge for breakfast or dessert.
26. Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake
You’ll only need an hour to pull off this Insta-worthy treat. The caramelized citrus topping is nothing but butter, blood oranges and light brown sugar.
27. Cranberry Orange Fudge
We know what we’re gifting to everyone on our Christmas list. Since the fudge only contains five ingredients, it’ll be super easy to prepare in bulk.
28. Flourless Chocolate Orange Cookies
Egg whites are the secret to pulling this recipe off without flour since they help bind the dough. All the cookies’ flavor comes from Dutch cocoa and fresh orange zest.
29. Italian-Inspired Orange Ricotta Cake
Pink navel oranges and blood oranges will be the most visually appealing, but cara cara oranges are the sweetest choice.
30. Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones
Pro tip: Chilling the dough for 15 minutes before popping it in the oven ensures that the scones will maintain their shape and not overspread.
31. Blood Orange and Corn Flour Ricotta Cake with Whipped Mascarpone
Not only does this crowd-pleaser call on two of our favorite cheeses, but it also uses corn, oat and sweet white rice flours instead of standard all-purpose, making it gluten-free.
32. Orange Almond Biscotti
How can these decadent twice-baked cookies be vegan, you ask? Chalk it up to pumpkin purée, coconut oil and plant-based dark chocolate.
33. Candied Ginger Blood Orange Tart
A pop of acidic brightness in the dead of winter. Rich, tangy cream cheese filling balances the spicy ginger and bittersweet fruit beautifully.
34. Blood Orange Frozen Yogurt
The key here is using fresh-squeezed blood orange juice. In the end, it’ll be worth the elbow grease, promise.
35. Orange Lemon Orangies
Fresh-squeezed orange and lemon juices + orange extract + a ton of white chocolate chips = a sunny, decadent recipe you’ll make over and over again.
36. Rustic Citrus Almond Tart
Starring a layer of nutty, vanilla-spiked almond cream. Finish it with a drizzle of honey and edible flowers.
37. Coconut-Honey Crepes with Whipped Mascarpone and Blood Orange Compote
Serve a towering stack of these on Christmas morning and they just might outshine the presents under the tree.
38. Orange White Chocolate Truffles
You’re only five ingredients away from this 30-minute sweet, which would make an epic stocking stuffer BTW.
39. Citrus Ricotta Tart with Almond Corn Flour Crust
To nail the rainbow effect on top, prepare an assortment of citrus fruit, like tangerines, grapefruits, navel oranges and blood oranges. Peel away the pith to maximize each piece’s vibrancy.
40. Blood Orange Curd Shortbread Bars
Psst: Make a second batch of curd to drizzle on pancakes, ice cream, cheesecake, crepes or quick breads.
41. Cranberry Orange Cake
Afraid of your cranberries sinking into the batter? Tossing and coating them in a bit of cake flour before adding them will help.
42. Fresh Fruit Tart
There are endless ways to top this pastry cream-filled tart. Since an assortment of colors is crucial, spruce up the citrus fruit with cranberries, persimmons, pomegranate arils, thin-sliced apples or pears if you’d like.
43. Upside-Down Winter Citrus Cake
The recipe calls for using a tangelo, which is a hybrid between the sweet tangerine and the semi-bitter pomelo. But if you can’t find one, a small grapefruit will work as a substitute.
44. Blood Orange Chocolate-Bottom Crème Brûlée
Bittersweet ganache meets citrus-vanilla bean custard and torched sugared blood oranges for a decidedly fancy and, dare we say, romantic dessert.
