Recipe: Blood Orange and Vanilla Melting Moments
Light is returning as we move through Ostara, the Celtic season of early Spring. The days lengthen, the air softens and the first signs of renewal begin to appear. Bright citrus feels especially fitting at this time of year: vibrant, cleansing and full of quiet optimism. These blood orange and vanilla melting moments bring together zesty sharpness and gentle sweetness for a simple celebration of the season.
Ingredients
For the biscuits
150g butter
50g icing sugar
150g self-raising flour
Zest of ½ blood orange
½ tsp vanilla extract
For the buttercream
25g butter
55g icing sugar
2 tsp blood orange juice
A few drops vanilla extract
Zest of ½ blood orange
Method
Cream the butter and icing sugar until very light and fluffy — around five minutes. Add the flour, blood orange zest and vanilla extract, then mix again until the dough comes together.
Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and flatten each one gently with a fork dipped in cold water. Chill for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 160 C Fan.
Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the buttercream by beating the butter, icing sugar, orange juice, vanilla and zest until light and fluffy. Once the biscuits are fully cooled, sandwich them together with the buttercream.
A Seasonal Note
These melting moments sit beautifully within Ostara, a season of renewal and gentle beginnings in the Celtic Wheel of the Year. Blood orange brings brightness and life, vanilla adds warmth and comfort, and together they echo the balance of early Spring — that quiet shift from stillness to growth as the world slowly wakes.
