Quick Orange Buns

I've wanted to make these buns forever but each time I tried to, I never had oranges. I don't always buy them because I don't like peeling them. (I know, that's pretty lame.) Our fruit basket usually has apples, pears and bananas - easy fruit. However, on the last shopping trip I bought a mesh bag of oranges because in November there isn't a lot of in-season fruit to choose from.

These buns are made from a scone-type dough with the addition of eggs. It is soft and I didn't add too much extra flour so they wouldn't become tough. Kneading it was sticky business but it shaped into a square really well. The orange sugar mixture you use to fill the buns was a little excessive as a lot of it leaked out the sides. I believe that perhaps this was done on purpose to create a caramelized filling however I would reduce it next time.

Rolling the dough took some patience and coaxing. Soft dough + lots of sugar = sighs of frustration. The final product does not look remotely rolled. They do taste really yummy though. The sugar gives the top a nice sweet crunch and the bun itself is fluffy, like a homemade tea biscuit. I'm sure that they would have been even better had the sugar not leaked out the bottom of my tube pan and filled the oven with smoke. Baking the buns in a tube pan makes a pretty ring that can be pulled apart and eaten with a pat of butter or drizzled with an icing sugar glaze.

Recipe: Quick Orange Buns