It might be the coldest season, with the shortest days and darkest nights, but that doesn’t mean you only have to eat hot puddings and heavy crumbles made with spices and dried fruits. Why not bake your way to sunnier climes with recipes that let citrus fruits shine? Try favourites such as lemon meringue pie and key lime tart, as well as fruity twists on classics like lime panna cotta and lemon Swiss roll.

A show-stopping lemon meringue pie that’s guaranteed to impress. It’s made with homemade almond pastry, tart lemon custard and a tower of velvety Italian meringue. Trust us, it's more than worth the effort.

Get the recipe for lemon meringue pie here

Ready in under an hour, our speedy passion fruit key lime pie has a delicious, crumbly biscuit base and a sweet, sharp filling made with lime juice, lime zest, passion fruit pulp and rich condensed milk. It’s just perfect for when you want something decadent, quickly.

Get the recipe for passion fruit key lime pie here

Crumbly, zesty, orange-flavoured biscuits are always a good idea and this simple recipe is easy enough for kids to follow. You don’t have to make the biscuits circular – get out your cutters and experiment with stars, hearts or animals. Little hands will especially enjoy decorating them with melted milk chocolate.

Get the recipe for orange, poppy seed and milk chocolate biscuits here

This fresh and creamy panna cotta features coconut cream, mango purée and lime zest. It’s simple to make and deliciously light. It also looks striking with its beautiful green colour. The dessert is quick to make, but ensure you leave a few hours for it to set in the refrigerator.

Get the recipe for mango, lime and coconut panna cotta here

A bright, sweet bundt cake made for sharing with guests. You can prepare it the day before and store in an airtight container overnight. But do the final touches just before serving – smothering it in icing, sprinkling over tangerine zest and decorating the plate with fruit slices.

Get the recipe for tangerine bundt cake here

Make the most of one of winter’s best seasonal fruits. The tart has a shortcrust pastry base and a zingy clementine and lemon cream filling. If you have a chef’s blowtorch, add a sprinkling of caster sugar and use the gadget to give a caramelised finish. If not, dusting it with icing sugar will look just as good.

Get the recipe for caramelised clementine tart here

This is a refreshing twist on a classic Swiss roll. A light lemon sponge is filled with creamy lemon icing and homemade lemon curd (feel free to use shop-bought if you prefer). There are quite a few steps, but once you’ve nailed the recipe you’ll go back to it again and again.

Get the recipe for lemon Swiss roll here

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Who doesn’t love the crowd-pleasing flavour combination of chocolate and orange? These little cakes can be baked in less than half an hour and are the perfect pick-me-up to get you through cold winter days. They also happen to be completely vegan.

Get the recipe for chocolate orange cupcakes

Move over banana bread, this courgette, pistachio and lime loaf is a real winner. The grated vegetable adds moistness and a wholesome, earthy flavour which works well with the wholemeal flour, crunchy pistachios and zesty lime juice.

Get the recipe for courgette, pistachio and lime loaf here

Channel Middle Eastern flavours in this recipe which makes a very moist, dense cake. It takes an hour in the oven, but if it still appears wet, give it an extra five minutes or so. Let the sponge cool in the tin, so turning it out is easier. A little goes a long way and it pairs perfectly with a dollop of natural yogurt.

Get the recipe for orange and almond cake here

A modern twist on a classic chocolate fondant. It features the usual rich, chocolate sponge but inside it’s bursting with molten white chocolate and orange curd. Note the filling has to go in the freezer before the pudding is baked (so it goes gooey when serving), so ensure you leave enough time to prep.

Get the recipe for chocolate orange pudding here

The warm, bright flavours of orange work in perfect harmony with earthy pumpkin and heady spices. Our recipe calls for canned pumpkin which is super convenient, but there’s no reason you can’t roast and purée your own if you’d prefer. Don’t skip the icing: it looks wonderful and its zingy flavour adds another dimension to the sponge.

Get the recipe for spiced pumpkin, olive oil and orange cake here

Regular limes work just as well in these little cupcakes as the more intense and aromatic key lime variety. Once cooked, the sponges are soaked in a citrus syrup and topped with white chocolate frosting. If you have time, you can also try crystallising lime peeI to decorate them with.

Get the recipe for key lime cupcakes here

No actual orange flesh goes into this gorgeous, caramelised stone fruit crumble, but it certainly has a citrus flavour. The peaches and nectarines are sprinkled with lemon juice and zest, and orange flower water (a citrus, floral essence made from orange blossom), before they’re roasted to enhance their sweetness. It’s topped with a crunchy marzipan crumble which soaks up all of the juice.

Get the recipe for stone fruit and orange flower crumble here

Nothing beats a super lemon drizzle cake. This one has a light, tender crumb as it’s made with buttermilk. While still hot from the oven, the sponge is doused in lemon syrup so it soaks all the way through. It’s given a second, crunchy lemon glaze once cooled.

Get the recipe for lemon drizzle cake here

This dessert is perfect for when you’re entertaining and want something that looks impressive but doesn’t take forever. It features fresh, homemade meringues (which really are better than shop-bought), tart lime curd, whipped double cream, juicy mango flesh and toasted desiccated coconut.

Get the recipe for mango, lime and coconut meringues here

Lemon and pistachio cake not only tastes great, it looks brilliant too. The lemon sponge is filled with lemon buttercream and chopped pistachios, then dusted with icing sugar and scattered with more chopped pistachios. Homemade almond and pistachio marzipan gives it a pleasing green core too.

Get the recipe for lemon and pistachio cake here

Sweet, juicy oranges were made for upside-down cakes. Here thin slices are simmered with vanilla bean and paired with a dense vanilla sponge made from ground almonds and self-raising flour. The pretty effect is created by layering the slices of citrus at the base of a tin, pouring over the batter and turning out, upside-down, when cooked and cooled.

Get the recipe for orange upside-down cake here

Go Greek with an unique filo pastry pie – it looks intimidating but is completely worth trying. The end result is a cake that’s both light and fluffy, soft and crisp (thanks to baked and broken filo pastry sheets stirred through the batter), and dripping in a sweet cinnamon and cardamom-infused orange syrup.

Get the recipe for orange filo pastry pie here

Good looks and big flavours are what this grapefruit meringue pie is all about. The lime and grapefruit-spiked custard filling is cooked on the stove (instead of baked inside the pastry case) and uses cornflour to thicken the mixture, making for a foolproof method. It’s topped with meringue which is burnished with a blowtorch or under the grill.

Get the recipe for grapefruit meringue pie here

Lemon thyme is a versatile woody herb that releases a delicate citrus aroma. In this cake it's paired with sweet, rich honey, bright lemon zest and ground almonds for a moist, moreish result. The flavours will continue to develop in the days after the sponge is baked too (it'll keep in an airtight container for just over a week).

Get the recipe for lemon thyme, honey and almond cake here

A fun and fruity take on a vanilla sandwich cake. The sponge features grated apple which keeps it moist and the whipped cream filling has lemon curd swirled in. The cooked sponges freeze really well so you could make extra to have on hand for a standby sweet treat.

Get the recipe for apple and lemon sandwich cake here

There's no better dessert to impress your guests, with minimal effort. Our lemon cream tart uses a shop-bought pastry shell and showcases an easy curd-like filling. There's some whisking involved and you'll need a thermometer, but a blender does the hard work of creating a smooth, silky lemon cream.

Get the recipe for lemon cream tart here

Want a hearty pud to get you through the colder months? Look no further. These clementine sponges are served hot with a warm cranberry sauce – which looks great as it stains the individual puddings red.

Get the recipe for clementine sponges with cranberry sauce here

Dainty French sponges flavoured with cardamom and orange zest are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea. You’ll need a moulded madeleine baking tin to get them just right, plus make sure to serve the little cakes fresh and warm from the oven.

Get the recipe for orange, almond and cardamom madeleines here

No ordinary lemon cupcakes, these beauties have sweet honey in the batter as well as a surprise mouthful of honey-flavoured cream in the centre. Decorate with honey buttercream and edible gold glitter if you’re feeling decadent.

Get the recipe for honey and lemon cupcakes here

Another upside-down cake, this version features clementines and a grown-up caramel and cardamom sponge. The apricot jam glaze gives it a brilliant sheen (use shop-bought jam for ease). We reckon you could substitute in blood oranges for an equally impressive effect.

Get the recipe for clementine and cardamom upside-down cake here