“Cherry Ripe” Sugar Buns

by Leah Halmagyi

Ingredients

  • 50g unsalted butter, softened
  • 150g raw sugar
  • 200g cream cheese
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 100g marzipan, grated
  • 2 cups frozen cherries, defrosted
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 200g puff pastry*
  • 1 cup cacao nibs

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 210°C. Rub the butter on the inside of a twelve-cup muffin mould, then dust with 50g raw sugar. Combine the cream cheese and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until very light. Add the egg, marzipan and cherries and beat until smooth. Mix in the coconut.
2 Roll out the puff pastry to 3mm thick (45cm x 25cm rectangle), then spread with the cream cheese mixture. Scatter with cacao nibs, then roll up starting at the long edge to form a log. Cut into 12 pieces and place each in a muffin mould. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until deep-golden. Scatter with the remaining raw sugar then cool on a wire rack.