Day-

Orange ras el hanout sunshine buns
I am a passionate eater and amateur maker in the world of
viennoiserie. And while I’m a lazy laminator, I do know that
ultra-buttery bakes and heat-packing spices are a bite of beauty.


The flavours in this part morning bun, part kouign amann
riff on the Moroccan salad of fresh orange and cinnamon, but
am adding other spices too, including cayenne pepper, which
provides a lingering warmth as you eat. And they are some kind
of wholly rolled-up wonderful.


Make the ras el hanout by whizzing all the spices except the cayenne.


Sneeze and cough a few times. Sift through a fine sieve and return
any stubborn spice bits to the grinder for a second run. Discard any
husks after this whiz. Add the cayenne, stir well and set aside.


Make the butter by mashing all the ingredients, except the marmalade,
together. Liberally smear the base and sides of four individual
springform tins, 11 cm (4¼ in) wide × 3.5–4 cm (1½ in) deep, and
set aside. Stir the marmalade through. Get the dusting sugar ready by
stirring the sugar and spice together in a shallow tray.

Place the prepared tins on a baking paper–lined, shallow-lipped
baking tray. While you are in the cupboard, grab a second tray to
place on top for the baking (much later).

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the still cold Croiss-ain’t dough
into a 16 cm × 40 cm (6 ¼ in × 15¾ in) rectangle, 8 mm (⅜ in)   thick.

The beautiful buttery lumps in the dough will make crisp buttery flakes in
the baked buns.

If the thickness seems uneven in areas, press the fatter parts down and
shuffle the thinner parts inwards.

Position the short side facing you and cut four 4 cm (1½ in) strips (I  use
a pizza wheel). Smooth the butter/marmalade filling evenly over the
entire dough sheet. Roll each strip up loosely and place the scroll swirl
side up in the prepared tin. Don’t press them to fill the tin space, as
they will expand to fill the tin diameter during the proof and bake.


continued
Keeps Best eaten warm and on the
day, but freezes well. To refresh,
wrap in baking paper, warm in a
160°C (320°F) oven for 5 minutes,
then re-coat with sugar.

Makes A sweet buttery afternoon tea
for 4.

Takes With the dough made,
3–4  hours to prep, proof, bake
and  cool.
1 × batch Croiss-ain’t/
faux‑ssaint dough (page 87),
rested overnight
cooking oil spray
Ras el hanout spice
8 g oz/4 teaspoons) ground
cinnamon
3 g ₁₀ oz/1 teaspoon) ground
cardamom
2 g (116 oz/½ teaspoon) ground
allspice
½ vanilla bean
2 g (116 oz/½ teaspoon) ground
cloves
½ nutmeg
4 g (⅛ oz/1 teaspoon) sea salt
flakes
slightly heaped ¼ teaspoon
cayenne pepper
Marmalade butter
100 g (3½ oz) unsalted butter,
soft and squidgy
80 g (2¾ oz) light brown sugar
5 g (⅛ oz) ras el hanout spice
finely grated zest of 1 orange
40 g (1½ oz) marmalade (or  the
poached cumquats from
the Walnut la marjorlaine,
page 193)
Dusting sugar
100 g (3½ oz) raw caster
(superfine) sugar
5 g (⅛ oz) ras el hanout spice