A winter staple in my house, these fragrant Swedish cardamom buns give off a sweet and rich aroma from the moment they make it out of the oven. Perfect with a hot cup of coffee or my personal favorite, Earl Grey tea, these rolls make me yearn for a snowy Sunday morning when the fire is going, and snow is stuck to the branches just outside my window.
Instructions
1. Cream all the filling ingredients together until smooth, then set aside while you make the dough.
2. Sprinkle the yeast into the warm milk and whisk together. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
3. Pour the yeast-milk mixture into a mixer with a dough hook attachment. Start the machine, and add the cooled, melted butter. Allow everything to combine for a minute or so and then add the sugar. Leave to combine for another minute.
4. In a bowl, mix 3 cups of the flour, the cardamom and salt. Then start gradually adding the flour and spices into the milk mixture. Add half the beaten egg. Keep kneading for five minutes. You may need to add more flour as you want: the mixture to end up a bit sticky, but not so much that it sticks to your finger if you poke it.
5. Once mixed, leave the dough in the processor bowl, and cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rise for around 30 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
6. Once risen, dust a table top with flour and turn out the dough. Using your hands, knead the dough and work in more flour if needed. Then, roll out the dough to a 16-by-20-inch rectangle.
7. Spread the filling across the dough in an even, thin layer, using a spatula or similar tool for spreading.
8. Fold the rectangle in half, slice into 16 pieces, twist and roll each strip of dough. Place them on a lined baking tray, cover and leave to rise for about 20 minutes.
9. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Brush the buns lightly with beaten egg, then bake for around six to nine minutes or until golden.
10. Make a simple sugar syrup by heating ⅓ cup of water with ½ cup of sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved, and the mixture is bubbling.
11. When the buns are out of the oven, brush them lightly with the syrup, then sprinkle pearl sugar on top of each bun, and enjoy!
Ingredients
Dough:
13g dried yeast
250ml (1 cup) milk, heated to around 98°F
¾ stick of butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 tbsp. caster or granulated sugar
3–3 ⅔ cups white bread flour
2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
Filling:
9 tbsp. butter
1 ½ tsp. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
¾ tsp. ground cardamom
¾ tsp. vanilla sugar
9 ¾ tbsp. caster sugar
