Delicious and fragrant Swedish cardamom buns inspired by my trip to Malmo, Sweden. This dough is a dream to work with and slathered with a cardamom vanilla butter. Heaven!
Last year I was able to tag along on a work trip with Wes to Copenhagen. We had a wonderful time, but being who I am, I could not be that close to Sweden and not go have a cinnamon bun where they originated from. I took the quick train ride over the border and immediately went to St. Jakobs Stenugnsbageri in Malmo.
I don’t even think that I can describe the smell. It was heaven. I was chatting with the women behind the counter and she recommended that I give the cardamom bun a try. She said, “You came all this way, why don’t you try what the grown-ups eat?”. Hand to God, that’s what she said. I think that what she was getting at is that a cardamom bun is a more mature version of the cinnamon bun. Not knocking a cinnamon bun, they are delicious, but the cardamom bun blew me away.
Have it with an iced coffee shake and you’re in for a real treat.
Variations
My kids prefer cinnamon buns, so with the rest of the dough, I made them a pan of cinnamon buns. I just swapped cinnamon for cardamom and made them a glaze. You can alter these cardamom buns however you like! Add in some orange zest, cover them in the lemon glaze from my lemon Bundt cake recipe, or add some chocolate chips.
Tips for Making Swedish Cardamom Buns
- Swedish cinnamon buns are topped with pearl sugar, not glaze. They are crunchy and add sweetness as the buns aren’t overly sweet.
- I like to make a cardamon sugar with ground cardamom, granulated sugar, and a tablespoon or two of sanding sugar. I love the extra bit of texture the sanding sugar adds.
- Do yourself a favor and buy a cheap coffee grinder just to be used for spices. It makes a WORLD of difference in the flavor. To clean it out, run some salt through it before you grind a different spice.
- Give yourself plenty of time to make these so you don’t skimp out on the proofing and rising time. This will be essential to the cardamom buns’ texture.
I can only find cardamom pods. Will these still work?
Definitely. Just split the pods, take out the seeds, and grind them up. They’ll be better than a prepackaged, dried cardamom!
How to Store Swedish Cardamom Buns
Twenty buns might be a lot, but you’ll be surprised how quickly they’re eaten when you leave them wrapped in plastic wrap or a domed cake stand on the counter. They’ll keep well like this for up to 3 days.
You can also bake these and freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months, then reheat in a 300° oven for 10 minutes.
Swedish Cardamom Buns
Ingredients
The Dough:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 10 tbsp butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
The Cardamom Filling:
- 3/4 cup butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp freshly ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
The Assembly:
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- Pearl sugar
- Cardamom Sugar
Instructions
- To make the dough, heat the milk until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat and let cool to 100°F. Sprinkle yeast over and let sit for 5 minutes.
- While the milk is heating up, cream the butter, sugar, and cardamom in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Pour the milk and yeast mixture into the butter and add flour and salt. Mix until blended.
- Switch to the dough hook and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Add the dough to a bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof in a warm place for 1 hour. Turn out onto a floured surface and divide into two balls.
- To make the filling, whisk butter, sugar, cardamom, salt, and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Set aside.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough.
- Fold the bottom third of the rectangle to the middle and fold the top third over that, like a brochure. Slice into inch pieces.
- Stretch a piece of dough out a bit, then tie into a knot and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, whisk egg and water and brush over the buns. Sprinkle half of the buns with sugar pearls and the other half cardamom sugar.
- Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
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