Swedish Cardamom Buns

Many of you know that I have a crush on Sweden. It probably started with the Shout Out Louds. Then, there was the Poetry in Translation class I took with the Swedish poet Malena Mörling, whose book, Astoria, I recently read and highly recommend. Around this time, I discovered the music of Loney Dear, one of the most sincere live performers I’ve ever seen. Then there was Jens Lekman, girls with dragon tattoos, Robyn (of course), and most recently, this article, which delves into the question: “What makes the Swedes glow with health?”

Enter Lisa, who I met through my good friend Heather. Lisa’s mom grew up in Sweden, and, well, it didn’t take us too long to come to the necessary conclusion that we must meet up to make Swedish cardamom buns and drink Glögg.

However, by the time Lisa and I found a free afternoon to make these cardamom buns, she was in the middle of a cleanse. How Swedish is that? (Sweden’s a bastion of health and wellness, remember?) So, while Lisa couldn’t chow down on gluten-y, sugary foods and vodka-based beverages, Matt and I were very much available to partake in both. Of course, there is a difference between chowing down and fika, which Lisa explained, is Swedish for taking a break to drink coffee or tea and eat something sweet—usually a cardamom bun—with a friend. (Seriously, that four-letter word means all of that, and it can be used as a verb or a noun!) So, while the cleanse may have stopped her from sipping the aforementioned Glögg, it didn’t put a damper on the fika.

See, I think it’s important to note that these are not the kind of cinnamon buns you find at the food court. No, these buns are much more Swedish. They are subtly sweet. There is no extra glaze on top and no cream cheese filling. I also think it’s important to note that it’s 2pm in the afternoon and one is warming up in the toaster oven as I type this.

This version here is a combination of two Swedish recipes, one of which comes to us via Lisa’s brother’s girlfriend, Ebba, and the other from Lisa’s Aunt Veronica, which she translated into English for us, and which was titled “Mommy’s Buns.” So I must extend a big thank you to these ladies for all of the information!

Hear that? It’s the ding of the toaster oven. Excuse me while I go fika.

Cardamom Buns adapted from a few different Swedish recipes, with a lot of help from Lisa Fika!
Dough:
25 g of fresh yeast for sweet dough OR 1 1/2 packets of dry active yeast (.9 oz)
75 g butter (5.2 tablespoons)
2 ½ deciliters milk (1 cup)
½ deciliter granulated sugar (3.5 tablespoons)
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
about 7 deciliters flour (scant 3 cups)

Filling:
50 g room-temperature butter (3.5 tablespoons)
½ deciliter granulated sugar (3.5 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

For topping:
1 egg
pearl sugar or granulated sugar

Equipment: 25 cupcake/muffin wrappers

To do this: [I kind of love this detail from one of the recipes we used. Instead of the classic directions, to do this seems so much more deliberate.]

Start with the dough. Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the milk. Warm the mixture until it is “finger warm," a.k.a. room temperature. Dissolve the yeast into this mixture. Let it sit a few minutes. (It should look a bit foamy.) Then, add the salt, sugar and cardamom. Stir.

Transfer mixture to an electric mixer or, if mixing by hand, a large mixing bowl. Add about 2/3 of the flour and mix until it becomes smooth and shiny. Add a little more flour, but save enough for kneading later. The dough is ready when it easily releases from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a thin towel, place it in a warm spot, and let it rise until it is twice the original size (about 30 minutes).

Remove the dough from the bowl, and using the rest of the flour, knead it lightly on a floured surface until smooth and shiny. Divide dough into two halves. Roll each half of dough into a thin, big rectangle.

Combine the filling ingredients and then spread evenly over one of the rectangles. Place the other dough rectangle right on top, making a sandwich! Then, roll the sandwich up, long side to long side, to form a long cylinder. Using a sharp knife, cut each cylinder into equal slices.

Place each slice into a paper cupcake holder and arrange on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Cover them with a towel and let rise until doubled in size (about 30-45 min). Preheat oven to 425 F. Once the buns have risen, brush the rolls with the beaten egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar.

Bake in center of oven at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Tip: It's fine to make a double batch (or more)! [This was taken verbatim from one of the recipes. Such a great tip!]

Shelf life: At room temperature, the buns quickly become dry out, so if you don’t intend on eating them soon, freeze them!