My friend Amr in Stockholm recommended I try making these. When I was in Sweden almost 20 years ago, I did have one, but truth be told, I barely had any memory of the taste until I bit into one of those again. There are two versions of these Swedish cinnamon rolls: the classic (Kanelbulle), which has the full cinnamon taste and a hint of cardamom, and Kardemummabullar, which is basically the opposite.
Also, if you live in North America, good luck finding pearl sugar. Here is a recipe to mimic it .
See below for the Kardemummabulla recipe.
(Experiment 292) Kannelbullar
Ingredients
- 2 tsp ground cardamon
- Pearled sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 170 g butter room temperature
- 400 g flour
- 50 g sugar
- 1 cup milk any type works
- dash salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 7 g active dry yeast
Instructions
- In a pot heat 55g of butter with the milk until it reaches 100-110F. Don’t let it heat more or it will kill the yeast. Remove from the heat and stir the yeast in. Wait 5 minutes for the yeast to wake up.
- Dump the mixture in a stand mixer and add the flour, ground cardamom,2/3 of the cinnamon ( just ballpark it) sugar, and a dash of salt. Using the hook mix at low speed for 7-8 minutes. If its still very sticky sprinkle in some extra flour ( ~1 tbsp) . Shape into a ball and transfer into a greased container and cover for 90minutes. I just re-use the stand mixer with a bit of oil on the side to prevent sticking.
- Lightly flour your countertop and dump the dough. Using a rolling pin you want to make a large rectangle about 22″ x 15″.
- In a mixing bowl, put the remaining butter, the brown sugar, vanilla extract, and remaining cinnamon and mix until all combined and smooth. Spread the mixture into the dough. Flip 1/3 of the dough unto itself, then do the same with the other side. You should end up with a rectangle with the filling all hidden inside. Using the rolling pin again, press it gently again until you stretch the rectangle to 15″x8″.
- Using a knife, slice strip about 3/4″ wide. It’s now time to shape the buns. If you want to have the traditional Swedish shape please check this video how. The first few ones are a tad hard to do but after a while, you will pick it up.
- Once they are shaped, put them in a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Cover them with a clean dishcloth and let them rise for 60 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Beat the egg and brush each bun with a light coating. Sprinkle some pearled sugar and bake for 15-18 minutes.
Notes
These will freeze but obviously, it’s not as good.
Kardemummabulla recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tsp ground cardamon
- Pearled sugar
- 1 egg
- optional2tsp ground cinnamon ( I think traditionally they don’t put any, I think its a must)
- 100 g light brown sugar
- 170 g butter room temperature
- 400 g flour
- 50 g sugar
- 1 cup milk any type works
- dash salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 7 g active dry yeast
Instructions
- In a pot heat 55g of butter with the milk until it reaches 100-110F . Dont let it heat more or it will kill the yeast. Remove from the heat and stir the yeast in. Wait 5 minutes for the yeast to wake up.
- Dump the mixture in a stand mixer and add the flour,4tsp of ground cardamom, sugar and a dash of salt. Using the hook mix on low speed for 7-8 minutes. If it’s still very sticky sprinkle in some extra flour ( ~1 tbsp) . Shape into a ball and transfer into a greased container and cover for 90minutes. I just re-use the stand mixer with a bit of oil on the side to prevent sticking.
- Lightly flour your countertop and dump the dough. Using a rolling pin you want to make a large rectangle about 22″ x 15″.
- In a mixing bowl, put the remaining butter, the brown sugar, vanilla extract, remaining ground cardamon, and the cinnamon and mix until all combined and smooth. Spread the mixture into the dough. Flip 1/3 of the dough unto itself, then do the same with the other side. You should end up with a rectangle with the filling all hidden inside. Using the rolling pin again, press it gently again until you stretch the rectangle to 15″x8″.
- Using a knife, slice strip about 3/4″ wide. It’s now time to shape the buns. If you want to have the traditional Swedish shape please check this video how. The first few ones are a tad hard to do but after a while, you will pick it up. Basically, you twist and stretch the strip you have cut then roll it around your fingers and pass it over then push it underneath.
- Once they are shaped, put them in a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Cover them with a clean dishcloth and let them rise for 60 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Beat the egg and brush each bun with a light coating. Sprinkle some pearled sugar and bake for 15 minutes.
Notes
These will freeze but obviously, it’s not as good.