Kardemummabulle

Ingredients

Dough

• 700 gstrong white flour
• 300 mlmilk
• 125 gbutter
• 80 gsugar
• 25 gfresh yeast
• or 10 g dried yeast
• 1 tablespoonground cardamom
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1egg

Filling

• 150 gbutter, softened
• 120 gsugar
• 2 tablespoonsground cardamom
• 1 tablespoonplain flour
• a pinch of salt

To finish

• 1egg, beaten
• pearl sugar
• crushed cardamom seeds
• or a sugar syrup

Directions

1. Crack the pods and grind the black seeds. Discard the papery green husks. Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the milk to the melted butter. Warm it to just above body temperature. It should feel barely warm to a clean finger.
2. Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl. Pour a little of the warm liquid over it. Stir it until the yeast dissolves. Combining it takes only a moment. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the ground cardamom to it. Whisk them together thoroughly. Add the yeasted liquid and the rest. Beat the egg and add it to it. Bring it together into a soft dough.
3. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it over with a clean cloth. Leave it somewhere warm to rise. It should roughly double in size. Beat the softened butter until light.
4. Add the sugar and the cardamom. Add the flour and the pinch of salt. Beat it into a smooth spreadable paste. It stops the butter running out as it bakes. Roll it into a large rectangle. Aim for about half a centimetre thick. Spread the filling over the whole sheet. Fold the sheet into three lengthways.
5. Fold one third over the middle. Fold the other third over that. Press it down gently to seal it. Cut the strip into narrow strips crossways. Aim for about two centimetres wide.
6. Take one strip and stretch it slightly. Twist it several times along its length. It should show the twisted layers. Set the knots out on lined trays. Cover them over with a clean cloth. Let them rise for about forty minutes. They should look visibly puffed.
7. Press one gently with a finger. The dent should spring back slowly. Brush them with the beaten egg. Scatter pearl sugar over them. Add crushed cardamom seeds as well. Heat the oven to 225C before baking. Bake them for about twelve minutes. Swedish buns are baked hot and fast. Take them out before they darken further.
8. Brush them with sugar syrup while hot. That gives a shine and keeps them moist. Set them on a rack for ten minutes. They are best eaten while warm. Serve them with strong coffee. They keep two days kept in a tin. Warm them briefly to bring them back.

Technique

• Sweden uses cardamom in remarkable quantity, with consumption per person among the highest anywhere, and it arrived through eighteenth century trade routes to become a fixture of the baking; a tablespoon in the dough and two more in the filling is not a mistake.
• The bun is knotted rather than rolled: a strip of filled dough is twisted and tied, which gives more surface and filling and creates layers that pull apart, and it is the signature Swedish bakery shape.
• Swedish buns are baked hot and fast at around 225C, which gives colour without drying them out, where a slow oven gives pale dry buns.

Substitutions

• Dried yeast stands in for fresh, using about ten grams.
• Grind green cardamom pods fresh, since pre-ground loses its aroma quickly.

Variations

• Kanelbulle is the same bun made with cinnamon instead of cardamom.
• Some bakers brush the hot buns with syrup and others use only pearl sugar.
• Every baker ties the knot in their own way.

History

Cardamom entered Swedish baking through eighteenth century trade, and the knotted form is now a bakery signature.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kardemummabulle?

Kardemummabulle is a bread & pastry from Sweden: knotted cardamom bun with pearl sugar, eaten at fika. Cardamom entered Swedish baking through eighteenth century trade, and the knotted form is now a bakery signature.

How long does Kardemummabulle take to make?

Kardemummabulle takes 1 hour plus rising of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 buns. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Kardemummabulle?

Yes, within limits. Dried yeast stands in for fresh, using about ten grams. Grind green cardamom pods fresh, since pre-ground loses its aroma quickly.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kardemummabulle?

Add the sugar and the cardamom. Add the flour and the pinch of salt. Beat it into a smooth spreadable paste. It stops the butter running out as it bakes. Roll it into a large rectangle. Aim for about half a centimetre thick. Spread the filling over the whole sheet. Fold the sheet into three lengthways.