Cardamom buns, or kardemummabullar, were my all-time favourite thing to bake with my mormor when I was a child. I absolutely loved kneading and shaping the dough, the process of proving, and then baking. Finally, the aroma when removing them from the oven and devouring them – absolute heaven.
These irresistible, sweet, enriched yeasted buns are infused with the warm, aromatic flavour of cardamom, filled with cardamom butter, and finished with a delicate sprinkling of sugar nibs. They are feather-light and totally moreish.
Why not set aside a little time at the weekend to bake these enticing treats. The process is very simple and can be split over two days, if you like freshly baked buns in the morning.
Please use freshly ground cardamom for this recipe! I cannot stress this enough. Freshly ground cardamom seeds release their oils immediately, providing a bright, citrusy, and spicy flavour profile that pre-ground cardamom cannot match. You can purchase the seeds online; just grind only what you need each time you bake for the best results.
A few important points to remember:
- Have all your ingredients ready and weighed out before you start.
- Weigh all the ingredients in grams, even liquids.
- Use room temperature milk, butter and egg.
- If you can’t find sugar nibs just combine granulated sugar with cardamon and sprinkle on the buns after egg washing. (They are commonly sold this way in bakeries in Sweden)
These fluffy buns are best eaten on the day they’re baked but can be frozen for up to 3 months , defrosted and warmed through in the oven before serving with a freshly brewed coffee.
Here’s a video on how to shape the dough. Happy baking!
*Recently revised to include only cardamom. If you’d like to replace the cardamom with cinnamon in the butter filling, mix the sugar and butter with one and a half tablespoons of cinnamon.
Swedish Cardamom Buns (Kardemummabullar)
Ingredients
- 575 g strong white bread flour I use organic
- 65 g caster sugar
- 260 ml whole milk room temperature
- 110 g butter cut into small dice & room temperature
- 1 large egg (55g), at room temperature
- 5 g freshly ground cardamom
- 8 g fast action dried yeast
- a good pinch fine sea salt
Cardamom Butter
- 70 g caster sugar
- 150 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 1½ Tbls freshly ground cardamom
Topping
- beaten egg for glazing
- sugar nibs
Instructions
- Place the flour, yeast, cardamom, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a free standing mixer with the dough hook attached. Add the milk and egg with the machine running. Mix until a dough forms on a slow speed. Once the dough has come together, increase the speed to medium/high and work the dough for another 10-12 minutes or until it looks shiny, feels smooth and elastic. To determine if the dough is ready for proving, perform the windowpane test: pinch off a small piece of dough and gently stretch it until a delicate, translucent layer forms in the centre without tearing. The dough should be thin enough to allow light to shine through. Scoop it all up into a bowl with a dough scraper. Cover and place in the fridge to prove for up to 14 hours or prove at room temperature for 50-60 minutes or until it's doubled in size.
Cardamom Butter
- Mix together the butter, sugar and cardamom to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Shaping the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into 75x40cm. Spread the cinnamon butter mixture on approximately half of the surface. Fold the dough in half, then roll again gently to make an approximate rectangle measuring 45x30cm.
- Cut the dough into roughly 2.5cm wide strips, I find a pizza cutter good for this job. Twist each strip several times, slightly stretching it as you do so. Cut another strip in half and coil it round the bun, tucking the ends underneath. Continue with the rest of the strips.
- Arrange the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (if they’re too crowded, use 2 sheets), keeping as much space between them as possible. Cover and leave to prove for 40–60 minutes or until doubled in size, depending on the room temperature.
- Meanwhile, set the oven shelf to the middle position and preheat to 190℃ Fan.
- Brush the buns with an egg wash, sprinkle with sugar nibs, and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the buns to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Best eaten on the day of baking; however, they freeze well for up to 3 months. After defrosting, just warm through in a medium oven for 5–8 minutes.
Tips:
- Fresh yeast is my preference when baking these buns. Many bakeries are willing to sell customers small quantities. If you’re using dried yeast (there are several types, from easy blend, fast action & just standard dried) please read the packet instruction and quantify 25g to the dried weight.
- Prepare the buns in the late afternoon up to stage 5 and place on a tray, cover with a polythene bag, seal and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge and place a bowl of boiling water in the oven. DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON. Unwrap the buns and place in the oven to prove, (takes approx 90 minutes). When they are almost double in size, proceed from stage 6.
Liquorice Ice Cream and Homemade Cones
I’ve tried different recipes for Cinnamon buns, but I have to say this is by far my favourite. Easy to follow – especially with the video. Result – perfect buns. A BIG thumbs up with the critics, my two sons who are so into their buns. Thank you Louise
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I’m delighted that your boys approve😊
This is a great recipe – it worked! Not too sweet and once you’ve measured everything out, pretty straightforward. I’ll definitely make them again. Thank you!
So pleased to hear Etta. Thanks for taking the time to comment :-))
this is a great recipe – I was wondering if I could make a smaller batch, for example half? would this be possible/ do you know of what adjustments I would need to make or would everything halved be ok
Hi Diya, again you can use my fluffy cinnamon bun recipe and make less filling.
Hi! May I know if I use sourdough starter instead of dry yeast, what’s the amount I should add into this recipe? Thank you :))
Hi Vicky,
I haven’t converted this recipe yet to use a sourdough starter, sorry.
These are absolutely beautiful and I also use the base cardamom dough for cinnamon rolls, apple buns etc
Thank you Ellen, I’m delighted you like my recipe.
Guess I’m the odd one out here regarding ease and accuracy of the recipe. I used high quality bread flour, the same as I use for panettone and sourdough loafs. 10- 12 min seemed like a long time to have the dough turning in the stand, but I went ahead and checked on it several times. No elasticity, nothing close to windowpaning. It broke apart like playdough. Thought maybe it wasn’t enough mixing and kept the machine going an extra 3, 5, 10 minutes… all still the same result. Any ideas?
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you. Please try kneading for a little longer, you don’t say whether you’re kneading by hand or machine. By hand always takes longer, and machines do vary. Or try leaving the dough to rest for 5-8 minutes, then do the windowpane test. i really hope this helps.