Cardamom Buns

Cardamom Buns

I am a big fan of Scandinavian design, but perhaps an even bigger fan of Scandinavian baking. We are fortunate to be able to travel to Denmark and Sweden regularly, and my favourite pastime when we are there is to visit all of my favourite cafés and bakeries, plus any new ones that have popped up since our previous visit. High on the agenda is to squeeze in as many Cinnamon Buns and Cardamom Buns each day at breakfast!

What are Cardamom Buns?

Cardamom Buns are often sold alongside Swedish Cinnamon Buns, and they are usually shaped differently so you can tell them apart. The main difference is that they are heady with freshly-ground cardamom which has a slightly peppery taste and a beautiful floral aroma.

Cardamom can be an acquired taste for some, but the advantage of making homemade Cardamom Buns is that you can add as much, or as little, cardamom as you like (I like to use a lot!).

I have heard that Cardamom Buns are more for adults, that kids in Sweden and Denmark usually prefer Cinnamon Buns. But my kids happen to love these Cardamom Buns as much as I do, and they will eat them with the maximum amount of cardamom that the recipe below calls for.

Cardamom Pods vs Cardamom Seeds

If you have ever tasted a fresh cardamom bun from a bakery in Sweden or Denmark, you will usually notice the distinct fragrance of cardamom right away, evidenced by the flecks of freshly-ground cardamom on top of the buns. They look like coarsely ground black pepper, but they are in fact ground cardamom seeds.

When making cardamom buns, I recommend using whole cardamom seeds which have already been extracted from the cardamom pods (also called decorticated cardamom seeds). If you can’t find cardamom seeds, you can remove the seeds from the cardamom pods themselves by pounding them open with a pestle and mortar. However, this process can be quite fiddly and time-consuming.

The cardamom seeds themselves are too large and coarse to use right away, so you will need to grind them coarsely, either with a pestle and mortar or an electric spice grinder. Some Danish households even have a dedicated spice grinder for cardamom seeds, a tip which I have adopted since I use freshly-ground cardamom seeds quite regularly.

If you are out of luck and can’t find neither cardamom pods nor cardamom seeds, you can use ground cardamom which is more readily available. However, store-bought ground cardamom is nowhere near as fragrant and punchy as freshly ground cardamom – you will smell and taste the difference right away.

If you opt to use store-bought ground cardamom in this recipe, I recommend adding an extra 1-2 teaspoons to increase the cardamom flavour.

Cardamom Bun Recipe

My Cardamom Bun recipe is similar to my recipe for Swedish Cinnamon Buns, as well as my other recipes which use an enriched dough, such as Finger Buns, Cream Buns, Cinnamon Rolls, etc.

It is an easy and reliable dough recipe which produces soft and fluffy buns each time.

How to Make Cardamom Buns

Step 1

Measure the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Lightly mix the ingredients together.

Step 2

Slowly add the warm milk (you may not need all of it), and lightly beat everything with the dough hook until it comes together into a large ball of dough. Only add as much milk as you need to bring the ingredients together into a dough.

Step 3

Slowly incorporate the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until all of the butter has been used.

Then increase the speed to medium and continue kneading with the dough hook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Step 4

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, and place the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave it somewhere warm for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Step 5

Once the dough has doubled in size, gently remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle shape measuring approximately 50 x 40 cm/20 x 16 inches.

Step 6

Make the filling by beating together the ingredients. Use a small palette knife to evenly spread the filling over one half of the dough.

Step 7

Fold the dough over in half. You should have a rectangular shape measuring approximately 50 x 20 cm/20 x 8 inches.

Step 8

Cut the dough into thin strips measuring 1 cm/0.5 inch wide. You should have about 16 strips, but this will depend on how wide you rolled your dough. Each strip will produce one bun.

Step 9

Shape the Cardamom Buns as follows:

1. Take one strip of dough.
2. Gently wrap the dough around four fingers on one hand.
3. As you come to the end of the strip of dough, gently loosen the wrapped dough from your fingers.
4. Bring the end of the strip of dough across the middle of the bun, and then tuck it in securely underneath.

Once you have shaped a few buns, you will get a feel for when you should start to finish and secure the buns.

Try to work quickly as the dough will start to puff up slightly as it sits, making it a bit more difficult to work with.

Step 10

Place the shaped dough on a sheet pan lined with baking paper. Space them apart generously. Set the pan aside somewhere warm until the buns have puffed up slightly. The timing will depend on how warm your room is (about 30-60 minutes). It is important that the room is not too warm, otherwise the butter from the filling will melt.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F with a metal baking tray on the middle shelf.

Step 11

Brush the buns with egg wash, and sprinkle generously with the cardamom sugar topping.

Step 12

Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, or until the buns are lightly golden. Check the buns at about 10 minutes, and if they are browning too quickly, cover them with a loose sheet of foil for the rest of the baking time.

The buns are cooked if an internal thermometer reads 85°C (185°F). Gently remove the buns (intact) to a wire rack, and leave them to cool completely.

Tips for Making Cardamom Buns

• The longer the strips of dough, the more “layers” of cardamom sugar you will have in the bun, which will also make the buns look nicer.
• In order to prevent the butter in the filling from melting and leaking during baking, it is important to do the second proofing in a warm, but not too warm, environment. That is, it needs to be warm enough to encourage the buns to rise, but not so warm that the butter in the filling will melt.
• As the buns are traditionally baked spaced apart, they will not be soft and fluffy on the outside of the bun. 
• To make the buns as soft as possible, I like to bake them until they are just slightly golden, before covering them with foil for the rest of the baking time.
• Some butter (but not a lot) will leak and melt during baking, and this is normal. The melted butter and sugar will pool a little under each bun, and caramelise during baking. You can break off the caramelised bits or leave them on the buns.

Tips for Making Bread Dough Ahead of Time

I love baking bread, but I don’t love getting up extra early to get started on the dough. So I typically make the dough the night before and allow it to rise slowly in the fridge overnight. The longer proofing time has the added benefit of allowing the dough to develop more flavour and a better texture. Come the morning, the dough will have at least doubled in size, and it will be ready for shaping as per the recipe.

To make the dough the night before:

1. Make the dough as per the recipe.
2. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable bowl cover.
4. Place the bowl into the fridge.
5. Let the dough rise overnight, or for at least 8-10 hours.
6. The next morning, the dough should have at least doubled in size.
7. Gently remove the dough from the bowl.
8. The dough is ready for shaping and the second proof as per the recipe.
9. As the dough will be cold from the fridge, the second proof may take slightly longer.

Where to Buy Cardamom Buns

If you are travelling to Copenhagen or Stockholm, I highly recommend visiting the following places for a good cup of coffee and some pastries, including Cardamom Buns:

Juno the Bakery, Copenhagen

Andersen & Maillard, Copenhagen

Lille Bakery, Copenhagen

Hart Bageri, Copenhagen

Fabrique, Stockholm (also in London and New York)

Bageri Petrus, Stockholm

Café Pascal, Stockholm

Lillebrors Bageri, Stockholm