Swedish Cardamom Rolls (Kardemummabullar)

There is nothing I love more than homemade Swedish cardamom rolls... or "Swedish buns" as Pia and I like to call them. Pia's nickname for me has been "Swedish buns" since middle school in Hong Kong. Whenever she wrote me messages in class or later on in letters when she was in boarding school in France and I was in boarding school in Sweden, or even later on in emails, she would always begin with "Dear dearest Swedish Buns,"...  😍

You might ask right now "Cardamom rolls? Isn't it supposed to be cinnamon rolls?" NO! Cardamom is wayyyyy more delicious. Cardamom is what my "Mormor"(maternal grandmother) used both in the dough and in the filling.  FACT: There was no better baker in this world than my grandma. I have such fond memories of visiting her and grandpa in Småland during holidays and she would always have a huge box of these freshly made rolls in the pantry. We would literally eat them all day long together with a cold glass of milk or her homemade "saft" (cordial) that she made from her garden berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, elderberries and currants. During every "fika" (Swedish coffee breaks where you drink coffee and eat these sweet rolls and/or cookies at least 2-3 times a day, between all the main meals and after dinner), she would provide us all, adults and children alike, with these rolls. My and my sisters' memory of Grandma is that she was always in the kitchen baking these rolls. I feel like she baked a huge batch every single morning. I guess she had to, because we couldn't stop eating them! 😅 

I'd actually argue (and I'm not biased at all of course!) that the Swedes have the best baked goods in the world. Yes, you heard me right. Better than the French, Dutch, Portuguese and Italians put together! 😜We're just not that great at marketing ourselves. Although, in the last couple of years many Swedish bakeries have opened up in cities like London and New York. So we are improving. Go Sweden! 🇸🇪 

An interesting phenomenon is that Swedish baking many times involves foreign spices, like cardamom, cinnamon and saffron. Especially cardamom. Known as the Queen of Spices in India, cardamom is known for its pleasant aroma and was added to soups and bread and was used to freshen breath.

According to some historians, about 1,000 years ago, the Vikings found cardamom in the bazaars of Constantinople and introduced it to Scandinavia. Others claim that they were most likely introduced to cardamom from the Moors, a Muslim people with Arab, Spanish, and Berber roots. It's important to note as well that as was the case with many other nations, during the 18th century Sweden aspired to profit from trade with other countries – specifically, East India. In 1731, the Swedish East Indian Company (SEIC) was established and it lasted until 1813. Though it was established for economic purposes, the trade between Sweden and India certainly had an influence in Swedish culture and cuisine. Today, Swedes consume 60 times as much cardamom as Americans do and 18 times more per capita than the average country, including it in mulled wines, fresh pastries, and stewed fruits. 

OK. So enough of the culinary history lesson. Let's get to the recipe! 

Dough Ingredients (approx. 50 buns):

• 500 ml fresh, whole milk
• 50 grams fresh yeast (or 12 grams dry yeast, but then make sure the milk is heated to 48ºC)
• 850-900 grams plain wheat flour
• 150 grams soft unsalted butter (room temperature, not melted)
• 1 dl white, granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly, ground cardamom (if possible, use a mortar and pestle to grind peeled cardamom seeds for more flavour, if not, use pre-ground cardamom)
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
  
  

Filling Ingredients:

Mix together in a bowl:

• 150 grams soft, unsalted butter (room temperature, not melted)
• 1.5 dl (150 ml) white, granulated sugar (or raw sugar)
• 4 tablespoons freshly, ground cardamom (or cinnamon powder if you prefer cinnamon rolls)
• Optional: 1 tablespoon vanilla powder (sometimes I add this)
  
  
  

Egg Brushing Ingredients (before baking):

Mix together in a bowl:

• 1 egg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon or less of water

Topping:

• Pearl sugar

Directions:

1. Prepare the filling.
2. Heat the milk in a pan to 30ºC (this temperature is important so that the dough rises slowly and more flavour develops).
3. Crumble the yeast into a bowl or into your mixer.
4. Dissolve the yeast with the milk. Once completely dissolved, add sugar, salt and cardamom.
   
   
   
5. Add the flour slowly and knead the dough smoothly (don’t use too much flour, then the dough becomes “flour heavy” and hard).
6. Add the soft butter and continue to knead until dough is smooth, shiny and not too sticky.
   
   

   
   
   
   
7. Cover the dough in the bowl with plastic film and a clean towel and let it rise to twice its size for an hour or so (time depends on room temperature). 
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
8. Divide the dough into two equal round balls. 
   

   
   
   
9. Roll out one dough ball into a large rectangle. 
   
   
   
10. Spread the filling evenly across the dough with a long, straight spatula. (Alternatively, spread soft butter evenly across the dough, then sprinkle white, granulated sugar and then sprinkle ground cardamom all over the dough.) 
    

    

    
    
    
11. Fold the rectangle (one half over the other half), so there is a layer of dough-filling-dough (or you could fold it 3-ways). Use the rolling pin to roll out the dough in order to flatten it a bit more. 
    

    
    
    
12. Cut into thin strips with for example a pizza slicer and a ruler, (approx. 2-2.5 cm wide) twist each length and then swirl together into small balls over your index and middle finger (make sure the end for the strip is tucked under so it doesn’t come undone when baked). Then place the buns onto a baking tray with parchment paper. (A faster method than steps 11-12 is to roll the dough along the long edge into a sausage and then cut the dough into “snails” and put them straight onto the tray. Make sure you still tuck then end under so it doesn’t come undone when baked). 
    

    
    
    
13. Cover the buns on the baking tray with a clean kitchen towel and allow them to rise until almost doubled for 30-60 minutes (depending on room temperature). 
    

    
    
    
14. Repeat steps 9-13 for the second dough ball.
15. Before putting the tray in the oven, brush the buns with the beaten egg mix, and then finally sprinkle with pearl sugar.
    

    

    

    
    
    
    
    
    
16. Bake in a preheated oven of 225-250ºC for about 8-12 min (or until golden brown on top as well as underneath). 
    

    
    
    
17. When removed from the oven, place the buns on a cooling rack under a towel for a few minutes.
    
    
    
18. Ready to serve! Preferably with a glass of cold milk or a latte ("kaffe med mjölk"). 😋

Enjoy your Swedish "fika"!

Helena