Kanelbullar, cinnamon-cardamom buns
Cardamom-scented brioche rolls filled with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, topped with pearl sugar. Tender, spicy, sweet: the soul of Swedish fika.
Cardamom-scented brioche rolls filled with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, topped with pearl sugar. Tender, spicy, sweet: the soul of Swedish fika.
Ah, the kanelbulle — if you don't know fika, you don't really know Sweden! We perfume the dough with cardamom, that's the trick often forgotten abroad. I always carried one in my bag: between two planes, on a course far from home, you bite into it and you're back in Bro. Coffee on the side, and you take five minutes for yourself. Even when aiming for perfection, you have to know when to stop for a bulle.
- •Wheat flour — for a large batch (base of the yeast dough)
- •Fresh yeast — a piece (leavening)
- •Milk and butter — generous (softness)
- •Ground cardamom — a good pinch (signature spice of the dough)
- •Cinnamon and sugar — for the filling (spicy-sweet heart)
- •Pearl sugar — for the top (crunch)
Kanelbullar, cinnamon-cardamom buns
Cardamom-scented brioche rolls filled with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, topped with pearl sugar. Tender, spicy, sweet: the soul of Swedish fika.
Why this dish? The queen pastry of fika, that Swedish ritual of a shared break. Tucked into a bag, it travels well: the comforting snack that follows Annika from her Bro club to clubhouses around the world, a little piece of Sweden at the bottom of the golf bag.
Ah, the kanelbulle — if you don't know fika, you don't really know Sweden! We perfume the dough with cardamom, that's the trick often forgotten abroad. I always carried one in my bag: between two planes, on a course far from home, you bite into it and you're back in Bro. Coffee on the side, and you take five minutes for yourself. Even when aiming for perfection, you have to know when to stop for a bulle.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — for a large batch (base of the yeast dough)
- Fresh yeast — a piece (leavening)
- Milk and butter — generous (softness)
- Ground cardamom — a good pinch (signature spice of the dough)
- Cinnamon and sugar — for the filling (spicy-sweet heart)
- Pearl sugar — for the top (crunch)
Ingredients
- Flour — 500 g (base)
- Fresh yeast (or 7 g dry) — 25 g (leavening)
- Warm milk — 250 ml (hydration)
- Soft butter — 75 g (dough) + 75 g (filling) (softness and filling)
- Sugar — 80 g (dough) + 75 g (filling) (sweetness)
- Ground cardamom — 1 tsp (signature spice)
- Cinnamon — 2 tbsp (filling)
- Egg + pearl sugar — 1 + a handful (egg wash and finish)
Method
- Dissolve yeast in warm milk; add flour, sugar, cardamom, soft butter, and a pinch of salt; knead into a smooth dough. Let rise 40 minutes.
- Mix soft butter, sugar, and cinnamon for the filling.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle, spread with filling, fold or roll, then cut into twisted strips (or snails).
- Place on a baking sheet, let rise 30 minutes.
- Brush with egg, sprinkle with pearl sugar.
- Bake at 220°C for 8–10 minutes until golden brown.
How it was made : The kanelbulle spread in Swedish homes during the 20th century when sugar and cinnamon became affordable; it is so iconic that it has its own national day on October 4 (Kanelbullens dag). Cardamom, a spice brought by northern traders, remains the aromatic signature of Scandinavian yeast doughs, setting them apart from brioches elsewhere.
The contemporary twist : Twist them into knots (knutar) rather than snails: the modern version from Stockholm cafés, airier and easy to slip into a bag.
Annika Sörenstam · Charactorium
