Kaffe & kardemummabullar — coffee and cardamom buns (fika)
Strong coffee served with small rolled buns, scented with freshly ground green cardamom. The heart of the Swedish fika ritual.
Strong coffee served with small rolled buns, scented with freshly ground green cardamom. The heart of the Swedish fika ritual.
Now, let us set down the chalk for a moment: it is coffee time — in our home, we do not joke about that. I want the coffee strong, almost black, like the January night. And with it, these cardamom buns that the cook rolls and braids still warm — split the pod, grind the seed at the last moment, that is the whole secret of the fragrance. Believe me, many a correspondence with Poincaré and Weierstrass was conceived over a steaming cup and one of these buns. Have another: one never calculates better than when sated with coffee.
- •Wheat flour — according to batch (dough base)
- •Yeast — a little (leavening)
- •Milk — warm (liquid)
- •Butter — generous (softness)
- •Sugar — for sweetness (sweet taste)
- •Green cardamom pods — freshly ground (signature flavor)
- •Freshly ground coffee — strong (beverage)
Kaffe & kardemummabullar — coffee and cardamom buns (fika)
Strong coffee served with small rolled buns, scented with freshly ground green cardamom. The heart of the Swedish fika ritual.
Why this dish? Coffee was omnipresent in Scandinavian social life, and Mittag-Leffler lived much of his life in salons, correspondence and conversations. The fika — coffee break accompanied by cardamom buns — was the natural setting for exchanges between scholars and rest between two pages of analysis.
Now, let us set down the chalk for a moment: it is coffee time — in our home, we do not joke about that. I want the coffee strong, almost black, like the January night. And with it, these cardamom buns that the cook rolls and braids still warm — split the pod, grind the seed at the last moment, that is the whole secret of the fragrance. Believe me, many a correspondence with Poincaré and Weierstrass was conceived over a steaming cup and one of these buns. Have another: one never calculates better than when sated with coffee.
Ingredients (period version)
- Wheat flour — according to batch (dough base)
- Yeast — a little (leavening)
- Milk — warm (liquid)
- Butter — generous (softness)
- Sugar — for sweetness (sweet taste)
- Green cardamom pods — freshly ground (signature flavor)
- Freshly ground coffee — strong (beverage)
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour — 600 g (dough base)
- Fresh yeast — 25 g (leavening)
- Milk — 250 ml warm (liquid)
- Butter — 100 g (dough) + 75 g (filling) (softness and filling)
- Sugar — 75 g (dough) + 75 g (filling) (sweetness)
- Ground green cardamom (crushed seeds) — 2 tsp (signature flavor)
- Egg + pearl sugar — 1 + a little (egg wash and decoration)
- Strong ground coffee — for 4 cups (beverage)
Method
- Dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Add sugar, melted warm butter, ground cardamom, salt and flour. Knead into a soft, smooth dough.
- Let rise covered for about 40 minutes, until doubled.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle, spread with softened butter mixed with sugar and a little extra cardamom, then roll up and cut into pieces (or shape into braids).
- Place on a baking sheet, let rise another 30 minutes.
- Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake at 220°C for 8 to 10 minutes, until nicely golden.
- Prepare a strong coffee and serve the buns warm: this is fika.
How it was made : Cardamom arrived in Scandinavia via northern trade routes and, from the 18th-19th century, became the emblematic spice of Swedish pastry. Coffee, long taxed and even banned at times in the 18th century, triumphed in the 19th and founded the social ritual of fika, shared by all classes.
The contemporary twist : Grind the cardamom seeds in a mortar just before kneading: the fragrance is incomparably livelier than store-bought powder. Arrange the bullar on a tiered tray for a Scandinavian-inspired afternoon treat.
Gösta Mittag-Leffler · Charactorium