Swedish Cardamom Buns are soft, plush sweet rolls with a fragrant cardamom sugar filling. This easy knotted pastry is beyond delicious and so easy to make, I’ll hold your hand through it, step by step!
Cardamom buns are a sweet tradition in the Nordic countries
But for some reason they have never really caught on here in the States. Maybe it’s because our love of cinnamon rolls runs so deep, but I so encourage you to give these cardamom rolls a try. They are no more difficult to make, and the unique flavor of the cardamom filling paired with the vanilla glaze is just indescribably delicious.
If you read this blog regularly you may know that I adore cardamom. From the moment I tasted my first cardamom muffins I was hooked. I’ll often switch out cinnamon for cardamom in recipes, just for a new and exciting flavor profile.
What is cardamom?
Cardamom is an Indian spice from the ginger and turmeric family that grows little seed pods filled with tiny black seeds. It’s used in Indian, Middle Eastern, and Scandinavian cuisines predominantly.
Green cardamom is used in both sweet and savory dishes: I’ve used it to make everything from ice cream to meatballs. It’s essential for making Turkish coffee.
The flavor? It’s described as piney, floral, and aromatic, with a touch of methol or resin. It’s unique and hard to describe, but trust me, it’s lovely.
You can use pre-ground spice or grind your own from the pods. The correct way is to remove the little black seeds from the pods and grind them in a spice grinder. You can also grind the entire pods, but the flavor will be a little milder (although still stronger than the pre-ground spice.)
You can also use the pods whole in savory dishes like chicken with cardamom rice and biryani. Crack them first by rolling over them firmly with a rolling pin. Use both the pod and the little black seeds.
What you’ll need to make cardamom buns
These divine rolls are made with pantry staples…
- all purpose flour
- sugar ~granulated
- yeast ~ make sure your yeast is fresh
- milk
- butter
- cardamom ~ we made these buns with commercially ground cardamom and freshly ground pods, and I actually preferred the subtle flavor of pre-ground cardamom in this recipe.
- vanilla extract
How to shape twisted cardamom rolls
Although they look complicated, once you see the steps laid out, it’s actually not very difficult to make these pretty dough twists. I found that this particular dough recipe is super easy to work with, too. It rolls fluidly, and doesn’t stick.
- First, roll out half of the dough into a rectangle. Spread half the filling over one half of the rectangle
- Fold the other half over, give it a little bit of a roll with the rolling pin to even everything out, and slice the rectangle into 8 equal narrow strips.
- Take each strip and use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut it lengthwise ALMOST all the way through, leaving a little bit still connected at the top.
- Take each “leg” and twist it gently, both in the same direction.
- Then twist the two “legs” around each other.
- Coil the twisted dough into a round shape, tucking the end underneath and pinching it slightly to keep it from unravelling. Each one will be a little different, don’t worry about perfection.
The secret to a soft, shiny surface
I’ve made a lot of different bread and sweet pastry recipes over the years that have called for all kinds of toppings – you can brush your dough with cream or milk, an egg wash, or butter, before baking to help maintain a soft exterior and give them a bit of shine. But this recipe uses a different technique, and I love it!
After the buns have baked, when they are hot from the oven, I brush it with a sweet simple syrup enhanced with a bit of vanilla extract. It makes the buns shiny and the crust soft without making it at all sticky. The bit of extra sweetness plus the vanilla is wonderful.
To reheat these buns
We found, to our delight, that these rolls reheat beautifully in the microwave, in just 30 seconds, depending on your wattage. They become softer and more fragrant, and just amazing.
Why you need to give these sweet cardamom rolls a try
These rolls blew me away, I’ll definitely be making them again and again. The texture was soft and plush, not crusty and ‘bready’ like some pastry rolls can be. These rolls kept that plush texture even after a couple of days on the counter.
The flavor is wonderfully complex, I think that’s due to the combination of cardamom and vanilla. It lingers on the palate nicely.
Whether you’re an experienced baker or a novice, I highly suggest giving these sweet rolls a try.
More breakfast treats for holiday mornings ~
- Easy No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Fresh Cranberry Muffins
- Cranberry Breakfast Cake
- Eggnog Streusel French Toast Casserole
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Eggs Benedict Quiche
Cardamom Buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp whole milk
- 2 packages instant yeast (2 packages contain 1/2 oz. or 4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 3/4 cup all purpose flour
For the filling
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cardamom
For the glaze
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then add the milk. Warm the mixture until it's lukewarm, and then add it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Note: the milk should not be hot, just barely warm to the touch, or it will kill the yeast.
- Add the yeast to the bowl with the milk and butter mixture, and mix to dissolve. Then add the salt and sugar, and mix together.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the flour. Once all the flour has been added, continue to knead for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and pulling away from the side of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl (no need to transfer to a separate greased bowl) and allow to rise for 45 minutes to an hour, or until about doubled in size. Note: find a nice warm spot for your dough to rise.
- While the dough is rising, make the cardamom filling by simply mixing all of the filling ingredients together with a fork until uniform. Your butter should be soft enough to mix easily. Set aside.
- Prepare two large baking sheets by covering them with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Once the dough is risen, gently deflate it and divide it in half. Place one half on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about 14 inches wide by 18 inches long. Spread 1/2 of the filling over 1/2 of the rolled out rectangle.
- Fold the half of the dough without any filling over the other half of the dough. Roll out the dough a little bit more to get everything of a fairly even thickness.
- Using a knife or a pizza cutter, divide your folded rectangle, widthwise, into 8 equal strips.
- Take each strip and slice it lengthwise almost all the way in half, leaving a little bit connected at the top.
- Take each "leg" and gently twist it, both in the same direction.
- Next, twist the two "legs" around each other gently.
- Coil your twist into a small circle, tucking the end underneath and pinching it into place so it doesn't come undone. Don't worry about being perfect, just get it all twisted into a 'messy bun'.
- Repeat for the rest of your rectangles, and for the other half of the dough.
- Place your shaped rolls on your prepared baking sheets, spacing them a few inches apart. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and allow to rise again for about 1 hour. They may not puff up very dramatically, but should be a bit plumper.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425F.
- When the buns are done rising, bake them for 15 minutes.
- Make the glaze by adding the sugar and water to a small saucepan and heating just until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- When the buns are done baking, remove them from the oven and brush them with the glaze while still warm. You can add a second coat of the glaze once they have cooled down a bit if you want them to be extra-shiny.
23 Comments
Kim Berggren
January 3, 2021 at 12:48 pmNot everyone has a stand mixer. It would be appreciated if you could include instructions for those of us who do not. Thank you!
Emily
December 30, 2020 at 8:22 pmI made these Swedish cardamom buns tonight, half with cinnamon and half with cardamom. They were so delicious, beautiful and really fun to make. I think my grandmothers would have been proud. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Suzanne Graeve
December 25, 2020 at 7:43 amHi Sue! I just made these last night for a Christmas Eve celebration 2020 – these were absolutely delicious with my prime rib dinner! Everyone raved over them! I followed the recipe exactly and to get them to rise I put on my stove for the potato dish and they rose beautifully on top of the stove – my first baked bread rolls that actually worked out! Thank you and I love all of your recipes – I usually cook from your recipes and everyone loves them. So grateful I found your blog! Happy and healthy 2021 to you all!!
Sue
December 25, 2020 at 8:03 amThanks so much for all your support Suzanne, it means everything to me! Happy 2021 🙂
summer!
December 27, 2020 at 8:10 amhi,these look incredible they are on their last rise now though i noticed there was no egg in the recipe,i looked it over again and did not see any,i,m sure they will be delcious anyway
Stephanie
December 24, 2020 at 7:20 amThese look great! Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant? Thanks!
Sue
December 24, 2020 at 7:43 amYes, for sure.
Susan J.
December 20, 2020 at 5:30 amTried these yesterday and they are delicious! Just as good this morning warmed slightly in the microwave. Might try to reduce the sugar a bit next time since they are quite sweet but this recipe is really a keeper!
AD
December 19, 2020 at 10:02 amThese are outstanding. Made them gluten free using Steve’s GF Bread Flour from Authentic Foods. Slightly less flour is needed, and the buns don’t look as nice gf, but they are just great!
Sue
December 19, 2020 at 1:41 pmThat’s great to know AD!
Demi
December 16, 2020 at 3:46 amHi Sue, I am in love with your recipes and am also a cardamom obsessed baker! I have been telling my son a story about a prince who goes travelling and meets a baker who makes cardamom buns for him since he was born. This recipe showed up in my inbox just before his first birthday so I know I need to make these. Thanks so much! Do you think this sweet dough could be mixed in the bread machine?
Morgan
December 15, 2020 at 6:06 pmCan you use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer? Or knead by hand?
Sue
December 15, 2020 at 7:28 pmYes, either way will work.
Annie
December 15, 2020 at 9:14 amI have “fancy white caramon pods”. They smell SO menthal that I’m very hesitant to try it. I’ve never used them before. Would you just cut back on the amount of cardamon?
Sue
December 15, 2020 at 10:42 amIf you’re using whole pods and grinding them, the flavor will be stronger, but not unpleasant to a cardamom lover. If you’re unsure I would cut back, or substitute some cinnamon with the cardamom.
Mary
December 14, 2020 at 9:28 amThese look delicious, I love anything w/ cardamom! Will these freeze well?
Ann
December 14, 2020 at 9:03 amI’m going to make these; they sound wonderful. Cardamon always makes me think of the holidays. I continue a family tradition of making a braided cardamon bread that is dressed with an almond glaze and slivered almonds. It’s a recipe that has came from my Finnish Great Aunt.
Sue
December 14, 2020 at 9:31 amThat sounds amazing Ann. I’m on a cardamom/Scandinavian kick lately!
Jason
December 14, 2020 at 8:14 amTotally agree that cardamom is magic. Have you used nut milks like coconut or almond in pastry like this successfully? Any texture change or performance problems? No dairy problems here. We have PLENTY of butter around the house! We just rarely have dairy milk on hand.
Sue
December 14, 2020 at 8:18 amHi jason ~ I haven’t tried this with non-dairy milk, but going from experience I know you should be able to substitute it without trouble.
Donna
December 14, 2020 at 7:24 amI think I can, I think I can….going to give it a try for Christmas Day! Yep, our family is a cinnamon roll kinda family – but our daughter in law has Nordic roots, so I thought this might be fun to add a little Nordic spin on Christmas Breakfast. Thank you for the recipe!
Sue
December 14, 2020 at 7:27 amI hope you love it as much as we did Donna, and happy holidays to you and your family.
Nga
December 21, 2020 at 4:05 pmJust made this and while mine were not as good as the famous Swedish bakery in Stockholm, they were still yummy enough for homemade. Next time I will throw some crushed pistachio bits on top and add in more cardamom. Your twisting technique was so much more clear than most recipes for Swedish Cardamom rolls. Can’t wait to gift them to my Norwegian aunt!