The last time I posted a recipe for one of Sweden’s favorite pastries, the cinnamon bun, was 7 years ago! Well, 7 years and 1 day to be exact. While everything I posted back then was good, I’ve definitely improved my skills in recipe development since then so it was about time!
I tested and filmed this recipe over a few days, phew! It’s crazy how much work goes into each blogpost and video. I think I was a little stressed out on day 2 so I accidentally deleted all the photos. Honestly, that is the first time that has ever happened to me in all these years! I usually double check everything, thank goodness they were not for a client!
Keep reading for my best Swedish cinnamon bun tips & tricks!
Some Swedish cinnamon bun tips & tricks
I use fresh yeast for yeast dough, because it’s what I’ve always done and because it’s available literally everywhere in Sweden. I know this is not the case in many countries but you could use instant yeast or active dry yeast in place of the fresh yeast. Make sure to read the instructions on the yeast package , and make sure to use an amount equivalent of the 25 g fresh yeast. You can read more about different types of yeast here.
Don’t add more flour than stated in the recipe! I know it might be tempting to add more flour when the dough is sticky, but this will dry out the buns! It’s better to flour your work surface and the rolling pin, and then use a pastry brush to brush off excess flour. You can also use a dough scraper if the dough sticks to the surface.
I use whole milk (3% fat content) when I make buns, but I’ve used plant based milk too and it work as well. I used cold milk for the fresh yeast and didn’t notice any difference from lukewarm milk so I will be using that from now on. Since you work the dough in a stand mixer (or with your hands) for a while, it will have time to come to room temperature. Note that you might need to use warm milk for other types of yeast.
I use a fine cane sugar (same size granules as granulated) for this recipe because it has a deeper flavor, but regular white granulated sugar works too!
Use freshly ground cardamom for this recipe! I cannot stress this enough, to get the right flavor this is very important.
I use salted butter! I almost always use salted butter when baking. If not using salted butter, you’ll need to add some extra salt. Make sure the butter is very soft, but not melted, or it will be difficult to incorporate it into the dough which is still fairly cold at this point. The reason I’m not using melted butter is because it makes the dough more wet, which requires more flour, and we do not want to add more flour than necessary!
If you don’t have access to pearl sugar or nib sugar, you can top the buns with demerara sugar.
I’ve made this recipe using the overnight method (cold rise) and the regular method of letting the dough rise at room temperature and I did find a few differences. First of all, it’s convenient to prepare the dough the night before. Second of all, the dough is a bit firmer when it’s cold so it’s easier to work with. I do think the cold rise buns tasted and had the texture of bakery buns, while the room temp rise buns were a bit more fluffy and soft, so it all depends on what you prefer! The cold rise buns also kept their shape better after defrosting.
Use clean, damp kitchen towels to cover the bowl and buns when they are rising (except when rising overnight in the fridge, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap). This prevents them from drying out and I find that they also rise better.
Don’t skip brushing the buns with sugar syrup once they’re freshly baked! It helps retain the moisture in the buns and it gives a shiny, slightly crunchy texture to them.
To freeze and defrost the buns. If you’re not eating all the buns the day they are baked, it’s best to freeze them to keep them fresh! Let the buns come to room temperature after baking, then place them well wrapped, or in airtight containers in the freezer. When ready to eat, defrost buns at room temperature, then warm for a few minutes in the oven.
These look so delicious. Your photos and video are beautiful. Thank you for sharing all of this!
Thank you so much Brian!! That makes me so happy to hear!
Hi Linda,
Your photos and recipes always warm my heart and make me feel happy. Thanks! (I hope I’ll have a chance to make these sometime during a rain storm during this autumn or winter for a cosy breakfast.)
Love from my seaside town on Vancouver Island.
That is so sweet of you, thank you Laurie! Sending love your way 🙂
A couple of notes, based on my 20+ years of living abroad. Salted butter isn’t always the same thing. Normal Swedish butter is what should be referred to as lightly salted, whereas salted butter in some other countries is more similar to “extrasaltat smör” in Sweden, which wouldn’t be that great to bake sweet things with.
As for sugar, Sweden has mainly beet based sugar, whereas in some countries, the “regular” sugar is cane sugar. The scent is actually quite different between the two, even though the taste isn’t all that different. The point here is the supermarket granulated sugar can be cane sugar, depending on where you live.
I would also caution against using too much cardamom if you’re not used to the taste, as it’s quite strong and not everyone likes it. It’s also a savoury spice in many countries and cultures, whereas in the Nordics is generally only used for sweet things.
In some countries you can get fresh yeast from the supermarket bakery or a baking supply store. I’ve bought from both, but expect to buy a rather large chunk at the time. Where I live now, it’s sold in 1 lbs (454g) packs, but luckily fresh yeast freezes well, so you can portion it up and freeze for another time.
Thanks for your comment! It’s good to know you can find fresh yeast at bakery supply stores or bakeries! I can only base my recipes on ingredients I use and find here in Sweden, it’s difficult to know what the sugar and butter is like in every country, since there are so many different varieties of everything. I won’t change the amount of cardamom used in my recipe based on what people may or may not like, I figure most people will make it because they want to try a Swedish recipe and so will expect to taste something that they’re maybe not used to!
I didn’t ask you to change anything it was merely a note to those trying your recipe. It might be better to be prepared for something tasting quite different to what most people are used to, as cardamom isn’t commonly used in baking. It might also be worth pointing out one more thing here, while on the topic of cardamom, you want the black little “seeds” from green cardamom pods for Swedish cinnamon rolls, so if you can only get hold of whole cardamom pods (as is often the case), you’re going to have to crack the pods open and pick out the black bits and then use a pestle and mortar to crush them into a fairly fine powder.
Tried your recipe today, turned out to be very nice and fluffy buns.
Just curious, is there a reason you didn’t post my previous comment?
Ohh, yay, so glad to hear you liked the recipe! I did post your comment 🙂 It just ends up in the same thread as your previous comment! Haven’t had time to reply in a couple of days though. Maybe you were looking at the bottom of the post?
Oh, that wasn’t it, I was looking to see if you replied and my earlier comment didn’t show up for a few days that’s all.
The buns were very popular, although I did reduce the cardamom a bit, as I know people here are sensitive too it. 😉
Will definitely be using this recipe again.
Ah, I see!
I’m so glad they were popular and that you will use the recipe again! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I just made these and they’re delicious! I used instant yeast instead and also substituted agave syrup rather than making my own syrup as I thought there might be too much of a cardamom flavour. It was easy and relatively quick to make. I left the dough in the fridge overnight and it wasn’t sticky to work with at all. Next time, I will use your syrup recipe as to allow the cardamom flavour to really shine through.
So glad to hear that, Serena! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!!
Hello! I have found recently your blog, sorry for my english. My native language is spanish. You won a fan from Nicaragua. I enjoy all about your site. I would like to know if you edit your videos, I can’ t stop watching.
Ohh, don’t apologize, I understand everything! Thank you so much, that is so kind of you! I do edit my videos, in Premiere Pro 🙂 I just use some of the simple edits that you can use in there! Sending love from Sweden!
The photos are beautiful as always and the video is so calming. I tried the recipe (with my own glutenfree flour blend) and it turned out amazing, so thank you for the recipe 🙂
Aww, that makes me so happy to hear!! I need to try making them gluten free, my partner will most likely need to be gluten free for life. So much to learn! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been diagnosed a bit over a year ago (most likely celiac disease, so I have to follow the diet for life as well). When I got to know the problem, I started to look around for books from which I can learn some tips and tricks, and so far the best I have found is Cannelle Et Vanille from Aran Goyoaga. I’ve learnt a lot from it, and all the recipes I tried worked well. On a side note, the book has very nice photos too.
In this recipe you used 400g flour, which I replaced with a mix of 100g tapioca starch, 100g potato starch, 100g brown rice flour, 50g gluten free oat flour, 50g sorghum flour and one heaped table spoon of psyllium husk powder. It might not be the best combination possible, but it worked nicely.
Ahh, thank you so much for this!! I’ve followed Aran for years but don’t have her book. Will be sure to get it!!
Just made these after watching your beautiful video! They turned out delicious!
Ohh, I’m so happy to hear that Elise! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! I’m 4th generation Swedush american & I just found your site. Sadly, my great grandmother didn’t pass down a lot of recipes, or they just didn’t pass down to us. My question, do you use the cardamom pod or the seeds when you grind it? These look amazing & I want to try them. Thank you!
Hi Shannon and welcome, so glad you found your way here!
I use the seeds that are inside the green pods when I grin cardamom, but at least here you can buy just the seeds too. it doesn’t matter as long as the cardamom is freshly ground and the amount is about 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom! 🙂
Dear Linda,
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. I love your photography and have enjoyed baking your recipes. I wanted to place a request for a recipe of Sweedish Cardamom buns/knots. Would you be kind to share that recipe if you have one and moreover a video on how to make those pretty knots? Thanks, Atiya
Dear Atiya,
Thank you so much for your comment and suggestion! I will have this in mind, I need to practice how to make them!
Would it be too hard to do this by hand? Unfortunately I dont own a standing mixer 🙁
You absolutely could do it by hand but it would be a little messy at the start, and it would take a little longer than with a machine!
Hi, I used the overnight method to rise the dough, but for some reason it did not rise much at all. I used active dry yeast because I could not find fresh yeast, but it activated just fine. I also kneaded by hand. They tasted great anyway but do you know what could have been the problem?
Hi Tom! Glad you enjoyed them anyway! The dough might just need longer time to rise in the fridge to rise, try adding at least a couple of hours (I’ve cold risen dough up to about 16 hours even) to see if that makes a difference. I’m not super familiar with active dry yeast though! It could also happen when the dough hasn’t been kneaded enough, but I suspect your dough just needs more time if you want to use the cold rise method again. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hey!
Recipe sounds fantastic and I’m hoping to try them out in the next few days. Quick question, is the oven temperature for a fan assisted oven?
Thanks! ?
Hey Lucy! All my recipes are made using a conventional oven, not a fan assisted, hope that helps! 🙂