Skip to main content

Swedish vega buns (cardamom buns)




Everybody knows cinnamon buns but Sweden has a long tradition of spicing things up with cardamom. These vega buns are nice and buttery, golden and spicy and hail from one of my latest cookbook acquisitions, Under the Walnut Tree by mother and daughter food writers Anna and Fanny Bergenström. I am told that Anna is THE culinary writer in Sweden.

This book is wonderful, very thick and rich of hundreds of recipes from Sweden, France, South America and other places. Each chapter covers one of their favourite ingredients, from avocado to chocolate, cardamom, tea, tomatoes, etc. If you had just one book and this was it, you could happily cook from it forever, daydream about the pictures and gain knowledge from the intros. It's that kind of book.

The buns will be wonderful when autumn and winter come, but since the weather is decidedly un-summery, and I needed a project for the end of the afternoon to dissipate the black cloud on my mind, I found them quite perfect even right now. They are rich, buttery and very fragrant with cardamom. I had just bought a new packet of green cardamom and I can't describe how pungent the smell was when I opened it. Really worth buying fresh.

I like a crunchy top so I let them cool uncovered, but if you're after a very tender bun let them cool under a tea towel.



Swedish vega buns
adapted from Under the Walnut Tree by Anna and Fanny Bergenström

75 g + 30 g butter
200-300 ml milk
425 g flour
2 packets dried yeast
2 tbsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
90 g sugar

Filling :
1 tbsp ground cardamom
100 g butter, at room temp
5 tbsps sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1 egg
2 tbsps sugar

Melt the butter and warm the milk.
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cardamom in a large bowl. Gradually pour the butter and milk and knead into a soft dough. Add the extra butter and knead to incorporate it. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Mix the butter with the other filling ingredients.

Divide the dough in 2. Roll out each piece into a thin, flat rectangle (about 30 x 25 cm).
Spread half the butter filling on each. Roll up and cut at an angle into 5 cm pieces. Press down on the middle with the handle of a knife so that the sides spread out a little. Let rise 15 more minutes and preheat the oven on 200-225 °C.

Beat the egg with a spoonful of water and brush the buns with it. Sprinkle with the sugar and cardamom and bake for about 15 minutes. For soft buns, let cool under a tea towel. For a crunchier top, let cool on a grid.




Comments

Kelly-Jane said…
They look fabulous Julie :)
julie said…
Thank you, Kelly-Jane!

xx
Snowy said…
Must try these soon Julie as they look delicious. I've made some cinnamon ones this week, not Nigella's.
julie said…
If you like cardamom, then you'll love these, Eira :)

Popular posts from this blog

Nigella's summer crumble

How has your summer been? Has everyone around you been complaining of the weather? Summer' s so much more than just sun and heat though... fruit,  farniente , ice-cream,  apéros  and walks...reading long books, so many little pleasures. Tossa de Mar And lest we forget to turn the oven on, to warm us up... Nigella's summer crumble (from Forever Summer ) is a fantastic way to use up those less-than satisfying apricots that everyone leaves in the fruit bowl, the ones a little less red, the mushy ones, and transform them into deep orange compote under the layer of almondy crumble. Or any other stone fruit for that matter. Parc Guell, Barcelona Summer crumble, adapted from Nigella Lawson in  Forever Summer 750g apricots, stoned and quartered 75g butter 100g self-raising flour or flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder a pinch of salt 25g ground almonds 75g caster sugar 50g flaked or chopped almonds Preheat the oven at 200C. Butter a gratin dish. Layer the fruit

La Réunion en recettes : cari de lotte et son riz au lait de coco

Enfin, je réalise d'autres recettes réunionnaises . La cuisine de la Réunion, au carrefour des continents, à l'image de sa population, associe des saveurs européennes, asiatiques, indiennes et africaines. Je vous propose le cari de lotte, tout simplement parce que je cherchais du poisson ce samedi-là, et que les queues de lotte m'ont tapé dans l'oeil. Pauvres lottes décapitées sur l'étal du rayon poissonnerie, eh oui, la lotte est moche, tellement moche qu'on l'appelle poisson-diable en allemand et en anglais (mais aussi poisson-moine/monkfish), aussi, on la propose souvent débarassée de son faciès. Oui, mais une fois rentrés à la maison, que faire de ces deux beaux filets? Ni une, ni deux, j'ouvre mes tomes de Nigella et Jamie et compulse les index, mais les recettes ne m'emballant pas trop, je pense soudain à en faire un cari et j'ouvre alors Cuisine des Iles de l'Océan Indien (Edisud), ramené lors de mon dernier voyage à la Réunion il y a

Pseudo goulasch hispanisant (avec ou sans mijoteuse)

Avec mes gadgets appareils culinaires, c'est par périodes. Parfois je fais des yaourts pendant des semaines, et puis après j'en ai marre, je les achète. J'avoue avoir assez rarement utilisé la mijoteuse , et surtout pour des plats à cuisson longue type ragoûts, curries, bourguignon, et aussi pour cuire des légumineuses. Mais cette semaine, j'ai décidé de m'en servir plus régulièrement, et de vous en faire profiter. Sympa, hein? ;-) Comme ressources, j'utilise ce livre , mais je ne l'aime pas trop, et surtout la Crockpot Lady , une mine d'or. Et parfois, j'improvise, comme ici, et le résultat était totalement délicieux. Saviez-vous qu'il est plus "écolo" de manger du porc que du boeuf? L'élevage de porcs abîme moins l'environnement que celui des boeufs, bien sûr pour être vraiment écolo, il faut manger végétarien voire vegan, mais à chacun ses convivtions, c'est déjà mieux de manger moins de viande, et de choisir volai