Classic Swedish cardamom buns topped with sugar pearls. These soft, buttery buns are surprisingly easy to make and perfect for a weekend baking project—an ideal companion for tea or coffee.
Hope your first week of December went well and that you’re starting to feel festive. I’ve been busy wrapping up projects before a short Christmas break, but I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you!
Today I’m sharing a straightforward recipe for Swedish cardamom buns—flavourful, buttery, and aromatic. They pair beautifully with a hot drink and are great for sharing with friends and family.
Swedish Cardamom Buns (Kardemummabullar)
There’s nothing cozier than settling on the sofa with your favourite cup and a warm cardamom bun. These buns are soft, buttery, slightly sticky, and scented with cardamom—comfort baking at its best. If you enjoy enriched dough bakes like chocolate hazelnut buns or cinnamon rolls, these will become a favourite.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to follow and more forgiving than you might expect
- Produces soft, buttery buns with a melt-in-your-mouth texture
- Warm, aromatic cardamom gives a distinctive Nordic flavour
- Great weekend baking project and ideal for sharing
The dough is soft, elastic and enjoyable to work with. It’s adaptable for other fillings or shapes if you want to experiment later.
Ingredients overview
The dough is based on cardamom-infused milk and butter, strong white bread flour, golden caster sugar, dried yeast, a touch of cinnamon and salt. The filling is a simple cardamom butter made from softened butter, golden caster sugar and ground cardamom. I like to finish the buns with sugar pearls for a crunchy, decorative topping. If you can’t find sugar pearls, crush a few white sugar cubes into small pieces and use those.
Preparing the dough
You don’t need a freestanding mixer for this recipe; you can knead the dough by hand, though it will take a little longer. Start by gathering ingredients and preparing a large bowl. Combine the flour, 75 g golden caster sugar, yeast, ground cinnamon and salt.
Crack open 10 cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and add the seeds to 350 ml milk in a small saucepan. Warm the milk until steaming but not boiling. Remove from the heat and add 50 g cubed butter. Leave to cool until lukewarm, then strain to remove the pods.
Pour the cooled milk and melted butter into the dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth, elastic dough. If using a freestanding mixer with a dough hook, mix on medium-high for about 8–10 minutes until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides. By hand, knead until smooth and elastic.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film or a tea towel, and leave until doubled in size—about 1–2 hours at room temperature, or prove overnight in the fridge.
Shaping the buns
Once the dough has risen, turn it out and roll it into a rectangle roughly 40 x 50 cm with the long edge toward you. Spread the cardamom butter evenly over the surface, then fold the dough in half. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into roughly 16 equal strips.
Cut each strip down the middle but leave the top attached. Tie each strip into a knot and tuck the ends underneath to create the classic cardamom bun shape. Arrange buns on baking trays lined with parchment.
Cover the trays with cling film and leave in a warm place for 30–60 minutes until doubled in size. Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Brush buns with beaten egg, sprinkle with sugar pearls and bake for 20–25 minutes until golden. Rotate trays halfway if they brown unevenly.
While the buns are still warm, brush them a few times with a simple sugar syrup so they soak up a little shine and sweetness. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Thanks for reading! If you try the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below. You can also share pictures on social platforms—I’d love to see your versions and how they turned out.
📖 Recipe
Swedish Cardamom Buns
Equipment
- Freestanding mixer (optional)
Ingredients
- 30 whole cardamom pods
- 350 ml milk
- 200 g unsalted butter, cubed (50 g to be added to milk, remaining for filling)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 220 g golden caster sugar (75 g for dough, remaining for filling and syrup)
- 7 g dried fast-action yeast
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil (for greasing)
- 1 medium egg, beaten (for egg wash)
- 2 tbsp sugar pearls or crushed white sugar cubes
- 50 ml water (for sugar syrup)
Instructions
- Crack open 10 cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and add the seeds to 350 ml milk in a saucepan. Warm until steaming but do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in 50 g cubed butter. Cool until lukewarm, then strain and discard the pods.
- In a large bowl or mixer bowl, combine 500 g flour, 75 g golden caster sugar, 7 g yeast, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp salt. Add the cooled milk and butter mixture and mix until a smooth, elastic dough forms (8–10 minutes with a mixer, longer by hand).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size (1–2 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge).
- For the filling, crush the remaining cardamom pods, discard the husks and grind the seeds. Mix the ground cardamom with 150 g golden caster sugar. Combine the remaining butter with all but 2 tbsp of this cardamom sugar to make the cardamom butter.
- Punch down the dough and roll into a rectangle about 40 x 50 cm with the long edge toward you. Spread the cardamom butter over the dough, fold in half and cut into about 16 strips. Cut each strip down the middle but leave the top attached, then tie into a knot and tuck the ends underneath. Place on lined baking trays.
- Cover the trays and let the buns rise 30–60 minutes until puffed. Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Brush buns with beaten egg, sprinkle with sugar pearls and bake 20–25 minutes until golden brown.
- Make the syrup by combining the remaining 2 tbsp cardamom sugar with 50 ml water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool slightly. Brush the warm buns a few times with the syrup as they cool so they absorb some shine and sweetness.
Notes: All my recipes are developed and tested using metric measurements. I recommend digital scales for accuracy. US customary conversions are sometimes provided but may not have been tested.
Notes
- Buns will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- They can be frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature and refresh in the oven for 5 minutes before serving.
- If you don’t have sugar pearls, crush white sugar cubes into small pieces and use those instead.
If you’d like to stay up to date with future posts, sign up for the newsletter. This recipe was adapted from BBC Good Food (source acknowledged).