Sticky Cardamom Buns: In Fruity Scroll Form
Turn cardamom buns into scrumptious sticky scrolls filled with jelly or jam. The recipe produces soft and springy buns with just a hint of cardamom and lots of fruity goodness. They’re just as good for breakfast as they are for afternoon tea. Goodness, there’s pure bliss in every bite.
Dive Right In
- Why Make Sticky Cardamom Buns?
- Sticky Cardamom Buns
- Ingredients
- How To Make Sticky Cardamom Buns
- Other Yeasted Bun Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin-It
- The Recipe
Why Make Sticky Cardamom Buns?
With their swirled appearance and glossy, sticky finish, these cardamom scrolls are hard to resist. They’re fruity, but not too sweet and not too spicy.
- Any Time of Day – These sticky scrolls are a versatile treat. They work just as well for breakfast and brunch as they do for an afternoon snack or even dessert. Pair one with a cup of tea or coffee and you have a perfect combination.
- Customise the Flavours – Fill the dough with different types of jam or jelly to adapt these buns to suit you and yours. From zingy raspberry to sweet apricot or zesty marmalade, the possibilities are endless.
- Nourishing – Whilst I can’t claim these buns are healthy, they do contain a good proportion of wholegrain flour, which has to be a good thing. They’re also made with kefir which helps to make the buns more digestible. And then there’s all those vitamins and antioxidants found in the jelly or jam. This is especially true if it’s homemade.
- Scent of Freshly Baked Cardamom – The intoxicating aroma of cardamom as it bakes is enough to lure anyone into the kitchen. The warm, slightly spicy scent that fills the house while these scrolls bake is a sensory experience that adds to the joy of making them.
- Twist on a Classic Favourite – Cardamom buns are already a much loved bake. But transforming them into scrolls with fruit jelly or jam turns them into an entirely different treat. My twist offers a delightful combination of subtle spice and sticky fruity sweetness that’s hard to resist.
Sticky Cardamom Buns
Yeasted buns are a favourite in our household, especially when they’re fresh out of the oven. It’s hard to find anything nearly as good in the supermarket. These sticky cardamom buns are not just delicious, they’re also a joy to bake. From the moment you start rolling the dough to that last sweet bite, all your senses are engaged.
The stickiness comes from a sherbet glaze brushed over the top straight after baking. It’s both sweet and sharp and adds a wonderful zingy element to the buns.
Although these sticky cardamom buns are at their best on the day of baking, they’re very nearly as good on day two. By day three they’re starting to dry out, but still worth eating.
As the buns are so sticky, they don’t really freeze well. It’s for this reason my recipe is for a small batch. The quantities given make six large buns or nine smaller ones. You can, of course increase the quantities if you need to feed a crowd.
Ingredients And Substitutions
I’ve enriched the yeasted cardamom bun dough with both eggs and butter, but only lightly. There’s not nearly as much of either as in my Strasbourg kouglof, for example. Other than yeast and a little sugar, there’s only five other ingredients worth highlighting.
Cardamom
Cardamom provides the essential spicy notes needed for these buns. They shouldn’t be too powerful however. Cardamom can easily overwhelm bakes.
For best results, use pods rather than ready ground. They give a fresher flavour. Just grind the seeds contained in the pods in a pestle and mortar.
Flour
Yeasted buns are one of the few bakes where I concede that white flour is generally better than wholemeal flour. It makes for a much lighter bake. Having said that I do use a proportion of wholemeal spelt flour and that works rather splendidly.
As well as the digestive benefits that wholemeal spelt brings, I’m convinced it’s the reason why these buns stay soft and springy for a couple of days.
If you can’t get hold of spelt flour, use ordinary wholemeal flour instead.
Jelly
Jelly is ideal for these sticky cardamom buns as it’s perfectly smooth. However, jam could work just as well and bring a little more in the way of texture. Go for a brightly coloured one if you can. The darker the jelly or jam, the better the contrast you’ll get.
I used hedgerow jelly, both for the flavour and colour contrast. On the flavour front my quince jelly scores well too.
Indeed, you have a whole arena of flavours to choose from when it comes to fruit jellies and jam. From sweet strawberry jam to bitter orange marmalade, to tangy blackcurrant jam and everything in between.
I have several other jam recipes on the blog if you’re interested in making your own.
Kefir
Most cardamom buns are made with milk, but I use kefir. This ups both the flavour and nutrition profile. It probably helps with the rise too.
If you don’t have kefir, you can use butter milk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt instead. They all act in a similar way and work better than just plain milk.
Lemon
Lemon juice is one of the ingredients used for the sticky glaze. It lifts the buns from any danger of being overly sweet and cloying and creates a wonderful zingy element to the bake.
How To Make Sticky Cardamom Buns
The idea of making buns may seem daunting, but the recipe is a fairly simple one. It takes time for the dough to rise, but not much time to actually make them.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Grind Cardamom
Lightly crush the cardamom pods and remove the seeds with your fingers. Discard the husks and grind the seeds using a pestle and mortar.
Step 2. Make Dough
If kneading by hand, weigh the dry ingredients and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the crushed cardamom seeds and stir.
Make a well in the middle and break the egg into it. Then pour in the kefir.
Mix everything together and knead for ten minutes. The dough is quite sticky, but will become easier to handle as you knead.
Otherwise just add everything to the bowl of your electric stand mixer. Using the dough hook, knead on slow for about seven minutes.
After the first couple of minutes, drop the butter into the dough piece by piece as you knead until it’s all thoroughly incorporated.
Leave the dough to rise in the bowl until nearly doubled in size. It will take an hour or two depending on the temperature of the room. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic bag so the dough doesn’t dry out.
Step 3. Roll Dough
Line the bottom and sides of your baking tin with parchment paper. It helps the paper to stick if you lightly grease the tin first.
Scrape the risen dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and form it into an even rectangle with your hands.
Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to form a rectangle measuring approximately 25 cm (10 inch) x 38 cm (15 inch). Flour your rolling pin as necessary to prevent sticking.
Spread the jelly or jam over the dough in a thin even layer. A small palette knife is useful for this. It’s best to leave a 1 cm border, but don’t worry too much if it goes over.
Roll the dough up from the shortest side, so that it measures 25 cm (10 inch). Tuck any scraggly ends in and press the dough tight with your fingers.
Cut the roll into nine even slices (or six for larger rolls). This part gets a bit messy, but don’t worry if the jelly / jam squidges out. I scoop it up and use that for the glaze.
Lay the slices cut side down in the lined tin, so you have three rows of three.
Cover the tin with a plastic bag and leave to rise for an hour or so until the scrolls have nearly doubled in size. They will continue to rise in the oven, so don’t worry if they don’t look as big as you’d expect.
Step 4. Bake And Glaze
Bake in a preheated oven for twenty minutes or until the buns are bronzed all over and look done. You can’t really take these out and tap the bottoms as the jelly is way too hot.
Whilst they’re baking, melt the jelly or jam in a small pan over a gentle heat with the lemon juice. I just used the jelly that had come out of the scrolls as I cut them.
Remove from the heat, add the butter and stir until smooth.
As soon as the buns are out of the oven, brush the warm glaze over the tops and as far down the sides as you can manage. Make sure you use it all. The buns will soak it up.
Leave the tin on a wire rack until the buns are cool enough to handle. The jelly / jam gets very hot, so be careful. Prepare to get sticky. Tear the buns apart with your hands and tuck in.
Other Yeasted Bun Recipes You Might Like
- Baked yeast doughnuts
- Banana spelt cardamom buns
- Chocolate Chelsea buns
- Creme egg buns
- Sticky orange pistachio buns
- Vegan hot cross buns
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these sticky cardamom buns, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making sticky buns?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.
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If you’d like more yeast recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Sticky Cardamom Buns. PIN IT.
Sticky Cardamom Buns: In Fruity Scroll Form
Ingredients
- 10 cardamom pods or half a teaspoon ready ground
- 150 g strong white flour
- 100 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 35 g golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp instant yeast / fast action / easy bake
- ¼ tsp sea or rock salt
- 1 medium egg
- 125 ml kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- 40 g unsalted butter softened and cut into small pieces
- 100 g fruit jelly or smooth jam (I used hedgerow jelly)
Sherbet Glaze
- 1 tbsp fruit jelly or smooth jam
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 10 g unsalted butter
Instructions
- Lightly crush the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Discard the husks and grind the seeds with a pestle and mortar.10 cardamom pods
- In a large bowl (if kneading by hand) or electric stand mixer, weigh in the dry ingredients along with the crushed cardamom seeds and stir.150 g strong white flour, 100 g wholemeal spelt flour, 35 g golden caster sugar, 1 tsp instant yeast / fast action / easy bake, ¼ tsp sea or rock salt
- Make a well in the middle and break the egg into it. Then pour in the liquid.1 medium egg, 125 ml kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt
- Mix everything together and knead for ten minutes by hand and about seven in a stand mixer. The dough is quite sticky, but will become easier to handle as you knead.
- After the first couple of minutes, drop the butter into the dough piece by piece as you knead until it’s all thoroughly incorporated.40 g unsalted butter
- Leave the dough to rise in the bowl until nearly doubled in size. It should take an hour or two depending on the temperature. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic bag so the dough doesn’t dry out.
- Line a 20 cm (8 inch) square baking tin with parchment paper.
- Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and form it into an even rectangle with your hands.
- Roll the dough out to form a rectangle measuring 25 cm (10 inch) x 38 cm (15 inch). Flour your rolling pin as necessary to prevent sticking.
- Spread the jelly or jam over the dough in a thin even layer.100 g fruit jelly
- Roll the dough up from the shortest side, so that it measures 25 cm (10 inch).
- Cut the roll into nine even slices. Don’t worry if the jelly / jam squidges out. I use that for the glaze.
- Lay the slices cut side down in the lined tin, so you have three rows of three.
- Cover the tin with a plastic bag and leave to rise for an hour or so until the scrolls have nearly doubled in size. They will continue to rise in the oven, so don’t worry if they don’t look as big as you’d expect.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200℃ (180℃ fan, 400℉, Gas 6) for 30 minutes or until the buns are bronzed all over and look done. If the tops look like they're getting too dark, cover with a piece of kitchen foil.
Sherbet Glaze
- Whilst they’re baking, melt the jelly or jam in a small pan over a gentle heat with the lemon juice. Remove from the heat, add the butter and stir until smooth.1 tbsp fruit jelly, 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10 g unsalted butter
- As soon as the buns are out of the oven, brush the warm glaze over the tops, making sure you use it all.
- Leave the tin on a wire rack until the buns are cool enough to handle. The jelly / jam gets very hot, so be careful. Prepare to get sticky. Tear the buns apart with your hands and tuck in.
these look so good! i like to throw in a bit of wholemeal flour to my muffins etc. And cardamom is a great flavour to add!
cheers
sherry
Yes, it’s good for added flavour and texture as well as fibre. And agree about cardamom – as long as you don’t use too much.