I woke up at 6 am this morning feeling fresh and ready to bake all sorts of cakes and other delicious treats for my lovely husband. Entering the kitchen I realized that almost none of my baking plans could be realized, as I have sold almost all my kitchen- and baking tools as we are about to move from one continent to another.

I knew that Chris and one of his good colleagues was going to work on one of Chris’ many furniture projects today, so instead of baking small and petit cakes, i decided to bake some quick and easy cardamom buns that I could deliver at the workshop if they got hungry during the day (it didn’t take them long to eat half of the portion, before getting back to work) 🙂 nice to know when your food is appreciated :-).

Picture: Chris’ working hard on a bedside table and two dining chairs.

The recipe for these buns is originally without cardamom, but I love to add different spices to this simple recipe to give a little twist once in a while. If you like your buns more buttery and plain, you can just leave out the cardamom and brush the buns with melted butter instead of milk.

 

Ingredients (12 buns)

2 tbsp. active yeast

1 stick butter

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2/3 tsp. ground cardamom

1 small egg

3 cups + 3 tbsp. flour

2 tbsp. milk for brushing

 

Melt butter at medium heat in a sauce pan. Remove the sauce pan from the heat when the butter is melted and add the milk. Let cool for a few minutes.

Add yeast and cooled butter/milk mixture to a mixing bowl and stir to dissolve the yeast. Then add sugar, salt, cardamom, egg and 1/2 of the flour. Stir until combined and add the remaining flour and stir again. When the dough is just about to be combines, you can pour it onto a slightly floured surface and knead using your hands. This way you will get a better feeling with the dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and doesn’t stick to your hands.

Place the dough in greased bowl and cover it with plastic foil. Leave in a warm place to raise for approximately 45 minutes (the dough should double).

Preheat the oven at 400F.

Pour the dough onto slightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equally sized pieces (2.86 oz./81g). Gently roll the 12 dough pieces into balls and place them on a baking plate covered with baking paper. Cover the buns with a tea towel and let raise while your oven gets warm.

Brush the raised buns with milk and bake for 20 minutes. Transfer the baked buns to a wire rack to cool before serving. Serve slightly warm for breakfast or afternoon tea with great friends and family.

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (12 buns)

30 g active yeast

110 g butter

2.5 dl whole milk

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2/3 tsp. ground cardamom

1 small egg

7.5 dl + 3 tbsp. flour