Swedish cinnamon buns (kanelbullar)

I love making these delicious, soft cinnamon buns when I’ve got a little time at the weekend. There’s nothing nicer than a bit of gentle kitchen pottering, and the smell of these beauties baking scents the whole house with heady spiced sweetness. Sooo good! I originally wrote the recipe for Nordic Style - the gorgeous coffee table book we created for Viking Cruises. The one in the book is a bit more authentic, using fresh yeast in the dough, but when I’m just making them for us on a Saturday morning, dried yeast is more convenient. Sometimes I just use butter and sugar and add dried fruit, or when Charlie’s at home I make them with cocoa as he’s a cinnamon hater. This soft sweet milk dough can also be used for soft iced buns too.

Swedish cinnamon buns (kanelbullar)

450g strong white bread flour
1 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
1 tsp salt
75g sugar
1 x 7g sachet dried yeast
50g butter
150ml milk
150ml water

For the filling:

100g butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
3 tsp ground cinnamon (or cocoa)

To finish:

1 egg
Splash of milk

Sieve the flour into a large bowl, then add in the cardamom, salt, sugar, and dried yeast. In a small saucepan, gently melt the butter, then turn off the heat and add the milk and water. The liquid should be warm but not hot when it’s added to the dry ingredients, otherwise it will kill the yeast, so stick your finger in to check before you mix it into the flour.

The dough benefits from being really sticky so I tend to mix it in the KitchenAid. Pour in the liquid, then just leave it to mix for about five minutes until it’s lovely and smooth and springy, but of course you can knead it by hand - you might need a little extra flour.

Cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm for an hour or so until the dough has puffed up to about double its original size. Knock it down with a floury fist (matron), then flour your work surface generously and tip out the dough.

Next, you need to roll the dough out into a rough rectangle (it helps if you end up with the wider side in front of you). I don’t measure it, but I’d say I probably ended up with something like a 60cm x 30cm shape (very roughly)

Mix up the filling by smooshing the butter, sugar and cinnamon (or cocoa) together with a fork until it’s soft and spreadable, then spread it out all over the dough, getting it right to the edges. Now just roll the dough up, keeping it as tight as you can, into a big sausage.

Cover a baking tray with baking paper, then with a sharp knife, chop up the sausage into 5cm slices. Arrange the rolls cut side up on the baking tray, coaxing them back into a round shape if they get a bit squashed. They’re also really nice if you pack them into a large round cake tin (they’re easier to get out if it’s a springform one). Leave them to rise again somewhere warm until they’re all puffed up and pressing against each other. Mix the egg with a splash of milk and brush generously over the rolls. I sprinkled mine with a little chocolate sugar too.

Brush with the egg and milk mixture (still from my Insta stories)

Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 180/gas 6 until they’re all golden and sticky and squished together. You can add a sprinkling of pearl sugar if you like or even a drizzle of icing. We tend to leave them plain. Scoff while they’re still warm.

Oh, and if you ever find yourself on a Viking Cruise, look out for Nordic Style. We’re pretty proud of it.

Nordic Style - A celebration of Scandinavian life