Swedish Cinnamon Buns and Safrron Buns (Kanelbullar och Saffransbullar)

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a baking class arranged by the SIS Out and About Club.  We had a lovely teacher, NikAnnika Märak, who taught us a few tricks.  Among other things, I learned that I have been making my dough way too dry. Our teacher kept hers very wet.  Basically you just have to have to learn to live with goopy hands.  But as you knead the dough, it becomes less sticky. 

I also learnt a new filling.  The classic filling for cinnamon buns is just butter, sugar and cinnamon.  Ms. Märak added almond meal which added a lovely subtle flavor and thickened the filling so it didn't just all drizzle out of the bun when you cooked it.

Cinnamon Buns (Kanelbullar)

About 16 buns

Dough

75 grams butter (smör)

2.5 deciliters milk (mjölk)

25 grams fresh yeast (jäst), sold in 50 grams cubes in the refrigerated section, normally near the butter

½ deciliters sugar (strösocker)

1 egg (ägg)

1 spice spoon salt (a pinch)

1 teaspoon cardamom (kardemumma)

420 grams all-purpose flour (vetemjöl)

Filling

100 grams butter at room temperature (smör)

1 deciliter almond four (mandelmjöl)

150 grams sugar (strösocker)

3 tablespoons cinnamon (kanel)

Handful of pearl sugar (pärlsocker) for garnish

Melt the butter in a small pan on the stove, or in the microwave.  Crumble the yeast into a large bowl.  Add the milk into the butter and stir.  Stick your finger into the butter/milk mixture.  It should be about body temperature.  If it feel hot to the touch, let it cool because a too high heat will kill the yeast.  Pour the butter/milk mixture in the bowl with the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved.  Add the rest of the ingredients for the dough (egg, cardamom, salt, sugar, and flour).  Stir the ingredients until it forms a dough.  The dough should be quite wet and sticky.  Knead the dough on the counter or on a board, using a bit of flour but not too much.  The dough will become easier to work and less sticky as you knead it.  Knead until it is smooth and elastic.  If you are kneading by hand, you cannot overknead.  Put the dough back in the bowl and dust with flour.  Put plastic wrap over the bowl and let it rise for at least 30 minutes until it roughly doubles.  If the room is cold, it will take longer to rise.

Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl.

Some of the different shapes you can make.

Put the dough out onto a lightly floured board or counter.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a rectangle about ½ centimetre thick.  Spread the filling over the dough.  Roll up the dough and shape into buns.  Put the buns onto a baking sheet covered with parchment/baking paper (bakplåtspapper).  Turn on the oven to 225 degrees Celsius.

Let the buns rise for 30 minutes (a bit more if the room is cold).  Brush the buns with beaten egg mixed with a bit of water.  Sprinkle over pearl sugar (pärlsocker).  Bake in the oven 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

Saffron Buns (Saffransbullar)

About 16 buns

Dough

75 grams butter (smör)

2.5 deciliters milk (mjölk)

25 grams fresh yeast (jäst), sold in 50 grams cubes in the refrigerated section, normally near the butter

1 deciliter sugar (strösocker)

1 egg (ägg)

1 spice spoon salt (a pinch)

1 packet ground saffron (saffron), ie. 0.5 grams

420 grams all purpose flour (vetemjöl)

Filling, if desired

100 grams butter at room temperature (smör)

1 deciliter almond four (mandelmjöl)

150 grams sugar (strösocker)

3 tablespoons vanilla sugar

Handful of pearl sugar (pärlsocker), raisins, or flaked almonds for garnish

Melt the butter in a small pan on the stove, or in the microwave.  Crumble the yeast into a large bowl.  Add the milk into the butter and stir.  Stick your finger into the butter/milk mixture.  It should be about body temperature.  If it feel hot to the touch, let it cool because a too high heat will kill the yeast.  Pour the butter/milk mixture in the bowl with the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved.  Add the rest of the ingredients for the dough (egg, saffron, salt, sugar, and flour).  Stir the ingredients until it forms a dough.  

The dough should be quite wet and sticky.  Knead the dough on the counter or on a board, using a bit of flour but not too much.  The dough will become easier to work and less sticky as you knead it.  Knead until it is smooth and elastic.  If you are kneading by hand, you cannot overknead.  Put the dough back in the bowl and dust with flour.  Put plastic wrap over the bowl and let it rise for at least 30 minutes until it roughly doubles.  If the room is cold, it will take longer to rise.

Meanwhile, mix together all the ingredients for the filling, if you are using it.

Put the dough out onto a lightly floured board or counter.  If you don’t want the filling, divide the dough into 16 pieces and shape as desired, using the raisins for garnish.

For filled buns, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a rectangle about ½ centimetre thick.  Spread the filling over the dough.  Roll up the dough and shape into buns.  Put the buns onto a baking sheet covered with parchment/baking paper (bakplåtspapper).  Turn on the oven to 225 degrees celcius.

Let the buns rise for 30 minutes (a bit more if the room is cold).  Brush the buns with beaten egg mixed with a bit of water.*  Sprinkle over pearl sugar (pärlsocker), or flaked almonds.  Bake in the oven 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

You can also brush them with sugar syrup instead of egg if desired.  To make the sugar syrup, boil 1 dl sugar with 1 dl water until the sugar is fully melted.  Cool.

Falkenberg Cakes (Falkenbergare)

There is an amazing bakery called Stålbloms down near my summer house on the west coast of Sweden.  All of their cakes are gorgeous and delicious.  Their Princess Cake is divine. They make the best Semlor that I have ever tasted, a cardamom flavored bun that is filled with marzipan and whipped cream and only served during the Spring.  It always amazes me that this bakery, in a little town in the countryside, rivals the best bakeries in Stockholm.

While all of their cakes are memorable, there is one that I dream about. It is an unassuming plain little cake topped with a glaze and sprinkling of candied orange peel.  Even if I am tempted by one of the more glorious looking cakes to eat for my fika, which I love to take in their pretty garden, I buy one of these to take home with me and eat slowly while gazing out at the sea.
They call these cakes Falkenbergare, after the name of the town Falkenberg, where Stålbloms was founded.  These cakes are sticky and dense, almost custardy.  They are rich but not cloying.  The combination of almond and orange is delectable.  I have googled the name of this cake several times and I have kept an eye out for these cakes at every bakery that I visit.  But I have never found a mention of them on the internet or seen them at any other bakery.

This summer, I was excited to notice that they had a cookbook for sale.  I eagerly looked through it to see if they had published a recipe for my beloved cake...and YES!  So, now I can have these wonderful cakes any time I like, and so can you.  Here is the recipe, slightly modified from the original:

Makes about 15 cakes

Cake:
250 grams butter at room temperature
500 grams marzipan (mandelmassa)*
1 tablespoon potato flour or cornstarch
5 eggs

Glaze:
About 4 dl powdered sugar
Zest of one orange
Juice of about half an orange
Candied orange peel, to garnish


Preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Butter a muffin pan or other small cake forms. Grate the marzipan to make it easier to incorporate into the butter. Put the marzipan and butter into a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it is well mixed and creamy.

Add in the potato flour (or cornstarch) and the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each egg is well incorporated. The batter will become lighter and fluffy with each additional egg, but still be very thick.

Divide the cake batter into the muffin tin or forms, filling each form almost full. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes until browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean.  Take the cakes out of the oven and let cool.



While the cakes bake, you can make the glaze.  Put the powdered sugar in a bowl with the orange zest.  Add in some orange juice, a few drops at a time and stir until the glaze feels thick enough to spread easily but not so thin as to be drippy.

When the cakes are cool, unmold them and top each cake with a spoonful of the glaze and spread the glaze around the top.  Sprinkle some candied orange peel on top of each cake.  Eat reflectively and slowly, preferably while staring out at the sea.


* This cake calls for a marzipan that is 50/50 sugar and almonds.  In Sweden, this mixture is called mandelmassa or almond paste.  Marzipan in Sweden is more sugar than almonds about 60/40.

Top 10 Summer Restaurants in Stockholm

It has been ages since I have posted.  I have not been cooking that much recently, but I am always inspired in the summer, especially with baking, so keep an eye out!

I thought I would share some of my favorite summer restaurants in Stockholm.  All of these places have a beautiful view, outdoor seating, or a otherwise summer feel.

1. Thai Boat (http://thaiboat.se/)  This is a very fun restuarant on a boot moored in Södermalm.  They have a little beach where you can sit in the sand and sip their delicious cocktails.  The food is pretty good and the atmosphere fun and upbeat.

2. Malarpaviljongen (http://malarpaviljongen.se/)  This combination plant boutique and outdoor cafe in Kungsholmen is right on the water.  The food is light, salads and sandwiches, and the location is perfect.


3. Rosendalsträdgård Cafe (http://www.rosendalstradgard.se/)  This is my favorite place in Djurgården.  It doesn't getting better than having lunch in an apple orchard!  This gorgeous complex of cafe, gardens, and garden shop just keeps getting better.

4. Ulla Windblad (http://www.ullawinbladh.se/en/swedish-culinary-craft-historical-environment):  A lovely spot for dinner in Djurgården on their outside patio, this restaurant features traditional Swedish cuisine and they do it very very well.  As they say on their
website, and I love them for it, they do not skimp on the cream and butter!



5. Milles Bakfika (http://www.mmilles.se/).  This little restaurant is right on Strandägen with the most gorgeous view in town, if you are lucky enough to get an outside table.  Their eggs benedict is very very good.

6. Hotel Lydmar Terrace Restaurant (http://lydmar.com/)  The outside bar facing the water is a scrumptious place to take a drink and watch the sunset.  However, they also have a little terrace restaurant upstairs on the second floor where you can sit under umbrellas, next to a fountain and enjoy lunch or dinner in elegant surroundings.  The main dining room is also delicious.


7. Urban Deli (http://www.urbandeli.org/) Both the locations have pleasant outdoor seating on the sidewalk in the summer, but the killer location is the rooftop bar at the Sveavägen location.  It has a gritty modern urban feel with all the stylishness that one expects from Swedes.  The space is suprisingly big and the view spectacular.  They even have blankets if you get a bit chilly.


8. Vaxholms Bygdsgards Cafe (https://www.facebook.com/vaxholmshembygdsgardscafe/)  This charming cafe is only open in the summer and you can sit in the garden overlooking the water.  The highlight is the lavish cake buffet, but they also serve standard lunch fare.  Beware that the place can be very crowded.


9. Restaurant J (http://www.hotelj.com/en/restaurang).  This light and airy restaurant is located right on the dock in Nacka and is the perfect spot for a weekend brunch.

10. Oaxen Slip (http://oaxen.com/en/bistro-slip/) Yet another gorgeous restaurant in Djurgården, the slip is a bistro style restaurant on the backside of the island near Skansen overlooking the docks. The modern and airy interior overlooks the water and in the summer you can enjoy dining on the lovely deck outside.