Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Cardamom Dough
- 300 ml whole milk, lukewarm (37°C)
- 75 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 75 g granulated sugar
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 null ground cardamom
- 3 g salt
Vanilla Custard
- 250 ml whole milk
- 3 null egg yolks
- 40 g granulated sugar
- 20 g cornstarch
- 5 g vanilla bean paste
Assembly & Topping
- 120 g raspberry jam
- 1 null egg
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 15 ml water
- 50 g desiccated coconut
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 376 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- 60 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 25 g
- Sodium
- 147 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 5 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 83 mg
- Potassium
- 133 mg
- Calcium
- 69 mg
- Iron
- 0.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 16 mg
- Phosphorus
- 112 mg
- Zinc
- 0.7 mg
- Vitamin A
- 88 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.9 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.3 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.22 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.25 mg
- Niacin
- 1.3 mg
- Folate
- 44 mcg
- Water
- 54 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Make the custard: In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch until pale. Heat 250ml milk in a saucepan until just starting to steam (do not boil). Pour half the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking constantly to temper.
Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens significantly and bubbles lazily. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, cover surface with plastic wrap, and chill completely.
Prepare the dough: In a stand mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast, ground cardamom, and salt. Add the lukewarm milk and melted butter.
Knead the dough on low speed (or by hand) until it is smooth, elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This develops the gluten structure needed for fluffy buns.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces (approx 75g each). Roll into tight balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with your palm.
Cover buns and let rise for a second time until puffy (about 30-45 minutes). Near the end of this time, preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
Use the bottom of a small glass or your fingers to press a deep indentation into the center of each bun. Fill the bottom of the indentation with 1 tsp raspberry jam, then top generously with the cooled custard.
Brush the exposed dough edges with beaten egg. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
Allow buns to cool completely. Whisk powdered sugar and water to form a glaze. Brush the glaze onto the dough (avoiding the custard center) and immediately dip or sprinkle with desiccated coconut.
Chef's Notes
- Freshly grinding green cardamom seeds using a mortar and pestle offers a significantly more potent and floral aroma than pre-ground powder.
- For the neatest appearance, use a piping bag to fill the centers with jam and custard rather than spoons.
- Ensure the custard is completely cold before filling the buns; warm custard will make the raw dough greasy and prevent it from baking through correctly.
- The coconut adheres best when the glaze is wet, so glaze and dip one bun at a time.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container due to the custard filling.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze without the glaze and coconut. Thaw and glaze before serving.
Troubleshooting
Custard leaked out during baking
Cause: Indentation was too shallow or dough proofed too much after shaping, pushing the filling out
Fix: Use a spoon to nudge escaped custard back to the center while still hot, though it will look messy
Prevention: Press the indentation very firmly, almost hitting the tray, immediately before filling and baking
Dough is heavy and dense
Cause: Yeast was dead or liquid was too hot and killed it
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked; use for bread pudding
Prevention: Ensure milk is body temperature (37°C) and check yeast expiration date
Cultural Context
This recipe is a variation of the Norwegian 'Skolebrød' or 'Skoleboller' (School Buns), a beloved bakery staple in Norway. Traditionally packed in school lunches—hence the name—these buns celebrate the Nordic love affair with cardamom, a spice brought to Scandinavia by Vikings via Constantinople.
