Lemon-Raspberry Cardamom Buns

A baker's daydream

Let’s get straight to it. Last spring at Söderberg in Scotland I had a cardamom bun. While I’m not that much of a sweets guy (OK, some exceptions), and, while I already wrote a recipe that I could literally eat every day (toothy, gorgeous, pumping with swirls of cardamom), I keep going back to what I had. Rather than the traditional version, it was a citrusy cardamom-lemon riff on the classic. Slightly sweeter than mine, with a puffier texture, and filled to the brim with aromatics, here I am three months later, still talking about it.

You know what happens next.

After many tests and tweaks, including the addition of raspberry for jamminess and color, I have a beautiful treat perfumed with the most incredible combination of cardamom, raspberry, and lemon. For dough, I tried everything from brioche to milk dough in my search for that puffier quality I remember from the Scottish bun. In the end, I landed on a soft, buttery base with some whole wheat for complexity.

In terms of process, after the first rise I roll out the dough and fold, layering in a mixture of freeze-dried raspberries (for more concentrated flavor than fresh), freshly ground cardamom, and sugar. When the raspberry hydrates it turns a deep crimson. Slightly sweet but not sugary with a barely pillowy texture, the buns feel special while retaining an appropriate level of Scandinavian standoffishness. Let’s make them.

Lemon-Raspberry Cardamom Buns

A quick note on the cardamom seeds or pods and freeze-dried raspberries. These are most easily ground with a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a set I do believe they’re an essential tool for spices, you can find them for $10 to $15. If you go with preground cardamom, that’s OK but you’ll need higher amounts in order get a similar flavor.

Water*, 118g
Milk, whole*, 118g
Sugar, granulated, 38g
Salt, 8g (1.5 t)
Yeast, instant, 7.5g (2.5 t)
Cardamom, freshly ground, 3g (about 1.5 t to 2 t)
Bread flour, 330g
Whole wheat flour, 67g
Butter, unsalted, 85g, room temperature
Lemon zest, one large lemon

*For the water and milk temperature, in cool months with flour temperatures in the 60s, warm your liquids to 85 to 95°F or so. In warmer months, 75 to 80°F should be good. If using cold milk from the fridge, I use hot tap water and it averages out well.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all of the ingredients. Mix on low until no dry spots remain then switch to medium speed (about speed 4 in a KitchenAid). The dough will smooth and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing until it’s slightly shiny and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Knead briefly by hand to finish, tightening the dough into a round.

Place the dough in a lightly greased container to rise until puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes in a warm spot. While the dough rises, prepare the filling.

*Note that a portion of the filling mixture will be reserved for use as a garnish after the bake.

Raspberries, freeze-dried, 15g (about 1/2 cup) (Available at a variety of stores, including Target)
Sugar, granulated, 90g
Cardamom, freshly ground, 3g (about 1.5 t to 2 t)
Cinnamon, 2.5g (1 t)
Salt, pinch

Grind the dried raspberries to powder in a mortar and pestle or a small food processor then whisk together with the remaining ingredients. Cover and reserve until use. *Reserve 15g (about 2 T) of the filling mixture for use after the bake.*

To roll the dough, dump onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the top, pat to remove any bubbles, then roll and stretch into a rectangle, roughly 12” by 16" with the long side running parallel to the edge of your work surface. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. Flour and invert the dough piece as often as necessary in order to keep it “floating” rather than stuck to the work surface.

Place the dough on a lightly-floured parchment-lined half sheet tray, cover, and freeze for 10 min. The cold will make the dough easier to handle.

After the cold period, roll and stretch to 12” by 20” then egg wash the entire surface. *Save the remaining egg wash for brushing the rolls before baking.*

Sprinkle the filling mixture evenly across the dough, gently smoothing it out by hand if necessary.

Fold the dough like a letter. Starting on the right side, fold towards the left, making a crease roughly 1/3rd of the way (around 6.5” from the right edge). Press to adhere.

Repeat the motion with the left side, folding from left to right, covering the first fold. Again, press the layers together to adhere. After folding, the dough block should measure roughly 12” by 6.5". Roll to extend the length of the block and remove any air bubbles, working the dough to about 16” by 8”.

Cut 8 strips 1" wide (18” in length). (If desired, roll the uncut dough piece slightly wider than 8” and cut ⅛” off each long side. This will make for more visible layers, exposing all the raspberry at each edge cut. See the video for detail.)

To make the final shape, working with one strip at a time gently stretch the dough piece to elongate to roughly 24” to 26” then wrap the dough loosely around your fingers, making a 4” loop. As you reach the end of the dough piece, tightly wrap the tail around the midsection of the bundle, tucking the end underneath as you finish. As always, I’ll drop a short video of the process below.

Place the rolls on a parchment-lined half sheet tray, cover and proof until puffy, 60 to 90 minutes in a warm spot. Towards the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 425°F.

While the rolls proof, prepare the glaze.

Water, 28g
Lemon juice, 28g
Sugar, granulated 25g

In a small saucepan, stir together the glaze ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat while stirring and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly. Set aside until ready to use.

Once the rolls are soft, puffy, and hold the impression of a finger when gently pressed, generously egg wash, covering the tops and sides. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating as necessary. I bake these to a deep golden brown, but slightly less than my original recipe. The golden brown (as opposed to mahogany) bake keeps them slightly more tender. One note, due to the slightly higher sugar, you’ll want to keep an eye on the underside of the rolls during baking, especially with a gas oven (which heats from the bottom). In my home gas oven I bake on an upper rack — with electric ovens, a middle rack should be perfect.

After baking, brush the rolls with the glaze and immediately garnish with the remaining garnishing sugar. If applied while the rolls are still very warm the cardamom and raspberry aroma will be even more present and intoxicating.