Cardamom Bun with Cream Cheese Frosting

Forget about every cinnamon bun you have ever had these Cardamom Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting are your new best friend. Soft pillowy dough, laced with fresh ground cardamom, sweet brown sugar, doused in warm cream cheese frosting. These are beyond amazing, the aromatic cardamom just takes these to a whole other level. Yes, there are multiple steps in this recipe but they are easy and are beyond worth it. We highly recommend your try these rolls with cardamom for a change but if you want to have cinnamon buns instead just substitute 2 tbsp of cinnamon powder for the fresh ground cardamom.

We tried a bunch of different cinnamon bun recipes but we loved A Spicy Perspective’s the most we used her recipe as the base for these Cardamom Buns with Cream Cheese Frosting.

What you will need to make our Cardamom Buns

Let’s make the Dough!

This dough is great and extremely versatile. It bakes up moist and fluffy and you can use it in both sweet and savory applications.

Ingredients

• Butter: We do not want this at room temperature. You will see later on in the recipe how we will use the cold butter to bring the temperature of the milk down.
• Scalded Milk: To scald milk means to heat it just near to a boil. We do this so that it interacts with the yeast better.
• Granulated sugar
• Yeast: Instant or Dry Active works fine. Even if using instant yeast follow the same instructions. This will give the yeast a head start.
• Eggs: Room temperature
• All-purpose flour
• Salt

Don’t go anywhere for the first part of this dough making, we need to work quickly as it is temperature sensitive.

Into the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter straight from the fridge.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add milk. When you see bubbles coming up around the sides and it’s just about to boil remove it from heat and add into the mixing bowl with your butter. Keep stirring the milk until all the butter melts.

After the butter has melted add in the sugar and stir. Immediately, test the temperature with your finger it should be lukewarm (warm enough to proof the yeast but not warm enough to kill it). Test with a thermometer to be sure. If it’s too hot wait for the temperature to come down a bit, we’re looking for (38 – 40.5 C). Whisk in the yeast, and allow it to sit for 10 minutes until you see it bubble and foam at the top (check image below).

Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer onto a low speed.

Then add the eggs, salt, and flour and mix until the dough comes together about 1-2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Cover the bowl with a towl, and allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size , about 60-90 minutes.

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Making the Cardamom Filling

Ingredients

• Brown Sugar: We are using packed brown sugar for this, we need the moisture.
• Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature.
• Cardamom Pods

Listen, were not going to lie this part is a bit annoying, but the flavor you get from fresh cardamom is not even remotely close as to what you get from the ground cardamom at the supermarket.

Count out 60 cardamom pods. You can use a knife to remove the tip of the cardamom pod, then peel it open. Inside you will find black or brown seeds remove them and discard the green husk. Add all the cardamom seeds into a spice grinder and grind it as fine as you can.

Then Mix the brown sugar, room temperature butter, and ground cardamom until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.

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Shaping the Cardamom Buns

Dust some flour on a clean work surface. Once the dough has risen enough remove from the mixing bowl onto your floured work surface.

Fold the dough into 1/3’s, bring the top 1/3 of the dough to the center, and repeat with the bottom.

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Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat you should be left with a squarish shape.

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Using a well floured rolling pin roll your dough to a 40 x 50 cm rectangle. Trim any excess dough.

Then using a spatula spread the filling in a thin layer all over the dough leaving about 3-4 cm on one of the long sides of your rectangle with no filling.

Start at the long end where the filling comes all the way to the edge and start to roll the dough into a tight log shape.

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Place a piece of parchment on the bottom of a 20 x 20 cm baking dish.

Cutting the rolls is where a lot of people struggle. Using a knife to cut these is hard and changes the shape of the roll. A trick is to use some string or dental floss. Mark 9 equal portions on your roll. Slide a long piece of dental floss or thread under the dough. Wrap it around the top. Pull tightly in opposite directions to pull the thread through the roll. Repeat. Tuck a little bit of the loose end under each roll (it kind of looks likes the roll is sitting on its tail)

Baking

Place the cardamom rolls in the baking dish leaving a little room between each roll. Cover, and allow them to rise for 30 min while we preheat our oven to 175°C

Then place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges and golden brown and the center have puffed up. Halfway through cooking, rotate the pan in the oven.

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Make Your Cream Cheese Frosting:

While the buns are baking make your cream cheese frosting. Into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together your room temperature cream cheese, room temperature butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. If you like orange flavor a nice way to step these up is to add 1 tablespoon of orange juice and a little bit of orange zest into the frosting.

When the Cardamom Rolls are done, spread half the glaze over the tops of the cardamom buns while they are still warm. 5-10 minutes later spread on the other half of the glaze and serve warm! These will keep for around 3 days at room temperature and 5 days in the fridge.

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Freezing and Make Ahead instruction :

Getting Ahead: If you want to have these fresh for breakfast, feel free to make them a day ahead. Follow the instruction all the way up to shaping and cutting your cardamom buns. Once you have placed them into the baking dish immediately cover lightly with some cling film and place them in the fridge. In the morning remove from the fridge 30 min before baking (to proof), while your oven is preheating. Bake them for an extra 5 min.

Freezing: To freeze baked rolls for later. Allow the cardamom buns to come to room temperature. Tightly wrap each bun individually in some cling film and then in some aluminum foil. Place in freezer. When you want to eat them, remove from the freezer and allow them to defrost in the fridge. Warm them up in the microwave or oven and enjoy.

If you make these Cardamom Bun with Cream Cheese Frosting! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #thetablediaries on Instagram. We love seeing all the recipes you and your family enjoy.