Traditionally it’s time for this cupcake to appear at least in my kitchen, and I’ve posted a recipe for this before.
However, since then I’ve found one that is so much better, especially if you make the buns yourself. I haven’t been able to buy buns with cardamom in them here in England, so making them yourself is nothing I do by choice. It takes a lot longer than if you buy them of course, and it’s been a lot of searching and failures to find the perfect recipe as well.

After some time I found out that the secret is to make the dough in two steps, and allow it to rise 3 times. Also it’s important not to use too much flour and instead of melted butter, use soft butter.
Tiny details that seem to do nothing but add to the whole procedure and time, but in the end you’ll get fluffy soft buns that will be just as good as the ones you’ll find in the local bakery.

Make sure that your kitchen is warm and free from any draft when you make these. They need the warmth to rise. And I’m using fresh yeast since that’s what the traditional recipe requires.

Oven temperature: 250 C (482 F).

This will make 6-12 buns, depending on how big you’ll make them:

25 grams fresh yeast
250 ml (1 cup)  milk
0,5 dl (3,5 tbsp) caster sugar
350 ml (1,5 cup) all purpose flour

75 grams (2,6 oz) butter
0,75 dl (5 tbsp) caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp ground cardamom
0,5 tsp salt
350 ml (1,5 cup) all purpose flour

Filling:
200 grams (7 oz) almonds
300 ml (1,2 cup) icing sugar
Water

Whipped cream

How to:

As you can see above, some of the ingredients are repeated, and the reason is that we are making two different doughs.

First dough:

Start with the milk and warm it to a finger warm temperature (approx. 37 C or 98 F).
Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl and pour over the warm milk. Stir until the yeast is dissolved.
Add 0,5 dl (3,5 tbsp) caster sugar and 350 ml (1,5 cup) of all purpose flour. Stir until the sugar and flour mixed.
Don’t worry if it seems to be a bit loose and liquid.

Allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Cover it with a tea towel in the meantime.

Second round:

While the first dough is rising, prepare the second part.

Stir 75 grams (2,6 oz) of butter and 0,75 dl (5 tbsp) of caster sugar until soft and fluffy.
Add the salt, the cardamom and the egg. Stir until it’s all mixed.
That’s how far you can prepare the second dough.
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When the first dough is ready, mix it into the second mix together with 350 ml (1,5 cup) of all purpose flour and stir it all until blended.
Place the bowl in a warm and draft free place and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.

The dough should be about twice it’s original size when the rising procedure is done.
It might still be a bit loose, so make sure you have flour on the table when you make the buns. Just add enough flour so you can work with the dough. The less flour you use, the better will the end result be.
Some people want bigger buns, while others want the smaller version, so that is entirely up to you. Just remember that the bigger version will need some more time in the oven later.

When you made the buns, allow them to rise for an additional 30 minutes before you brush them with a bit of whipped egg and put them in the oven.
For the bigger buns, allow at least 8 minutes in the oven, or until they turned golden brown.

Filling:

This can actually be done in two different ways.
You can either ground the almond finely, mix it with the icing sugar and a little bit of water until you’ve got a paste. If you want a white version of that paste, you will need to blanch them first to get rid of the peel. However, no one will really see what it looks like since it will hide inside the buns.

The other way to do this is to buy a bit of Marzipan. You can find that in most big grocery stores these days where they sell baking goods.

Either of the above works.
When the buns cooled off, cut the top off them and with a fork dig out the middle part until you’ve got small bowls left. It’s important that the bottom of the buns are as intact as possible.

Mix the bread you just removed from the buns with the Marzipan or the home made paste and a bit of cream or milk.
The texture should be like a soft paste.
Now fill the buns with the paste you just created of the bread, Marzipan and cream.

Whip the cream and put it on top of the filling you just put inside the buns. Put back the “lid” you cut off earlier and sift some icing sugar over the bun.