Delicious Traditional Finnish Cinnamon Buns (Korvapuusti)

It’s well-known that when I travel, I seek out all the local pastries I can get my hands on. And Finland was no different…despite only spending about a day and a half in Helsinki, I devoured a crazy amount of Finnish cinnamon rolls, called korvapuusti.

A few days after I got home, I was struck with a craving for these comforting, heavily-spiced, somewhat-dense buns, so decided to try my hand at making them.

What are korvapuusti?

Traditional Finnish cinnamon buns are usually called korvapuusti due to their ear-like shape (“korvapuustit” means “little ear buns”).

They are pretty different from the rich, sweet, gooey American cinnamon rolls we’re used to…instead, they are spiced with cardamom in the dough and a lot less sweet, and have a denser and much less gooey texture.

These Finnish korvapuusti ended up identical to the ones in Finland in both taste and texture. My shaping results were a little mixed, but good overall.

Because the dough is a little dense, it can help to shape it into a square or rectangle to make rolling it out easier…you’re wanting to get the dough as thin as possible, and in a rectangle.

The final recipe I share below wasn’t my first try. In fact, at first I loved the first recipe I tried out (this one), and I used this shaping technique. I was so excited when I put them in the oven, because they looked PERFECT!

Buuuuut….they exploded in the oven, which you can see below. No idea why or what happened. I did love the super soft texture of the baked dough, though it wasn’t as true to the traditional Finnish cinnamon roll texture. So I scrapped this approach and went with the final one below.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together the yeast and lukewarm water, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then add the melted butter, sugar, egg, yolk, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon, and begin stirring in the flour.

Start on the low side with about 275g or 2 1/4 cups of flour, then knead until dough is smooth and decide if you need the rest of the flour. You don’t want the dough too dry, but it won’t be super sticky either.

Cover and allow to rise for at least 2 hours, but I recommend doing it in the refrigerator for overnight or up to 24 hours.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle of about 12 inches by 24 inches.

If it’s been refrigerated overnight, you may want to sit it on the counter (still covered) for about 30 minutes to make it softer and easier to work with.

Spread with the softened butter all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on one of the long sides…I always find this easiest with my tiny offset spatula.

Then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon…to be honest, I don’t measure the cinnamon, I just use my shaker.

Begin rolling up tightly, starting from the other long (24-inch) side, the one without the border.

Using a knife or scraper tool, cut the roll on diagonals so that each piece will be about 1/2-inch on the short side and about 3 inches thick on the other side.

It should make about 12 pieces, but I wasn’t obsessed with the exact number.

Place the pieces seam-side down (to help it seal) and with two thumbs or the handle of a fairly thin wooden spoon, press down the middle of each roll (by doing that the two cut edges will be forced upward/the rolls will resemble two “ears”).

It’s a little hard to see in the pic below, as the dent isn’t as visible once they rise again. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough pieces on the sheet, spreading apart a bit. Cover them with a damp towel.

Let rise for about 40 minutes, until the rolls are puffy and have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F) after 20 minutes of rising.

Once the rolls have risen, mix the egg and milk together for the glaze. Brush each roll with this mixture and sprinkle with the pearl sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool and set.

These are the most comforting morning or mid-afternoon treat with a cup of coffee or tea!

Other breakfast goodies you’ll love:

Adapted from Rosa’s Yummy Yum

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Finnish Cinnamon Rolls (Buns, or Korvapuusti)

Yield: 10-12 cinnamon buns

These delicious traditional Finnish cinnamon rolls (called korvapuusti) are everywhere in Finland, and pretty easy to make. A perfect comforting Finnish cinnamon bun recipe you can make anytime.

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH
1 package (7g, or 2 1/4 teaspoons) of instant yeast
120ml (1/2 cup) of lukewarm water
60 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
50g (1/4 cup) of castor sugar (or granulated)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
~300g (between 2 1/4 and 2 1/2 cups) of all-purpose flour
FOR THE FILLING
60g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
50g (1/4 cup) castor sugar (or granulated, or light brown sugar)
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
FOR THE GLAZE
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon of milk
Pearl sugar

Instructions

Make the dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer, stir together the yeast and lukewarm water, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Then add the melted butter, sugar, egg, yolk, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon, and begin stirring in the flour. Start on the low side with about 275g or 2 1/4 cups of flour, then knead until dough is smooth and decide if you need the rest of the flour. You don't want the dough too dry, but it won't be super sticky either.

Cover and allow to rise for at least 2 hours, but I recommend doing it in the refrigerator for overnight or up to 24 hours.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a rectangle of about 12 inches by 24 inches. If it's been refrigerated overnight, you may want to sit it on the counter (still covered) for about 30 minutes to make it softer and easier to work with.

Fill and assemble: Spread with the softened butter all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on one of the long sides. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Begin rolling up tightly, starting from the other long (24-inch) side, the one without the border.

Using a knife or scraper tool, cut the roll on diagonals so that each piece will be about 1/2-inch on the short side and about 3 inches thick on the other side. Look at photos in the post above to see how the shape should look. It should make about 12 pieces, but I wasn't obsessed with the exact number.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough pieces on the sheet, spreading apart a bit. Cover them with a damp towel.

Let rise for about 40 minutes, until the rolls are puffy and have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F) after 20 minutes of rising.

Once the rolls have risen, mix the egg and milk together for the glaze. Brush each roll with this mixture and sprinkle with the pearl sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool.