Swedish cinnamon and cardamom buns (Kanelbullar)

1. Warm the milk until lukewarm and crumble the yeast into it; melt 75 g of the butter.

2. In a bowl, mix the flour with 60 g of the sugar, the ground cardamom and the salt, add the yeast milk and melted butter and knead for 8-10 minutes into a smooth, elastic dough; cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes until doubled.

3. Beat the remaining 100 g soft butter with the remaining 80 g sugar and the cinnamon until creamy.

4. Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle of about 40×50 cm, spread evenly with the cinnamon butter and roll up tightly from the long side.

5. Cut the roll into 24 equal slices and stand them in paper cases or on a baking tray lined with baking paper; cover and leave to rise for another 30 minutes, then brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar.

6. Bake in an oven preheated to 225 °C for 8-10 minutes until golden; leave to cool on a rack.

Tip: In Sweden, 4 October is "Cinnamon Bun Day" (kanelbullens dag), but kanelbullar are an essential part of fika, the Swedish coffee break, all year round. The cardamom in the dough gives the real Scandinavian scent - don't leave it out. If you can't find pearl sugar, sprinkle with roughly crushed sugar cubes; the cooled buns freeze beautifully too.