Giant Cardamom Bun

A few years ago, I had the most delicious pastry I’d ever had at Bageri Petrus in Stockholm. It was a slightly dense, intricately twisted enriched bun known as kardemummabulle: a cardamom bun oozing with butter, sugar, and questionably too much cardamom; I instantly fell in love with its perfection. This humble bun, which can be found in nearly every Swedish bakery, led me to intern at the renowned Fabrique Bakery in New York City, where I learned the art of this Swedish specialty firsthand.

For this take on kardemummabulle, instead of forming smaller, tricky-to-shape individual buns, here you’ll make one giant bun that’s braided like a babka for a gorgeous, shareable brunch centerpiece. The dough can be made up to 24 hours in advance—I recommend making it the night before, which will expedite the baking process the next morning. It’s normal if some of the butter and sugar filling leaks out of the bun during baking—it will caramelize into candy-like bits that are arguably the tastiest part of the whole bun. And if that sounds decadent, the brown sugar syrup that gets brushed all over the warm bun sends this treat over the top in the best way. The bun is best the day it’s baked, preferably with a cup of coffee or tea. —Kelly Janke