Blåbärsbullar (Blueberry Buns)

Happy August everyone! It’s crazy to think that the summer is nearly over, but there’s still a month left to enjoy what’s left! The end of September will actually mark one year since we started this blog, which is even crazier. We have loved it so far, and want to thank everyone for following along. Although we’ve taken some breaks recently and haven’t posted with the same frequency, we plan to continue posting our recipes for as long as possible!

As summer winds down, we are trying to squeeze in a few more summer-friendly recipes before we get to the autumnal recipes in a month or two. And this is one of those summery recipes! These are Swedish blåbärsbullar and they are made with beautiful fresh or frozen blueberries and topped with vanilla pastry cream. We actually made this recipe for our whole family and they were gone in about 10 minutes – we barely managed to taste one ourselves! They are sweet, fluffy, fresh, and just so delicious. And best of all, the filling stays put and doesn’t ooze out, which is always a struggle with fruit filling!

Recipe!

The recipe features our classic yeasted dough that we use for our kanelsnegle (cinnamon buns) and several other recipes. If you want to make everything from scratch, part of the blueberry filling and the homemade kagecreme (pastry cream) can be made in advance so that they are sufficiently cooled. Once you have let the dough have one bulk rise, you can shape your blueberry buns. Add butter, lemon zest, sugar, and a pinch of salt to the cooled blueberry filling. Spread this out over your rolled-out dough. Roll this into a log. Then, cut this log into buns and let them rise again. Before baking, press down the middle of each bun, top with the cream and a couple of blueberries, bake, and enjoy!

Watch Our Video

Check out our video for a visual step by step and read the full recipe below!

Blåbärsbullar (Blueberry Buns)

5 from 4 votes

These blueberry buns are sweet, fluffy, fresh, and just so delicious. The vanilla pastry cream on top adds an amazing creaminess and these are a great alternative to cinnamon or chocolate pastries!

Servings 12 servings

Prep Time 3 hours hrs

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

We always bake using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and milliliters). We can’t promise that our cup measurements will be as accurate! Additionally, we bake and develop our recipes in a convection (fan) oven.

Ingredients

  

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DOUGH

• 150 ml (2/3 cup) milk
• 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or vaniljesukker, if you happen to have it!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 375 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 57 grams (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg for egg wash

FILLING

• 150 grams (1 1/4 cup) fresh blueberries
• 75 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• Lemon zest
• Pinch of salt
• 57 grams (4 tbsp) unsalted butter

TOPPING

• 36 blueberries (3 per pastry)
• 1 portion kagecreme (our recipe will make too much, so you can cut it in half to make just enough for this recipe!)

Instructions

 

• Make kagecreme ahead of time and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
• Heat up the milk, either in the microwave or in a saucepan, until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. You don’t want to kill the yeast! Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. (If your yeast doesn’t do anything, it may be expired. Check the expiration date on the package and start over with new yeast!)
• Combine the egg, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
• Add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
• Slowly add the flour and softened butter, stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading.
• Knead until smooth and elastic, probably around 10-12 minutes. Add a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface. If you prefer not to get your hands messy, feel free to use a stand mixer for this step. The texture of your dough before its first rise should be soft and smooth, not sticky and not too dry.
  
• Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• While the dough is rising, prepare the blueberry filling. Add your blueberries, sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt to a small pot on the stove.
  
• Cook over medium low heat, until the blueberries have reduced and released the majority of their liquid. Set this mixture aside to cool (you can also put this in the fridge to cool it down faster!)
  
• Once your dough has doubled in size, roll it out into a rectangle that is about a quarter of an inch (0.5cm) thick.
  
• Spread your filling evenly on top.
  
• Grate lemon zest over the filling layer.
  
• Roll it up into a log. You’ll want to roll from the shorter edge of the rectangle, so that your buns have more swirls.
  
• Cut the log into 1-1.5 inch (3cm) thick pieces (12 pieces).
  
• Place on two baking sheets and cover the buns loosely with cling film or a clean dishtowel and let them rise another 45 minutes or until they . It may be messy while you cut the buns, but don't worry too much about the shape – when the buns rise, they will look more like swirls! In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  
• When the buns are done rising, egg wash them.
  
• Gently press down the center to create a space for the pastry cream. This helps prevent it from sliding off!
  
• Add a tablespoon of pastry cream to each bun.
  
• Top with three blueberries each.
  
• Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown – you can check the bottom as well, which should be evenly browned.
  

Video

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Swedish

Keyword: blueberry, fluffy, fruity, pastry cream, soft, spring, summer, vanilla

Difficulty: Intermediate