Kløbenboller (Cardamom Rolls with Marzipan & Dried Fruit)
These rustic-looking cardamom buns are full of almonds, marzipan, raisins, and cranberries and have an amazing texture and fluffiness! They are the perfect addition to your Christmas breakfast table or as a treat during the holidays.
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 200 ml (about 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast) *if you're using individual packets of instant/active dry yeast, use 1 packet!
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 385 grams (about 3 1/4 cups) all purpose flour
- 42 grams (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- Lemon zest from one lemon
TOPPINGS
- 50 grams (1/3 cup) raisins
- 50 grams (1/3 cup) dried cranberries
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) marzipan, grated (you can use our recipe for marzipan or use store bought!)
- 1 egg
- Flaked/chopped almonds
- Pearl sugar (optional)
Instructions
- If using active dry yeast, heat the milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add your yeast, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up. If using instant yeast, simply add the yeast to the milk – there is no need to dissolve it.
- Combine the egg, sugar, cardamom, and lemon zest in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Once the yeast mixture has bubbled up a bit, add it to the egg mixture, or if using instant yeast, add immediately. Mix well.
- Then add the salt, softened butter, and flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together, or you can use a stand mixer to mix it together. Tip it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Add more flour if needed – the dough should be soft and smooth, not dry and not sticking to the surface. If using a stand mixer, allow it to knead the dough together for about 10 minutes.
- Cover the dough with cling film or a clean dishtowel and place in a warm place to rise for anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has finished proofing, it's time to shape the rolls. This is a bit of an unusual way of shaping rolls! Take your dough out of the bowl and press the dough into a rough rectangle on your work surface.
- Spread raisins, cranberries, and grated marzipan evenly across the top surface of the dough.
- Press the ingredients gently into the top of the dough.
- Whisk together an egg in a bowl, then add the egg over the top of the dough (it doesn't have to be evenly spread across, just dump it on top!)
- Taking a bench scraper (you can also use a knife!) Cut the dough into little squares, about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches in size.
- You should now have a bunch of little squares of dough. Take your hands or the bench scraper and begin tossing the squares together until the egg is evenly distributed.
- From this mixture, we are going to form 8 rolls. We simply do this by collecting together the little blobs of dough (you can press them together very gently if needed!) and then transferring to a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. They do not have to look even, just mostly grouped together.
- Cover the rolls and let them proof for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F (176C)
- Once the dough has finished rising, you can adjust any that have spread too far by gently collecting them together again without pressing out too much air. Top with chopped or flaked almonds and pearl sugar.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden (check the bottoms of the rolls to make sure they are done - they should be golden brown and if you tap the rolls, they should sound hollow!)
- Enjoy - these pair great with a cup of coffee!