History

Cardamom buns took hold in Danish bakeries in the 19th century via the trade routes that brought Indian cardamom to Scandinavia through the Danish East India Company. The modern revival is owed to Emil Glaser at Juno the Bakery (opened 2017 in Østerbro), whose intensely cardamom-perfumed knot bun became a Copenhagen ritual queue and reset the city's expectations. Hart Bageri (Richard Hart, mentored by Tartine's Chad Robertson) joined the wave from 2018 with a darker-baked version. Andersen & Maillard runs an espresso-paired version at their Nørrebro and Nordhavn counters.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 10Hands-on 45 minTotal 4 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the dough: 500g strong bread flour
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 10g instant yeast
  • 250ml whole milk (warm)
  • 1 large egg
  • 100g unsalted butter (softened)
  • 5g ground cardamom (crushed from green pods just before use)
  • For the cardamom filling: 150g unsalted butter (softened)
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 10g ground cardamom (freshly crushed)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of fine sea salt
  • For finishing: 1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk, pearl sugar, extra crushed cardamom

Method

  1. Make the dough: combine flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cardamom. Add the warm milk and egg; mix to a shaggy mass. Knead 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in a stand mixer to a smooth dough.
  2. Add the softened butter a tablespoon at a time, kneading well between additions, until fully incorporated and the dough is silky. Cover; rise 60 to 90 minutes until doubled.
  3. Make the filling: beat softened butter, sugar, cardamom, vanilla and salt to a smooth thick paste.
  4. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 40cm by 60cm rectangle, 5mm thick.
  5. Spread the cardamom filling evenly across the dough to the edges.
  6. Fold the rectangle in thirds like a letter (bring the top third down, the bottom third up over it). You now have a 40cm by 20cm rectangle three layers thick.
  7. Cut into 10 strips, each about 4cm wide.
  8. Hold one end of a strip and twist the other end three full turns. Then wrap the twisted strip around two fingers of your other hand and tuck the end through the centre to form a knot. The shape should be a coiled rose.
  9. Place each bun on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced 8cm apart.
  10. Cover; rise 45 minutes until visibly puffed.
  11. Heat oven to 200°C. Brush the buns with egg wash; sprinkle pearl sugar and extra crushed cardamom over.
  12. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until deeply golden, almost mahogany on the highest points (the dark bake is the Copenhagen signature).

Tip from the editors. Crush whole green cardamom pods just before use; the perfume vanishes within hours. Bake darker than feels right; Hart and Juno run nearly burnt on high points.

Where to eat kardemommesnurre (cardamom bun)

Kardemommesnurre (cardamom bun) in Copenhagen

Juno the Bakery ★ 4.9

$ BakerySourdough, Scandinavian pastry, cardamom bunsWalk-in only

Juno the Bakery on Århusgade in Østerbro from former noma cook Emil Glaser bakes the cardamom bun that anchors the modern Copenhagen pastry conversation.

Worth the queueCardamom bun

TipOpen Wednesday to Sunday only. Arrive by 09:30 for the cardamom bun or expect the 60-deep weekend queue.

Directions

Hart Bageri ★ 4.8

$ BakerySourdough loaves and laminated Danish pastriesWalk-in only

Hart Bageri on Gammel Kongevej in Frederiksberg was opened by former Tartine head baker Richard Hart and now runs ten locations across greater Copenhagen.

Worth the queueTebirkes (poppyseed danish)

TipArrive by 09:00 weekends for the cardamom buns and tebirkes; sourdough loaves restock through the morning.

Directions

Andersen & Maillard ★ 4.7

$ Café

Andersen & Maillard on Nørrebrogade in Nørrebro is the city's pioneering bakery-roastery hybrid, opened in 2018 by former noma pastry chef Milton Abel.

DrinkFlat white

TipOrder the cardamom kouign-amann with the house filter coffee. The bench by the window is the prime perch.

Directions

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