August 25, 2023

Blåbärsbullar: Swedish Blueberry Buns

It is almost the end of summer and what better to celebrate than with Blåbärsbullar: Swedish Blueberry Buns? These are very similar to cardamom buns. Same dough, almost the same filling but instead of cardamom sprinkled in, its blueberries!

Rain, rain, go away

This summer has been so rainy and wet for us in Sweden. While southern Europe has been smothered by heat, Sweden has remained very cool and rainy. There was a lot of dire warning in late spring that this summer would be “the hottest since 2018” which was a record breaking summer here. That heat never appeared. Instead it has just rained and rained. While this can be annoying from a vacation perspective it does have its upsides. Mainly that this year has been absolutely amazing for blueberries.

Blueberries Everywhere

Blueberries are virtually everywhere in the forests around Stockholm. They aren’t special, they are literally ground cover. With just a few hours of picking you can have liters of blueberries to freeze for the winter months.

I am such a fan of blueberries. Whether it’s in pie form or as muffins they are easily one of my top 5 favorite fruits. I love making Blåbärsbullar: Swedish Blueberry Buns all year round. In the summer they taste like summer and in the winter they still taste like summer and I can almost forget how dark and gloomy it is.

Print Recipe

Blåbärsbullar: Swedish Blueberry Buns

Ingredients

Dough:

200 g butter
550 g milk
1100 g flour
200 g sugar
15 g salt
23 g cardamom optional
70 g fresh yeast

Butter Filling:

300 g butter softened
250 g sugar
3 g vanilla sugar
3 g salt

Other:

Zest of 1 lemon
250 g blueberries
1 egg for egg wash

Glaze:

1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar adjust as needed

Instructions

Dough:

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter, milk, flour, sugar, salt, cardamom (optional), and fresh yeast.
Attach the hook to the stand mixer and mix on low speed for 5 minutes to bring the dough together.
Increase the speed to medium/medium-fast and continue mixing for about 30 minutes to build strength in the gluten. To check readiness, stretch a piece of dough with wet hands—it should be able to get really thin and not tear.
Shape the dough into a rectangular-ish shape, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Butter Filling:

While the dough rests, prepare the filling by mixing softened butter, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Set aside (do not refrigerate).

Assembly:

Roll out the fully chilled dough on a floured surface. Make it about ⅓ inch or 1cm thick, and 1½ to 2 times longer than wide.
Spread the butter filling evenly over the dough, then zest a lemon over the top.
Sprinkle blueberries evenly over the filling and press gently into the butter.
Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third of the dough.
Roll the dough again to about ¾ inch or 2cm thickness. Cut into long, skinny strips weighing 80-90g.
Tie each strip into a knot and place on a parchment-lined baking tray.
Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let the knots proof until doubled in size (1-3 hours).
Once doubled, bake at 400°F (200°C) for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Immediately after baking, brush the buns with a thin layer of egg wash and let cool completely.