Rabarberbullar: Swedish Rhubarb Buns
Hey my dudes!
If you love a good pastry, then you’re going to want to try Swedish Rhubarb Buns, or Rabarberbullar as they’re called in Sweden. These delicious buns are filled with tart poached rhubarb and a creamy vanilla pastry cream. They’re the perfect treat for any time of day.
This recipe is basically just a variation of cardamom buns. It uses the same dough which is called vetebröd in Swedish. Vetebröd, which literally translates to “wheat bread”, is popular in Sweden. It is a sweet, soft bread that is typically flavored with cardamom, giving it its unique taste. Vetebröd is commonly used as a base for Swedish baked goods, such as cinnamon buns and semlor. Vetebröd is a yeast-based dough. Besides being used for buns, is often braided or formed into a round loaf before baking. It is a staple in many Swedish households and is enjoyed year-round.
The best springtime bun!
Rabarberbullar are quite popular during the springtime in Sweden. They are often enjoyed with a cup of coffee or tea, during fika. They can also be a great dessert to share with friends and family, as the recipe makes a fairly large batch of buns. Often I will make a batch and the freeze them in so I can enjoy them over the course of a week or two. For tips on freezing and defrosting check out this tips and tricks post here!
One of my favorite things about rarbarberbullar is that they are not too sweet. They are perfectly balanced because of the tartness of the rhubarb, the creaminess of the pastry cream and the subtlety of the cardamom. Brushing them with the rhubarb syrup after baking also helps. In a subtle way it emphasizes the fruitiness/fresh flavor of the bun.
Hurry up and make them before the spring is over!
Rabarberbullar: Swedish Rhubarb Buns
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
- 250 g milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean seeds scraped
- 60 g egg yolks
- 50 g sugar
- 25 g cornstarch
- 50 g unsalted butter room temperature
Poached Rhubarb
- 300 g water
- 300 g sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean seeds scraped
- 3-4 stalks rhubarb sliced into 1 cm pieces
Dough
- 550 g milk
- 200 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 1100 g all-purpose flour
- 200 g sugar
- 15 g salt
- 23 g ground cardamom
- 70 g fresh yeast
Butter Filling
- 250 g sugar
- 3 g salt
- 3 g vanilla sugar
- 300 g unsalted butter well-softened
Instructions
Pastry Cream
- Pour the milk and vanilla bean seeds into a small pot and heat on the stove.
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch.
- Once the milk starts to steam, pour it into the bowl with the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
- Pour the mixture back into the pot and bring to a boil while whisking continuously.
- Boil for one minute, then turn off the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh strainer and cover with plastic wrap on contact.
- Place in the fridge to cool down.
- While the pastry cream is cooling, prepare the rhubarb.
Poached Rhubarb
- In a small pot, heat the water, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds until it comes to a boil.
- Place the rhubarb in a heat-proof container and pour the hot syrup over it, making sure all the pieces are covered.
- Cover with a lid and set aside to cool.
Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the milk, butter, flour, sugar, salt, cardamom, and yeast using the hook attachment.
- Mix on low speed for 5 minutes, then increase to medium/medium-fast and continue mixing for 30 minutes until the dough develops enough gluten.
- Form the dough into a square-ish rectangular-ish shape, wrap in plastic, and chill in the fridge for at least one hour.
- While the dough is chilling, prepare the butter filling.
Butter Filling
- Mix together the sugar, salt, vanilla sugar, and softened butter until smooth.
Assembly
- Once the dough has chilled, lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough into a rectangle that is about two times longer than it is wide and about a centimeter thick.
- Spread the butter filling evenly over the dough, leaving a bit of space around the edges.
- Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, and roll out again to a centimeter thickness.
- Cut into long, thin strips.
- Twist each strand and then twirl. Tuck the tail and press down slightly so it doesn’t unravel.
- Depending on the size of your tray place 5 or 6 buns on each tray and cover lightly with plastic wrap so they can proof.
- Proof until doubled in size, usually between 1-3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Whisk up the pastry cream so it becomes smooth again.
- Once the buns are proofed press in the centers and fill with about a tablespoon of pastry cream.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.
- As soon as they come out of the oven, brush the sides with the rhubarb syrup.
- Top with the poached rhubarb and let cool.
- Enjoy!