Christmas is all about delicious treats and one of the most delicious treats is brioche. It is the most versatile dough ever created and this is another great example of it.
The inspiration for this recipe comes from Scandinavian cardamom buns. A very simple yet visually impressive bun filled with fragrant spices and sugar. The layered interior is soft and fluffy and the crunchy pistachios on top provide a good contrast to it.
I used half of my standard brioche dough to make 6 large buns. You can use the whole dough to make 12 but remember to double the ingredients for the filling and syrup.
Or keep the other half for another project from the Brioche playlist.
I will not include the brioche recipe in this post. Instead, I will leave links for both the machine mixed and hand mixed versions so you can choose which one to make.
Click here for the machine mixed brioche.
Click here for the hand mixed brioche.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
550g (1.21lb) brioche dough
For the filling –
70g (2.45oz) softened butter
70g (2.45oz) sugar
5g (0.17oz) cinnamon
3g (0.1oz) cardamom
*Mix all together until smooth
To top –
1 egg for glazing
50g (1.75oz) crushed pistachios
For the sugar syrup –
30g (1oz) water
40g (1.4oz) sugar
*Bring up to a boil before the buns come out the oven
Method
- Make the brioche dough and leave to cold ferment overnight.
- Roll the dough out and spread the filling all over it evenly.
- Fold the dough in 3 layers. Roll it out slightly.
- Cut into 6 strips. Twist each strip into a ball and place on a non-stick paper lined tray.
- Final proof for 4 hours. *During the final hour of fermentation preheat the oven to 160C (320F) fan on.
- Brush the buns with egg and top with pistachios.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Brush with the hot sugar syrup as soon as they come out the oven.
Leave to cool down and enjoy!
Check out some more Christmas bread recipes here.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
Watch the video here
