What can you do when you have a child at home that is still recovering and can’t go out? Readingof course is the best of pastimes but what if your child is a really Pippi Longstockingand she can stay still for a second? In honor of this delightful character created by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren, we decided to run a home version of “MasterChef” inspired to the Swedish pastry masterpiece THE CINNAMON ROLLS. The rule was that we both used the same dough but we had free hands on the filling and the way we rolled them.
My choice was classic I went for cardamom rolls, with a filling of grounded almonds and cardamom that recall the oriental texture and smell of the Persian baghlava, my daughter decided for a filling of apple sautéed in a little butter and sugar, finally seasoned with abundant cinnamon. We also decided to roll them in a different way, I rolled each of them individually; my daughter preferred the traditional way, rolling one big roll and then cut it in slices.
AND THE WINNER IS… But first thing first (as Gordon Ramsey says): the recipes
For the dough
Ingredients:
100 gr of butter
1 and ¼ cup of mild
2 tbs of dry yest
½ ts of salt
½ cup of sugar
1 egg
1 ts of baking powder
4 cups flour
Directions:
Melt the butter and add the milk. Heat to 37 C and melt the yeast in it. Let it rise for about 10 minutes
In the stand mixer bowl combine the yeastmixture, salt, sugar, and egg, mix it well
Add baking powder and flourand knead until the dough is smooth and smooth and elastic (15 minutes, medium speed if you use the stand mixer)
Let it rise for at least one hour
Cardamom buns
Ingredients:
1 cup of almond paste
50 gr of butter
1 full tbs of ground cardamom
directions:
Divided the dough into 12 piecesof equal size and form with each a circle
Prepare amixture of cardamom, almond paste and butter
Spread themixture on each circle and then roll it up, then roll it like a snail
Put eachroll in a paper baking cup
Let it rise for about anhour then brush with beaten egg
Bake it at 180 C for about 25 minutes
Apple buns
Ingredients:
1 apple apple diced
3 tbs of sugar
1 tbs of cinnamon
1 tbs of butter
Sautee the diced apple with butter and sugar for about 5 minutes at small heat, then take it from the heat, add cinnamon, mix well and let it cool
Roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread the apple filling, roll up and cut into even slices.
Place them in parchment-lined baking sheet and let them rise for another hour
Brush with beaten egg and bake in the oven 180 C for about 200 minutes
Prepare a sauce mixing icing sugar with some drop of lemon and drop tiny bits of the sauce on the rolls.
The winner : apple buns
And the loser: Cardamom rolls