Fika Fun
Sophie Lombardi
Just when you thought we’d stop copying our Scandi pals, here comes another endorsement for their lovely cosy culture. A few years ago, we became obsessed with Hygge and these days you can’t move for saunas and cold plunge pools. I have now decided to take ‘Fika’ seriously, as a way to distract myself from important things and the concrete winter sky.
‘Fika’ is a Swedish concept that means taking a deliberate break to socialize with a hot drink, typically coffee, and a snack, like a pastry. I light the candles and invite friends and family to join me for a sticky cardamon bun. Part of the joy is making the warm soft dough and then stretching and twizzling it into shapes. The buns make the whole house smell delicious ; better than a host of expensive winter candles.
This is the recipe that I follow from BBC Food with a few tweaks. If you think the dough is too sticky (eg will stick to your kitchen work surface) add more flour. You could use cinnamon instead of cardamon or skip the spiced butter step entirely and spread Nutella between the layers of dough.
Tablecloth and napkins handmade from Rose Gingham Linen (in stock)
Ingredients
Approx 28 cardamom pods
250ml full-fat milk
125g unsalted butter,
350g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
100g golden caster sugar
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 free-range egg, beaten with a fork
Method
Crack 10 cardamon pods open with a rolling pin or pestle and mortar.
Add the pods and seeds to the milk and heat in a saucepan or microwave until steaming but not boiling. Add 35g butter and swirl until melted. Set aside to cool until lukewarm.
Mix the flour, 50g of the sugar, the yeast and the salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl through a sieve to remove the cardamom pods.
Mix with a wooden spoon or the dough hook attachment of a mixer to form a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes in the mixer or tip onto a lightly dusted work surface and knead for 10 minutes by hand until the dough is elastic and smooth.
Return the dough to the bowl then cover the bowl with oiled cling film or a damp tea towel and leave to rise until doubled in size. This should take 1–2 hours. Alternatively, you can leave it to prove in the fridge overnight.
Crack open the remaining cardamom pods and place all of the seeds in a pestle and mortar. Crush to a powder then mix with the remaining 100g/3½oz sugar. Set aside 1½ tablespoons of this cardamom sugar for the final step.
Use a fork to mash the remaining 90g butter and cinnamon into the rest of the cardamom sugar.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to a 35x30cm rectangle, with the shorter edge facing you. Spread the cardamom butter over the surface, right up to the edges.
Fold the top third down over the middle third. Then fold the bottom third up over the whole lot, so you have three layers of dough sandwiched together with the butter. Roll out the dough again lightly to stick the layers together and stretch the rectangle back to about 15x30cm
Cut the dough into 8 equal strips, about 15x3.5cm Cut each into three strips, leaving it attached a little bit at the top, and plait the three strands.
Roll up the plait, starting from the join at the top like rolling up a Swiss roll. Place the buns on lined baking trays.
Cover the trays with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise somewhere warm until doubled in size (about 30–50 minutes). Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
Brush the risen buns with the egg, then sprinkle with the reserved cardamom sugar. Bake for 20–22 minutes, rotating the trays halfway if the buns aren’t browning evenly. Eat within 2 days (shouldn’t be hard)
There are lots of ways to twist your buns. This nice lady on YouTube has enviable technique. Don’t worry too much if they look like the ‘poo emoji’ as they will taste and smell divine.
Sophie x