Korvapuusti-Finnish cinnamon rolls

Finns bake their cinnamon buns as ear-shaped buns. They are actually the same thing as the Swedish cinnamon rolls. These are such a perfect delicacy you really need to try, perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

What is korvapuusti?

Korvapuusti is a cinnamon bun. Sweet cardamom-flavored bread-like dough is baked into fluffy rolls filled with butter, cinnamon, and sugar. They are often topped with pearl sugar.

Korvapuusti, translated, means “a slap in the ear”, maybe because of their unique shape. 

This Finnish sweet cardamom bread is baked with Pulla dough. Pulla is the name for all types of sweet Finnish cardamom buns and bread. The most traditional pulla is braided cardamom bread. Korvapuusti shares place number one since you can buy korvapuusti in all grocery stores in Finland.

History

The Finns started baking white wheat bread in late 1800. Pulla was baked for festivities like weddings and for Christmas. The idea for korvapuusti came from Sweden where they baked cinnamon rolls and knots.

These cinnamon pastries became popular after war times when it became easier to get sugar, butter, flour, and spices. Pulla was usually baked in large quantities and the leftovers were dried to make korppu. Korppu is usually dipped in coffee or tea to soften it up.

Even nowadays you can buy pullakorppu from grocery stores or bakeries in Finland.

Finns celebrate the korvapuusti day fourth of October every year. It is the same day as cinnamon roll day in Sweden.

Ingredients and replacements

• Flour. The buns are made with white wheat flour. Use bread flour or all-purpose one. The high protein content is important to get a good viscosity in the dough.
• Sugar. Brown sugar is a substitute for white sugar. To make sugar-free korvapuusti you can use erythritol.
• Milk. If you don't have milk, you can even use water as a liquid.
• Butter. Butter can be replaced with margarine. Butter is always added as soft, not melted!
• Egg. Eggs can be left out of the recipe.
• Yeast. Use dry instant yeast or fresh bread yeast.
• Cardamom. Green cardamom pods are used to make pulla. You can find it as pods, or as ready ground in the stores.
• Salt. Salt gives flavor but also makes the viscosity better.

Ingredients for the filling

• Butter. Can be replaced with margarine
• Sugar. In Finland fariinisokeri is often used in the filling, it is brown soft sugar. You can use white, brown, or muscovado sugar for the filling.
• Cinnamon. The most common cinnamon types are Cassia and Ceylon cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon is usually used in korvapuuusti since it has a stronger flavor. Ceylon cinnamon does not have the mildly poisonous compound coumarin.

Topping the buns

• Egg. Korvapuusti traditionally gets an eggwash so it gets a warm brown glossy color when baked.
• Pearl sugar. Perl sugar has a nice crunchy texture. You can make it without pearl sugar. Pearl sugar can be bought for *ex on Amazon.

Even crushed or sliced almonds can be used as a topping.

Variations/allergies

Vegan korvapuusti: Leave out the egg from the recipe. Use vegetable fat instead of butter. Use any plant milk you like instead of regular milk. For example, you can make pulla dough from oat-, soy-, and almond milk. You can brush your cinnamon bun with plant milk instead of egg.

Milk-free korvapuusti. Use plant milk in the dough and margarine.

Gluten-free. Use a gluten-free flour mix and add 2 tablespoons of psyllium also. Psyllium is a water-soluble fiber, you should use it in a powdered form. Mix it in a small amount of liquid first.

How to make Finnish cinnamon rolls?

1. Warm your milk to 108F, 42C if you use dry yeast. 108 F feels a bit warm to the finger but not at all too hot. For me, it took 1,5 minutes in the microwave. For fresh yeast, lukewarm milk is good.
2. Dissolve your yeast in the milk. Add the sugar, cardamom, and 1-2 cups of flour. Beat it to make a batter. The warm milk and sugar activate the yeast. You can wait for some minutes to be sure your yeast activates.
3. Add your salt and egg and give it a stir. The egg is best to be added at room temperature. Salt is added at this stage because yeast does not like salt.
4. Add in your flour gradually while mixing the batter at the same time. I like to use a wooden spoon first and then knead with one hand. You can use a plastic glove so you won't get messy.
5. After some minutes of kneading add in your softened butter. If it is hard, you can microwave it for some seconds. Remember that your butter should only be soft, not liquid, and especially not too hot.
6. Knead your dough additional 5 minutes. You can test if the dough is kneaded enough by taking a small piece of dough in between your fingers and stretching it. If it has enough elasticity, the dough pulls nicely and you can stretch it into a window pane shape.

First rise and how to shape

1. Let your dough rest and rise. Cover your dough ball in the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rest in a warm place for 20-30 minutes. To get warm conditions, you can have the bowl in a water bath in the sink.
2. Divide your risen dough into equal halves. Roll each half with a rolling pin to a rectangle. 1-2 cm thick. (0,5-0,8 inch). (put some oil or flour on your surface)
3. Make your filling: mix the soft butter, sugar, and cinnamon together. Spread it evenly on both halves. Or you can first spread your soft butter and then sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon on top.
4. Roll the rectangle to a "snake" from the long side. Cut the roll into 10-14 triangles depending on the length. Make sure your seam is on the bottom or side. Leave an inch or two at the top of the triangle, a bit wider than in the picture below to get more pretty buns.

Did you know that Finnish Sauna is a great place to let buns rise. Warmed up to 100F. Bun dough loves moist and warm.

Second rise and baking

1. Place your buns on a sheet with space between them. Press with your finger in the middle so the sides bulge out. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise in warm conditions for 30 minutes or longer.
2. Preheat your oven to 200 C, 400F. Brush your buns with beaten egg and sprinkle some pearl sugar on top. Bake in the middle rack for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Variations of korvapuusti

The cinnamon-butter filling is not the only filling for korvapuusti. As filling you can also use:

• Marzipan. Soften it up and mix it with some butter. Add even some cinnamon and top with almonds to make almond filled rolls.
• Vanilla rolls. Add some thick vanilla custard as filling.
• Crushed nuts in the layers.
• Jam or marmalade. Make sure they are meant for oven.
• Chocolate bits on top of the butter filling.
• Orange flavored buns are baked in orange juice instead of milk and flavored with orange zest.

From this same dough, you can also make Swedish cinnamon rolls and braided or round Finnish pulla.

How to serve

Korvapuusti is traditionally served with a cup of coffee or tea as an afternoon "snack", coffee break. Kids love to enjoy their pulla with a glass of cold milk.

Korvapuusti can be enjoyed as a part of fancier breakfast also. In Finland, this is something traditional to eat when visiting a coffee shop.

Storing

Store these Finnish pastries airtight for example in a ziplock bag so they don't dry up. Korvapuusti can be frozen. Just microwave it when you want to enjoy one or let it thaw slowly.

You can also freeze korvapuusti as raw. The buns need to be raised and formed. Freeze them separately. You can bake them as frozen in the oven, bake time is a bit longer. I have even tried to air-fry frozen raw korvapuusti at 350F. They turned out quite ok, but not as fluffy as baked one in the oven.

These can also be dried to korppu, as hard bread that is dipped in coffee or tea. To make korppu it is best to divide these in half or cut into slices before drying them. Korppu is made in the oven by baking slices at 300F 30-40 minutes.

Tips and problem solving