Cardamom And Saffron Easter Loaf
The sweet smell of cardamom, and cinnamon wafts up the stairs, a gentle reminder that it’s breakfast time. The sticky glaze crisps slightly as the buns warm in the oven, adding a hint of orange to the other wonderful spicy aromas. I first discovered Kanelbullar (cinnamon Buns) in Stockholm where the family I lived with kept a stash in the freezer, the hot glossy tops poking out from underneath the napkin, making such a tempting start to the day. The cardamom in Swedish cinnamon buns makes them distinctly fragrant and delicious, I’ve added saffron and created a luxury ring for a special Easter Day breakfast.
Cardamom And Saffron Easter Circle Loaf
Recipe
Cardamom And Saffron Easter Loaf
Cardamom And Saffron Loaf is delicious with fresh cream or toasted and slathered with melted butter and the leftovers, if there are any, make a perfectly fragrant bread and butter pudding. Enriched doughs take longer to rise so you need plenty of time to make this bread. But you can do the first two rises and then shape it, cover with cling film and put it in the fridge, ready to bake for breakfast or any time the next day. Just let it come to room temperature before putting in the pre heated oven.
Cardamom And Saffron Easter Loaf With Cream
- For the loaf
- ½ tsp Saffron strands
- 3 tbsp Warm water
- 1 tsp cardamom pods
- 500g Strong white flour, plus extra to dust
- ½ tsp salt
- 75g Caster sugar
- 10g Quick yeast
- 175ml Warm whole milk
- 2 Large eggs beaten
- 75g Softened unsalted butter
- For the filling
- 200g Granulated sugar
- 100g Softened butter
- 1 Level tbsp Ground cinnamon
- For the heart decoration
- 20g Plain flour
- 1tsp Unflavoured oil
- 2 tbsp cold water, enough to make a paste the consistency of thick cream
- For the glaze
- 75 ml Fresh orange juice without the bits
- 2 tbsp Caster sugar
- Place the saffron in the warm water and soak for 5 mins
- Grind the cardamom in a pestle and mortar, remove the papery outer casing and continue grinding until you have a fine powder.
- Place the flour, ground cardamom, salt, sugar & yeast into a bowl.
- Make a well in centre and add the saffron and saffron water, warm milk, eggs and softened butter, mix
- lightly with your fingers until everything comes together into a slightly sticky dough. Add a little extra water if the dough seems too dry.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins or until smooth and elastic.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm area for 1½ - 2 hours until doubled in size.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and turn onto a lightly floured surface and knock out the excess air. Form back into a ball and return the dough to an oiled bowl, re-cover and leave to rise in a warm place tor 1 - 1½ hours until doubled in size again.
- Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the filling, ensuring the cinnamon, sugar and butter are very well combined and soft.
- Grease a Bundt tin and set aside.
- Once the dough has risen for the second time knock it back again and then divide into 8 equal parts. Roll out each piece to about 12cm or 5 inches, spread with the cinnamon butter mixture and fold into a ball. Place into the greased bundt tin and repeat with the remainder of the dough.
- Cover with cling film or place into a plastic bag and leave to rise for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile,to make the heart decoration, mix the flour and oil together and just enough water to make a thick cream consistency. Place into a disposable piping bag or the corner of a small plastic bag. Snip a small corner off the bag and set aside until the dough has finished it's final rise.
- Preheat the oven 180c, 160c fan, Gas mark 4, 350f.
- Remove the tin from the cling film or plastic bag and pipe a heart on each dome of dough. Place into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Meanwhile place the orange juice and sugar into a small pan and bring to the boil, continue cooking until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and leave to cool for about 5-7 mins. Then using a pastry brush brush the top of each dome with the sticky glaze to create a high shine.
- Remove from the bundt tin and cool completely on a cooling rack.
- If you are toasting, DO NOT toast in a toaster as the cinnamon sugar could burn. Place under a grill to toast.
Hi GG, what a Easter beauty. There is nothing like cardamom in baked goods, love the flavor and smell.
Thanks Cheri. I love spices in baking, they give such a warmth to the recipe. GG
My gosh, I would have loved living with the swedish family.
Having baked good ready for the oven straight from the freezer was fab & ok when you’re in your teens and early twenties. Now I have to restrict the freezer filling or I would be the size of a house! GG
Yes, OH YES GG! This is my kind of bake and especially for Easter too. I adore cardamom in all its forms, and love the warm and aromatic fragrance it imparts to baking, cooking and the house, as you say. A fabulous recipe and it’s really lovely to see more of your Scandi recipes here. Karen
Nothing like a kick up the back side from my very good friend to get me to post more Scandi stuff!???? GG
Heavenly! Cardamom and saffron must have given this sweet bread some amazing flavour.
It was fabulous and the cinnamon filling just a little extra sweetness. GG
I was just thinking that it sounded very Nordic! What a beautifully aromatic bread GG! 😀
I love Nordic flavours, a bit of spice in the baking makes such a difference. GG
I can almost smell this! Looks and sounds amazing.
Thanks Jenny, I love a sweet loaf. GG
Such a good idea to put saffron in the cake, bet it tastes amazing.
It does, that and the cardamom make a delicious bake. GG
This looks incredible GG, those flavours really must make the loaf pop! Happy Easter
Thanks Stuart, you’re right it really does pop! GG
This loaf looks lush – I do like bakes and recipes for particular holidays!!
Thanks Heidi, me too. GG
I just got more cardamom the other day and have been trying to think of what to make. A saffron cardamom loaf sounds like a dream!
It’s a wonderful fragrant loaf, I do hope you enjoy it. GG
Beautiful! One of the chefs I worked with back in the day encouraged this taste combination, it was fun to see in both sweet and savoury dishes. I will have to forward this recipe to him, I bet he will love this sweet bread.
I love this combination, it’s perfect with this bread as it’s not overly sweet. GG