I decided to combine this with my absolute favorite Finnish cinnamon rolls called “Korvapuusti”. The dough is super flavorful as we add a lot of cardamom in it. The filling is made of a buttery cinnamon and cardamom flavored spread and in addition to this another layer of pumpkin pie spread..

These buns don’t have the classic shape in any way, but I wanted to do something different. I also tried another option where I just added the classic filling and left out the pumpkin...these turned out as little mini braids or as they say here “Zopf”. 

To crown of the buns I added a spiced sugar glaze....I have to admit that I pretty much ate the whole batch myself :) but so worth it! 

RECIPE

500g flour

180g milk

80g sugar

3g salt

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

90g soft butter

42g yeast (1 cube)

8g cardamom (coarsely ground)

150g butter (soft)

50g dark brown sugar (like muscovado)

30g sugar

10g cinnamon powder

5g cardamom ground

400g Pumpkin puree

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 pcs vanilla bean (scraped)

80g sugar

100g powdered sugar

30g Pumpkin pie puree

20g almond milk

Warm the milk in a pot until just slightly warm. (Make sure to not overheat your milk otherwise you will end up “killing” the yeast and you won’t have a dough that rises) and add the yeast until it is dissolved. 

Mix the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and add the milk with the yeast. 

Mix the dough for about 5-6 minutes on low speed until you have a smooth dough that doesn’t stick to the sides of your bowl.

Cover the bowl with the dough with cling film (So you don't get a dried/crusty top) And let the dough rest for about 2 hours. The dough will triple in size.

Once the dough has rested remove from the bowl and roll it out on a floured surface until about 1 cm thick. Cover with the cinnamon spread and then with the pumpkin pie puree.

Fold the dough in half horizontally and cut into 2cm strips. Make a braid with 3 strips and twist the braid into a bun (like a snail) put them into your prepared moulds. You can also bake them without any moulds on your tray.

Place them onto your baking tray. Eggwash your buns and top with the coarse sugar if desired.

Let them rise again for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 180C for about 15 Minutes until darker golden brown. Let them cool completely and then drizzle with the spice sugar glaze. 

For the filling mix all the ingredients together until you have a smooth and even mixture. Spread onto your dough evenly. 

Mix all the ingredients in a pot and let the mixture reduce to about 1/2 on a low simmer. Stir regularly so the purée doesn’t start to burn. 

Cool down the mixture before spreading onto your dough. 

Mix all the ingredients with a whisk until you have a smooth and even/clump free, drizzle over the buns and let set for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy and happy baking! 

The mini Zöpfe...yummy!