Korvapuusti
Finnish cinnamon rolls of cardamom dough, twisted into pinched rolls with butter and cinnamon sugar and baked for 20 minutes.
Photograph credit: Korvapuusti at home by JIP · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Does a cinnamon roll have to be a spiral? Not in Finland, where korvapuusti, the Finnish cinnamon roll, is cut into wedges and pinched, so that it looks like an ear, which is what the name means: a slap on the ear. It is baked on every Finnish weekend, with cardamom in the dough and cinnamon in the filling.
Make an enriched yeast dough with milk, egg, butter, sugar and ground cardamom, and knead it for 10 minutes until smooth. Leave it to rise for 1 hour. Roll it out into a large rectangle, spread with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll it up from the long side and cut triangular wedges, alternately from either side, so the wedges taper to a point. Press down the middle of each wedge with a finger, which makes the roll flare into a ruffle.
Set on a lined tray and leave for 30 minutes. Brush with egg, sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake at 225°C / 435°F for 20 minutes until golden. Cool for 10 minutes. They are at their best warm, with strong coffee, and they freeze well.
What People Ask
How long does Korvapuusti take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 30 minutes of Rising, so allow 2 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.
How to Make Korvapuusti
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Mix the flour, yeast, 90 g sugar, salt, cardamom, milk, egg and 80 g butter and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
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Roll into a 30 x 50 cm rectangle. Spread with the soft butter and sprinkle with the 60 g sugar and cinnamon.
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Roll up from the long side and cut into 12 triangular wedges. Press down the centre of each with a finger.
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Set on lined trays and leave for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 225°C / 435°F.
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Brush with the egg, sprinkle with the pearl sugar and bake for 20 minutes until golden.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Pointers
- Cut the wedges at alternate angles.
- Press the centre down to make the ruffle.
- Eat warm.
Pairs Well With
Coffee · Tea · Hot chocolate
Leftovers and Storage
Best the day they are made. Freeze for 2 months.
Korvapuusti Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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