Swedish Cinnamon Buns With an Asian Twist

I distinctly remember eating my first piece of kaya toast during a visit to Singapore many years ago. As instructed by my friend whom I was visiting at the time, I went to the breakfast stall first thing in the morning, ordered a kaya toast with eggs and kopi (coffee) and took a seat on the small plastic chair on sidewalk. When my food arrived, I hurriedly took a bite. Within moments of the flavors reaching my tongue, I realized that I had discovered my new favorite breakfast food. It was slightly sweet from the coconut paste, salty from the butter, crunchy from the toast and creamy from the runny poached eggs. I think I must have eaten Kaya toast for a week straight!

Kaya, which is a Malay word meaning rich, is a coconut jam made from eggs, sugar and coconut milk, and it is usually flavored with Pandan leaves by boiling the leaves (traditionally). Nowadays it is quite common to use pandan extract or essence. I absolutely love Kaya Paste and I always look for ways which I can incorporate it in other dishes.

My other favorite ingredient happens to be gula melaka, which is essentially, Malaysia's version of coconut palm sugar. Gula melaka is made by boiling down the liquid which is produced from the sap of a coconut tree, poured into bamboo tubes and then left to harden before later being cut into rings. But it is the taste which has me hooked. With notes of rich caramel and dark coffee, it is practically good enough to enjoy on its own as a snack (not that I would ever do that...). Gula melaka can also be used in savory dishes for a hint of complex sweetness. Unfortunately it is rather difficult to find gula melaka outside of Asia, so I suppose a good quality coconut sugar might be the next best thing. A real gula melaka sugar does not crumble easily and it must be chopped, grated or melted.

I tried to think of a good way to use the kaya paste and the gula melaka in a classic bread recipe. After having lived in Sweden for ten years before moving to Singapore, I still harbor a soft spot for Swedish cinnamon buns. And, since the Swedish 'Kanelbullens Dag' or cinnamon bun day celebration is just around the corner on October 4th, I thought it would be fun to try making a classic Swedish cinnamon bun with an Asian twist. I hope that you enjoy them!

INGREDIENTS for dough (Makes Approx. 20-30 buns depending on size):

5 cups flour (more can be used if dough is too sticky or for dusting surface before kneading, but when it comes to flour, less is more!)
2 tsp good quality cinnamon (use freshly grated for extra flavor)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
500 ml milk (about 2.11 cups)
1 packet instant yeast (rapid rise, 7grams or 1/4 oz) or approx. 25 grams fresh yeast - Note: if using instant rapid rise yeast, the yeast can be added directly to the flour mixture, there is no need to first dissolve in liquid. If using fresh yeast, you should crumble in a bowl, and pour the warm milk (lukewarm) over the yeast and allow it to dissolve).
150 grams unsalted butter softened, and cut into small cubes

Gula melaka Filling (enough to fill half of the dough)

INGREDIENTS For Gula melaka paste:

100 grams unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped or grated gula melaka (coconut sugar)
1 tsp cardamom (you can use crushed, dried cardamom pods or cardamom powder)

pandan Kaya paste Filling (Enough to fill half of the dough)

INGREDIENTS for pandan Kaya paste:

75 grams unsalted butter
1 cup Pandan Paste - I used a local, homemade Nyonya Pandan Kaya, made from cooked pandan leaves, sugar, eggs, and coconut milk though this may be hard to find outside of Asia. Nyonya (or Peranakan cuisine) kaya is usually a light green color while the Hainanese kaya uses caramelized sugar, giving it a darker brown color. You can also use plain kaya paste (which is basically the same thing, without the pandan leaves / pandan flavoring). If you want to make your own kaya paste, here is a good recipe .

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F/ 218 degrees C.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt and cinnamon. Mix the butter into the dry ingredients (it is easiest to use a pastry blender but you can also cut in the butter with a knife and fork, or use your fingers).
Once the butter is evenly incorporated, stir in the milk and mix gently until the flour is mixed in, being careful not to overstep (which will create excess gluten).
If the dough is still too sticky, you can add a small amount of flour until it no longer sticks to your fingers. Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough onto this surface for kneading. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes (this can be done with a mixer and a dough hook or a food processor, but I prefer kneading by hand).
Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and store in a warm, draft-free corner and let rise for 40-60 minutes.
While you are waiting for the dough to rise, you can make your pandan paste & gula melaka fillings. For the gula melaka paste, grate or finely chop the gula melaka (or coconut sugar), mix together with the softened butter and add the cardamom. For the Pandan paste filling, just mix the pandan paste and the softened butter together until they are incorporated evenly.
Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each piece out to a rectangle (dough should be about 1/2 inch thick).
Spread the pandan filling on one half and the gula melaka filling on the other, so that it covers the entire surface.
Roll up the dough evenly (beginning with the longest edge) and fairly tight (not too tight that the filling seeps out, but not too loose either). Once you have a roll, you can cut the buns into about 1 inch pieces. I like to use dental floss to cut the dough because it keeps your buns from getting squishy.
Arrange the buns on a baking tray lined with wax paper and let them rise for 20-30 minutes. Whisk an egg in a small bowl and before baking, brush the top of the buns with egg.
Bake for 7-10 minutes (again, baking time will depend on the size of the bun) in a 425 F / 218 C degree oven.

TIPS:

When making cinnamon buns or bread, I always use less slightly less flour than the recipe calls for because you can always add more if the dough is too sticky, but you can't take it away. I usually start with a slightly sticky dough before kneading, and then dust the surface with flour so that the dough slowly incorporates just enough flour so that it isn't super sticky to work with (you don't want your dough to get too dry).
The three most common types of yeast:
- Active Dry Yeast, which needs to be dissolved in liquid
- Instant Yeast (which I used for this recipe), which does not need to be hydrated before being mixed into flour.
- Fresh Yeast, which needs to be dissolved in lukewarm liquid (milk or water, etc.) before using
To cut the dough with dental floss, slide a 4-5 inch piece under your dough, cross the floss once at the top and pull down.
If you would like to make the classic cardamom bun rolls (the twisted shape you see in the pictures above), this is a good video for learning how.
If you want to know more about Gula Melaka, here is a great article written by Robyn Eckhardt for Saveur