How to Make Finnish Cinnamon Buns (Korvapuusti)

We’re back again with another delectable way to use pulla dough! Today it’s Finnish Cinnamon Buns, or Korvapuusti. Don’t ask me how that’s pronounced, by the way: I’ve been letting my Finnish Duolingo slide lately.

If you’ve already made pulla or Butter-Eye Buns, you’re familiar with the way the heavenly scent of cardamom baking in your oven infuses your kitchen. This recipe uses the same rich traditional cardamom-spiced yeast dough, and adds a filling of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. The cinnamon/cardamom combo is amazing, and brown sugar adds some caramel-ness that I love. A lot of traditional recipes use white sugar in the filling, which is really good as well, but I tend to opt for brown sugar in my cinnamon buns!

This Finnish cinnamon bun recipe, as mentioned above, begins with pulla dough! This post won’t include the recipe for the base dough: it begins with the dough already made, risen, ready to be shaped. One third of my pulla dough recipe makes one dozen cinnamon buns, which is what the recipe in this post is for. If you want to use the entire pulla recipe on these, you can triple it; if you make a half pulla recipe, multiply this one by 1.5 for 18 buns; or use one third, and make other treats with the remaining dough.

Tools needed for Finnish cinnamon buns

• Rolling pin
• Measuring cups & spoons
• Baking sheet
• Pastry brush
• Small bowl
• Fork or whisk

Ingredients for Finnish cinnamon buns

• Pulla dough! Pulla is a simple yeast dough, flavored with cardamom and made rich & flavorful with butter.
• Butter
• Brown sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Egg
• Milk (optional, for egg wash)
• Pearl sugar (for topping-if desired!)

The Process

Begin with pulla dough at step 9: completing the second dough rise. The buttery dough should be in a large bowl, puffy, and ready to be shaped into Finnish cinnamon rolls!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper, and set aside.

Lightly flour a clean work surface. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface gently. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, 12×16 inches or slightly larger. It is pretty elastic dough and will want to spring back onto itself a bit.

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Whisk melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until fully blended. Spoon the filling onto the dough and spread evenly to the edges, leaving about a 1/4 inch border.

Shape Rolls

Roll, starting with a long side, until the dough is completely rolled into one long cylinder.

Slice, using a sharp knife or some unflavored dental floss, into 12 pieces. Your cutting technique might vary depending on the shape you want to achieve. For a conventional circular cinnamon roll shape, slice 12 straight pieces, and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spiral facing up.

For a traditional Finnish “cinnamon ear” shape, slice diagonally. Each piece should have a thin (about 1/2 inch) side and a thick (about 3 inches) side. The end pieces will vary a little. Place them on the baking sheet thin side down: the spirals will face out. Press down in the middle with your thumbs: the spirals will turn out into “ears”. I really enjoy this unique shape!

Rise & Bake Rolls

Leave on baking sheet in a warm place to rise again until puffy, about 20 minutes. While rising, whisk together egg and milk. Once buns are risen, brush egg & milk mixture onto buns, and sprinkle pearl sugar on top, if desired!

Place in preheated oven and bake until fragrant and golden brown, 18-23 minutes.

Let cool on pan for a few minutes, before transferring to a plate or cooling rack. Enjoy warm, but not piping hot, with a big cup of coffee or glass of cold milk!

Finnish Cinnamon Buns (Korvapuusti)

sisuhomemaker

Rich, moist cinnamon buns using cardamom-flavored pulla dough as the base

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Ingredients

  

• 1/3 recipe of my basic pulla dough
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• Optional topping:
• Egg
• 1 Tbsp milk
• Pearl sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
• Begin at step 10 of pulla dough: risen, ready to be shaped. On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll out 1/3 of pulla dough into a rectangle about 12 inches by 16 inches.
• In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter, and whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon until fully combined.
• Spoon filling mixture onto dough and spread to edges.
• Beginning with one long side, roll the dough into a cylinder.
• Cut into 12 pieces-you can use a knife, I prefer the (unflavored) dental floss method.
• Place the rolls onto the prepared pan, and let rise for about 20 minutes, or until puffy.
• If desired, lightly beat egg and milk with a fork and use a pastry brush to brush over rolls. Sprinkle with pearl sugar.
• Bake 18-23 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown.

Notes

1. This dough is pretty elastic, and has a tendency to spring back on itself. I like to get it rolled out fairly thin for more spiral.

2. These can be sliced into circles for a conventional "roll" shape; place them on the sheet to rise flat with the spiral facing up. For a more traditional Finnish "cinnamon ear" shape, slice them at an angle, place them on the baking sheet with the thick cut side down and the spirals facing outward, and press down. The spirals will turn outward into "ears".

3. In Finland, these are served un-iced, but if you prefer, you can drizzle royal icing over them.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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What Should I Make Next?

• Finnish Shrovetide Buns
• Sourdough Pulla
• Sourdough Finnish Blueberry Buns
• Finnish Brita Cake

Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!