Lemon Cardamom Buns | Normal People

Beside her on the desk is her breakfast, which she just purchased from the supermarket across the street: one black coffee with brown sugar, one lemon pastry roll.
Normal People
Sally Rooney

I'm sure many people were inspired to pick up the story of Normal People recently, with the release of the brilliant television adaptation. I was one of those people, I had read Normal People probably a year ago or so - but realised I remembered little of the plot when the ads for the show started to emerge. I think it's a bit of second read phenomenon but I utterly devoured the story this second go around. I couldn't tell you of any significant parts the first time I read it, with most of the plot seemingly a blur in my head. The second time though, I went back to read over paragraphs again and again, inhaling the words at a frightening speed - and connecting far more than I would have thought.

Moral of the story here is basically - don't give up on a book the first try, sometimes the second read if what you need.

Normal People is lacking a little in the delightful mentions of food that other authors tend to do so well with, but the lemon roll that Marianne snacks on carefully in Sweden was the only dish that really caught my attention. Possibly because I'm eternally jealous I haven't yet been to Sweden - or really anywhere in Europe. Either way, this recipe below is a bit of a twist on the classic Swedish cinnamon bun, introducing a good amount of lemon into the glaze that really left the final product as a delicious, sticky, sweet and slightly tarty treat.

Lemon Cardamom Buns
Makes approx. 7 - 8
Ingredients
Dough
385g plain flour
2 1/2 tsp dried instant yeast
60g caster sugar
240ml milk, lightly warmed
60g butter, melted at room temp
1 tsp ground cardamom, or finely ground if using pods
1/4 tsp sea salt
Filling
40g brown sugar
60g butter, softened
1tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Glaze
60g caster sugar
80ml water
Zest and juice of 2 lemons

1. To make the dough place the yeast, flour, cardamom, sugar and salt into a bowl - mixing well. Add in the melted butter and milk at intervals, mixing the dough together until all liquids have been added and the dough is coming away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to use your hands for this to properly combine everything.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until the dough softens and becomes quite smooth and stretchy. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside, turning to cover it with oil - this will help stop the dough from drying out. Cover with some cling wrap and leave in a warm spot for around an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

3. During this time is a good opportunity to prep the filling. Combine the butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom together, mixing until it is all combined into a paste and is easy to spread.

4. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare an oven tray with a layer of baking paper (you may need two trays depending how big they are).

5. Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a square that is around 25cm by 25cm. Gently spread your filling onto it, so it is evenly distributed.

6. Fold your square of dough into thirds - like a business letter. Using a sharp knife, cut strips length ways down (ensuring you're cutting to get the longest possible strips of dough), each strip should be around 5cms wide.

7. I recommend looking up some Youtube tutorials for shaping these as it helped me a lot initially. One strip of dough at a time, you want to hold each end and twist gently while slowly stretching it out a little. One the strip of dough has spiralled, gently wrap it around your hand twice, tucking the end of the dough into the middle of the spiral as to seal it off.

8. Place on the oven tray, leaving as much distance between them as possible and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave for an additional 45 minutes to allow the shaped buns to rise some more.

9. While the second rise is happening, it's a good time to prepare the glaze. Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small saucepan and cook on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is lightly bubbling. If you want it quite sticky and thick, you can leave it on the stove for longer to cook - otherwise remove it and leave it to the side to cool.

10. Once the formed buns have risen, bake them in the preheated oven for around 15 - 17 minutes, keep an eye on them as it's easy for them to start browning very quickly.

11. You can leave the buns to cool - but it's more fun to glaze when hot so you get the lovely sizzle. Use a pastry brush to spread your prepared lemon glaze all over the buns. Enjoy!