CINNAMON ROLL

GRANDMA

Hilkka

COUNTRY

Finland

ORIGIN

Toysa

INGREDIENTS

Dough: 

• 300 g butter/margarine, 
• 1 tbsp  cardamom
• 1½ l water/milk
• 150 g yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 3 dl sugar
• about 2.7 kg wheat flour

• 300 g soft butter/margarine
• 3 dl sugar
• 3 tbsp cinnamon

• 2-3 eggs 
• coarse sugar

HISTORY

Sweet buns, pulla, have been baked in Finland since the late 19th century. Serving pulla and coffee is a staple of Finnish food culture: it is hard to imagine a traditional coffee party without them. This is reflected in the expression pakkopulla (compulsory bun), the ritual of eating the obligatory pulla before tasting anything else. More recently, though, pulla has lost some of its dominance.Korvapuusti, with its characteristic spiral shape and cinnamon seasoning, is one version of pulla. The dough is rolled flat and spread with butter, cinnamon and sugar. It is then rolled, cut into slanted slices and pressed into shape. A similar Swedish cinnamon roll, kanelbulle, is thought to have inspired korvapuusti. The Finnish name korvapuusti means ‘boxed ear’, but its exact origin is unknown. It is believed to stem from confusion of the Swedish word giffel for croissant with the French gifle, slap on the ear. On the other hand, it may well simply refer to the ear.