Fika is one of the most quietly radical concepts in food culture: the institutionalised, near-mandatory pause in the Swedish working and social day for coffee and something sweet, shared with other people. It functions simultaneously as noun and verb, 'ska vi fika?' (shall we fika?) is one of the most common phrases in Swedish social life. Sweden ranks among the world's highest per-capita coffee consuming nations, typically second only to Finland. This is remarkable given that coffee arrived in Sweden only in the 1680s and was subsequently banned multiple times by the Swedish state: King Gustav III banned it in 1746 on the grounds that it was a 'dangerous foreign habit', and later commissioned a bizarre royal experiment, ordering a convicted murderer to drink coffee daily for the rest of his life to prove its toxicity, while his twin brother drank tea instead. The tea drinker died first. The bans, which continued and were lifted repeatedly through the 18th century, only intensified Swedish passion for coffee. What Sweden built instead of a café culture is a home culture: the Swedish coffee table (kaffekalas) is legendary for its abundance of baked goods, most typically cinnamon rolls (kanelbullar) and cardamom buns (kardemummabullar). The kardemummabulle is the more aromatic, perfumed sibling of the cinnamon roll (the dough enriched with butter, eggs, and milk, the filling scented with green cardamom and cinnamon, each bun twisted and folded into a characteristic knot. The coffee itself, by international standards, is over-extracted and strong) Swedish filter coffee is typically brewed at a higher coffee-to-water ratio and a longer extraction than is common elsewhere, producing a cup that is bold and slightly bitter, the perfect counterpoint to the sweet bun.
Ingredients
Bun Dough
500 ml whole milk, warmed to 37°C (hand-warm)
7 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet)
100 g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom (freshly ground from green pods is far superior)
0.5 tsp fine salt
800 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
100 g unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
Cardamom Filling
100 g unsalted butter, very soft (spreadable at room temperature)
80 g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cardamom (again: freshly ground is best)
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Finishing
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
2 tbsp pearl sugar or crushed sugar cubes, for topping
Fika Coffee
50 g coarsely ground strong filter coffee (a medium-dark Scandinavian-style roast)
750 ml filtered water, just off the boil
Method
Make the dough: pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Add the yeast, sugar, cardamom, and salt, and stir briefly. Add the flour in two or three additions, mixing with a wooden spoon or dough hook, until a rough dough forms. Knead for 8–10 minutes by hand (or 5–6 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook) until smooth and elastic.
Add the softened butter a few pieces at a time while kneading, waiting until each addition is incorporated before adding the next. This takes patience: the dough will become very soft and silky as the butter goes in. Continue kneading for a further 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Shape the dough into a ball, place it back in the bowl, cover with cling film or a damp towel, and leave to prove at room temperature until doubled in size: approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
Make the cardamom filling: beat together the soft butter, sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon until smooth and spreadable. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the proved dough out to a large rectangle approximately 50cm × 35cm. Spread the cardamom filling evenly and thinly over the entire surface, right to the edges.
Fold the dough in thirds like a letter: fold the bottom third up to the middle, then fold the top third down over it. You now have a long, triple-layered rectangle. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut this rectangle into 16 even strips along the short side.
To form each kardemummabulle: take one strip, hold one end, twist the strip several times along its length, then wind it around two fingers into a knot, tucking the loose end underneath. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, spaced well apart. Repeat with all 16 strips.
Cover the shaped buns loosely with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for a further 30–40 minutes until noticeably puffed.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan / gas mark 6). Brush the proved buns gently with beaten egg. Scatter pearl sugar over the top of each.
Bake for 12–15 minutes until deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving: the filling is molten-hot inside.
Brew the fika coffee: measure the ground coffee into a drip filter, Chemex, or French press. Pour over the hot water in a slow, steady pour. Allow to brew fully: Swedish filter coffee is typically brewed slightly stronger and longer than is common elsewhere. Pour into large mugs.
Serve the coffee with one or two warm cardamom buns. This is fika: the coffee, the bun, and the pause.
Notes
The buns are best eaten on the day they are baked, warm from the oven. Cooled buns can be refreshed in a 160°C oven for 5 minutes. Unbaked shaped buns can be frozen after the second prove, freeze on the tray until solid, then transfer to bags. Bake from frozen, adding 3–4 minutes to the baking time. Cinnamon rolls (kanelbullar) are made from the same dough and filling method, with cinnamon replacing much of the cardamom in the filling. The ratio of cardamom to cinnamon in the filling is a matter of strong personal preference across Swedish households. For coffee: the Swedes often use a full-immersion or drip brew, never espresso, for everyday fika, the culture is entirely separate from Italian espresso culture.
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