Story & recipe originally featured in The Oryx In flight Magazine for Fine food October

Hi there! Sorry we have been so silent lately at Hungry In Helsinki. It seems that despite our love for food (eating & writing about it) there are not always enough hours in the day to get it all done!

Meanwhile, we are proud to introduce to you one of the coolest feature of this year 2016! Earlier this autumn we were contacted by Qatar Airways in Flight magazine “Oryx” to celebrate their new route opening from Helsinki to Doha by writing in their Fine Dining section! We immediately knew we wanted to introduce Finland’s beautiful nature and exciting traditional recipes but couldn’t resits putting our twist to it.  So here it is, our Non traditional, yet very seasonal Finnish Korvapuusti* with the decadent buttery flavor of saffron to make it richer & a irresistible gold color. We had so much fun experimenting with this beautiful recipe, we hope you will too!

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Untraditional Finnish Saffron Korvapuusti

Preparation time:10 minutes
Rising time:60 + 30 minutes
Cooking time:10 minutes
Makes:12–15 buns

Ingredients

Dough:

• 1kg flour
• 50g fresh baker’s yeast
• 170g butter, at room temperature
• 170g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 500ml lukewarm milk
•  teaspoon ground saffron
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground cardamom

Filling:

• 100g soft butter
• 70g brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons cinnamon
• To garnish:
• 1 egg, beaten
• Sugar pearls

Steps:

• Dough:
  • In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk, and whisk in the egg, sugar, and spices.
  • Incorporate half of the flour into a thick, shiny liquid.
  • Still kneading, add the rest of the flour and the salt, and add the butter gradually until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands.
  • Leave the dough covered in a warm and protected spot, and allow to rise for about an hour.
• Filling: 
  • Mix the softened butter, sugar and cinnamon into a paste.
• Shape and bake: 
  • Line an oven tray with parchment paper.
  • Divide the risen dough into two equal pieces.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first piece into a flat rectangle (approx. 30cm by 60cm).
  • Spread half of the butter and cinnamon filling on the dough.
  • Roll the dough into a long tube shape, keeping the seam side down. Discard the extremities, then divide the roll into seven equal ‘cones’ sized 3cm on the wider side and 1cm on the narrower side.
  • Place each cone on the baking tray, leaving 5cm between them, and push your index finger firmly on the middle to allow both sides to lift and create the traditional ‘ear’ shape.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Let the buns rise under a tea towel for an additional 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 225°C.
  • Brush on the egg-wash and sprinkle the sugar pearls on top.
  • Bake for 10–15 minutes or until beautifully golden.

Happy 99th Birthday dear Finland!

The gorgeous Display was done by the fantastic Peppina Wuorima & the picture are from the talented Ofer Amir!

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*Korvaapuusti: This traditional cinnamon delicacy’s name, which can be translated as ‘slapped ears’, is a staple of Finnish afternoon coffee breaks. In this version, we add the luxurious touch of saffron.