A unique take on traditional Kanelbullar, Swedish orange and cardamom sweet buns, inspired by the Disney movie, Tangled.
During winter of 2018-2019, I spent most of my days working underneath the most magical place on earth. In case you don’t already know, most culinary schools require their students complete an internship as part of their degree. Somehow (it honestly still baffles me to this day) I found myself at the Magic Kingdom Central Bakery for said internship. Move-in day was just hours after I turned 19 and I was in a state in which I spend many prior birthdays- stuffy nosed, aching stomach, and seconds from hitting the floor fainting. Pair this with the joint Christmas-Birthday gifts and you’ve got December birthdays in a nutshell. Luckily, my internship ended on a much better note than how it started.
After 3 months of making “the gray stuff”, maneuvering a tower of platted desserts too and from the kitchens, scooping hundreds of truffles, and upholding the strict Disney standard, I was given some creative liberty. My coworkers challenged me to make 2 Disney-inspired desserts on my last day. For the first, I decided to rework the signature Be Our Guest dessert. The original plate features a seasonal chocolate truffle, a lemon raspberry French macaron, and a white chocolate teacup cup molded after Chip with the gray stuff piped inside all on an “edible” paper made to look like stained glass. I had practically gone cross-eyed staring at that plate for as long as I did each shift, so I figured it could use some refreshing.
My take on the dessert went as followed: I got a rose-tinted wine glass with a gold rim, filled it with a red berry coulis, and piped the gray stuff inside. From there, I made chocolate short dough cookies to fit snuggly on the opening and assembled sliced berries on top. It would be served to guests with instructions to break the cookie, allowing the contents to fall inside. While it generally kept the same flavor profile, it also had a refined take on the original plated dessert. And my favorite part- it references breaking the curse! I do wish I had a better photo of my original concept, but perhaps I will remake this as well in the future.
By now, you may have already guessed what I did for the second dessert. Though I don’t know how to properly pronounce it, I absolutely love Kanelbullar, which is the Swedish version of a cinnamon bun. Years ago, when I woke up at some ungodly hour in the morning and sleep continued to evade me, I made them for the first time. Made with a cardamom flavored dough and a sweet orange filling, these buns often have a more unique shape than that of a cinnamon roll. My mind instantly went to Disney’s Tangled when coming up with a new concept. Topped off with some flower sprinkles, this is how they turned out!
Now a little over 2 years later, I decided to remake them. I couldn’t be happier with the results. While these (most likely) will never be served at the Disney parks, I can still share them with all of you. So, get the Tangled soundtrack playing and get to baking!
Rapunzel's Braided Sweet Rolls
Makes 12 rolls
Sweet Dough
375 g bread flour
50 g granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
120 g milk
84 g unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, room temperature
Instructions:
Reserve 1 scant cup of flour and set aside. Using a paddle attachment, combine the rest of the flour, sugar, yeast, cardamom, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Heat the milk and butter until warm (approx. 120-130°F). add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix at a low speed until evenly moistened. Add the eggs, increase the speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes.
Switch to a dough hook and gradually add the remaining flour, adding more or less as needed to make a soft but slightly sticky dough. Continue to knead the dough for 5 minutes on speed 2.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise somewhere warm (such as an off oven) for approx. 45 minutes or until it has doubled.
Orange Filling
36 g granulated sugar
Zest from 1 large orange
28 g unsalted butter, softened
Instructions
As the dough is resting, make the filling. Add the granulated sugar to a small bowl. Add the orange zest and whisk to combine.
Soften the butter and set everything aside until needed.
Assembly and Baking
Also need: 1 egg, granulated sugar, and flower sprinkles for topping
Instructions:
Set the oven to 350°F and evenly coat a muffin pan with pan spray.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into a rectangle that is 18” tall and 12” wide. Spread the softened butter over the bottom 2/3rds of the dough and sprinkle the filling evenly over the buttered area.
Fold the dough like a letter by taking the top, unbuttered 1/3rd of the dough, and folding it down. Then take the bottom 1/3rd and fold it up to create the 3 layers.*
Score the dough into 12 even 1” wide strips and divide.
Taking one strip at a time, gently roll the dough with a rolling pin to slightly flatten and elongate. With a sharp knife, divide it into 3 strands, leaving ¼” of the dough connected at the top. Proceed to make a simple 3 strand braid, pinching the bottom to connect.*
Roll the braid onto itself and place it seam-side down in the prepared muffin pan. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Cover the braided rolls with greased plastic wrap and let proof until doubled, approx. 30 minutes.
Remove the plastic and gently brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Taking decorative flower sprinkles, pipe a small dot of glucose (or corn syrup) on the back. Arrange three flowers of different colors on each bun and you’re done!
Tips:
*Folding the top layer down first helps to ensure that there is an even distribution of filling through the roll. Once folded, you should have a rectangle that is about 12" long and 6" tall.
*Try not to make the braid too taught, it will hinder the layers when proofing and baking. When rolling the braid onto itself, make sure the ends are on the bottom so it doesn't unfurl when proofing.
For continuity, I also remade one with the flowers I originally used. These are just inexpensive sprinkles from any ol' grocery store vs the larger, more detailed ones I used from Micheals craft store. The decorating is where you can really have fun with this, as there's such a variety of flowers in Rapunzel's hair. Add as many or as little as you would like. Or, just enjoy the rolls fresh from the oven while they're hot!
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