Cardamom and Lemon Sugar Loaf
a simple, yet special weekend loaf of bread
I should make more bread. This is a thought that pops in my mind every so often, usually after I’ve eaten a particularly good bun, focaccia slab or doughnut. Bread might just be one of my favourite carbs, second only to rice, and I’ll unashamedly admit that I eat it in one form or another most days of the week.
Whether it’s a thick slice of sourdough, toasted and topped with silky scrambled eggs, one of those bake at home ciabatta loaves waiting for a schmear of garlic butter and served with weeknight pasta or something sweeter and squidgier, like a fried doughnut or cinnamon bun; bread is just so good!
Today’s bake started out as a simple thought about cardamom buns. Most people likely think that they’re the less popular cousin of cinnamon buns and it might be controversial, but cardamom buns are my favourite of the two. Traditional Swedish cardamom buns are instantly recognisable with their pretty twists and generous amounts of crushed cardamom woven throughout. They’re soft in the middle and sticky on top, heavy with butter in all the right places.
I fancied something along those lines but a little more delicate in flavour and with some additional brightness from something citrussy. I didn’t want anything intensely lemony either. Now, I love a lemon dessert. Deeply. But I wanted this loaf to be a little more gentle; I’ve just used some zest in the dough and the sweet, lemony sugar sprinkled on top adds a lovely fragrance to your first bite. If you do fancy something a touch more lemon forward then serving these with a spoon of lemon curd on the side would be the way to go.
I hope you all enjoy a bread filled weekend!
Benjamina x
CARDAMOM & LEMON SUGAR LOAF
