Cardamom Buns with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Cream Cheese Frosting

All of this week, I was racking my brain on what to make this weekend. The weather was finally feeling like spring and with rhubarb season upon us, strawberry rhubarb pie was at the top of the list. I imagined a beautifully latticed topped pie bestowing the home page of the blog, sharing memories of my mom baking a strawberry rhubarb pie every spring (just in time to post on Mother’s Day, wow how serendipitous). And then, I saw the weather forecast. SNOW IN MAY. I couldn’t bake a spring pie when the temperatures were dropping to the 30s. I wanted something hearty, warm- like CINNAMON BUNS, but I still wanted to take advantage of rhubarb season. And then it came to me- cardamom laced buns with a strawberry rhubarb jam. The perfect brunch item for 30 degree weather in May. So off I went to the grocery store, in search of rhubarb and cardamom. In these quarantine times, heading to a grocery store on the weekend means one thing: you are going to stand in line. For a very long time. After 45 minutes, I finally entered the store only to find frozen rhubarb and no cardamom. I was devastated but determined to make these buns. So off to the next store, mask in tow, I went. As I was standing on line for another 30 minutes, it began to snow (of course it was snowing!). Long story short, I was able to get the cardamom but no fresh rhubarb. Despite all of that, these buns are absolutely delicious and absolutely worth standing outside in the snow for!

Cardamom Buns with Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Cream Cheese Frosting:

For the Dough: ( I adapted the dough from BraveTart)

3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) all purpose flour, with additional amount for rolling out dough

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar

2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (4 ounces milk)

1 cup (8 ounces) plan greek yogurt

For the Strawberry Rhubarb Jam:

1 pound strawberries, quartered

1 pound rhubarb, sliced (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of half a lemon

For the Lemon Filling:

1/2 cup (3/12 ounces) sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) softened cream cheese

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 (5 ounces) powdered sugar

You’ll want to start with making the strawberry rhubarb jam. Combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, cardamom, and zest into a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat. Allow to cook for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and add juice of half a lemon. Depending on how sweet your fruit is, you will want to taste and adjust the jam. It should be more on the tart side, to counter the sweetness of the dough. Refrigerate the jam until needed in assembly.

Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, baking soda, and cardamom in the bowl of a standing mixer. In a sauce pan, melt the butter then stir in the milk and yogurt. Heat just long enough to heat the milk and yogurt through- so just briefly. Add the dairy mixture to the flour and stir together. Using the paddle attachment on the stand mixer, knead the dough on low for 20 mins. The dough should be smooth and elastic, do not skimp with the time on this step! Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof for 90 minutes. My kitchen was very cold (snow in May) so my dough took closer to 2 hours to rise. While your dough is resting, combine the sugar and lemon zest in a bowl. Pinch the lemon zest with the sugar to allow the oils from the lemon to be released. Set aside. Once the dough has doubled in size and is light and puffy, turn out the dough on a floured surface and roll into a 13 X 13 square. In the same bowl that your dough was just in, use the paddle attachment to mix the lemon sugar mixture and softened butter. Spread the lemon butter onto your dough square using an offset spatula. Then add a thin layer of the cooled strawberry rhubarb jam on top of the lemon butter. Don’t add too much jam or it will spill out the sides (don’t worry if that happens though! :)). Roll the dough into a log, then cut into 12 equal pieces using a serrated knife. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper, then arrange your 12 rolls in the pan, evenly spacing them out. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the fridge overnight, up to 48 hours.

Take the rolls out of the fridge, then preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. With the aluminum foil covering the rolls, bake for about 45 mins. They should be puffed up, firm and pale. Then take the aluminum foil off and bake until they are lightly browned- about 15 more mins. Right after you take the aluminum foil off, make your cream cheese frosting by beating together the cream cheese, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.

As soon as your rolls come out of the oven, spread the frosting on top so it melts in all of the crevices. Serve immediately with extra strawberry rhubarb jam on the side. Enjoy! 🙂