How To Make: Norwegian Cream Buns

• Pour the warm milk into a bowl, sprinkle in the yeast and whisk together
• Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to become bubbly
• Pour into the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook
• Start the machine and add the cooled, melted butter
• Allow to combine with the yeast for 1 minute or so, then add the sugar
• Allow to combine for 1 minute
• In a separate bowl, weigh out 400g of the flour, add the cardamom and salt and mix together
• Start adding the flour and spices into the milk mixture, bit by bit
• Add half the beaten egg
• Keep kneading for 5 minutes
• It is better not to add too much flour as this will result in dry buns. You can always add more later
• Once mixed, leave the dough in a bowl and cover with a dish towel or cling film. Allow to rise for around 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size
• After the dough has risen, roll out the dough into a cylinder and cut it into 14 pieces
• Roll each piece into a neat circle, then place on a baking sheet and flatten firmly (although they will spring back into place after a while)
• Make sure you space the buns out evenly
• Using the base of a glass measuring around 4–5cm in diameter, press down the middle of each bun and add a good tablespoon of Crème pâtissière to each indentation
• Leave the buns to rise for a further 20 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) Gas 6
• Lightly brush the buns with egg (avoid the custard centres) and bake in the preheated oven for around 10 minutes, or until done (times may vary depending on your oven)
• Cover the baked buns with a damp dish towel for 5–10 minutes as soon as you have removed them from the oven to avoid a crust formin
• Once the buns have cooled, make the icing
• Add a few tablespoons of hot water to the icing sugar and stir
• Keep adding water, drop by drop, and stirring until you have a smooth consistency that can be stirred but is still thick, like a syrup
• Using a plastic pastry brush or a palette knife, carefully smooth the icing on top of all the buns, avoiding the cream centre
• After each bun has been brushed, sprinkle coconut over the top

For the crème pâtissière

• Heat the milk in a saucepan together with the scraped out vanilla seeds
• Add the whole pod to the pan, too, for extra flavour
• In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cornflour and salt
• When the milk reaches boiling point, remove the vanilla pod and discard, and pour in a quarter of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking as you do so
• Once whisked through, pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk, return to the heat and bring to the boil, whisking continuously
• Let it bubble for just under a minute
• Make sure you whisk as it thickens
• Remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking in well
• Pour into a cold bowl, then cover the top with a sheet of baking parchment to prevent a hard edge from forming as it cools down
• Place in the fridge to cool completely.You may need to add more flour – you want the mixture to end up a bit sticky, but not so much that it sticks to your finger if you poke it