Decided to make these lovely Cardamom Swirl Muffins (are they a cinnamon bun? are they a muffin?) to share with fellow tenants after the weekend snowfall, and the respective digging out of the cars and clearing of the snow. For once, almost everyone pitched in. These are a cross between a muffin and cinnamon roll — definitely bigger than a usual muffin though. I used my hamburger bun pan, with homemade parchment paper liners, because the big liners are too high and the normal sized liners too small. Because of the butter and sugar, it’s best to go with liners even in a nonstick pan, lest they stick. Recipe makes 12 swirls so I had to bake in two batches. At any rate, these are fantastic straight out of the oven.
Ingredients
for the dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (160 grams) ripe sourdough starter
1 1/4 cup milk, warmed to between 100-110F
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
for the filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
for baking and decorating
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
You will also need a large capacity muffin tin or a hamburger roll pan.
Directions
Combine flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle. Heat milk and butter, combine with your sourdough starter, and pour into the well. Add egg and mix until fully combined. Turn out onto a well-floured counter and knead until you have cohesive dough. It should be fairly soft and supple. Set aside in a warm, draft free place for a couple of hours in a greased bowl until it has doubled in size.
In the meantime, make the filling. Combine sugar and spices in a small bowl. Melt the butter. Cut pieces of parchment paper to 5 x 5-inch paper and using the bottom of a large mason jar, make your own muffin liners.
Once the dough has risen, turn out from the bowl. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 10 x 20 inch rectangle. It should be pretty thin. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and spice mixture. Don’t go overboard; it should just be a coating. Roll up into a log from the short side — there should be a lot of swirls here — so at the end, you have a 10- inch log. Pinch together and set aside, seam side down so it won’t unroll. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into slices, about 1 1/2 inches thick and place one slice in each muffin cavity. Ideally, you will have 12 swirls, so I had to do 2 rounds in the oven as my baking tin only had 6 slots. Cover loosely with a clean dishtowel and let rise for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Using a pastry brush, brush each swirl with the egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes. While baking, mix together your powdered sugar, cardamom and milk, creating a thing glaze. Immediately when the swirl muffins come out of the, brush with the glaze and sprinkle on a tiny bit of granulated sugar to make the muffins sparkle. Best if eaten warmish.
