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Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)

12 January, 2020 by Tara 17 Comments

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Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns) recipe for #BakingBloggers! These golden, cardamom-scented buns have a rich center bursting with butter and sugar.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns) on a wooden board with coffee and a towel in the background.

Baking Bloggers

Created by Sue of Palatable Pastime, #BakingBloggers get together monthly to vote on a different baking project. For January, we are featuring Sweet Rolls and I am joining in with a recipe for Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)!

Check out more of my #BakingBloggers recipes here: Alevropita (Greek Thin-Batter Feta Pie), Strawberry Nutella Galette, Napolitaines (Mauritian Sandwich Cookies), and Baked Cookies and Cream Doughnuts.

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns) on a wire rack and topped with pearl sugar.

Rachel of Vagabond Baker wrote that these Voisilmäpullat “look like little butter volcanoes.” That is definitely a fitting description. After proofing, a cube of butter is pushed into the center of each cardamom-scented bun and topped with sugar. The result during baking is a burst of butter with a crispy, light crust around the top.

The dough should be on the softer side. Add just enough flour to create a smooth and workable dough. Too much flour will cause the rolls to become dense. If the dough is too crumbly and just won’t come together, add some more milk a splash at a time.

Make sure the butter cubes are well-chilled. You can even place them in the freezer for a few minutes. This will make them easier to work with.

For a little more texture, I also surrounded the butter-filled cavity with raesokeri (pearl sugar) before baking. This is completely optional. Different from the larger Belgian version, Nordic pearl sugar is a coarse white sugar often used as a topping in baked goods. It can be found in markets with Northern European ingredients or on Amazon: Swedish Pearl Sugar.

The Voisilmäpulla freeze well after baking. Simply reheat in a warm oven for about 5 minutes.

Want even more flavor? Follow My Dear Kitchen in Helsinki’s lead and flavor the butter with cardamom and sugar. Freeze the mixture until solid, then cut into cubes to place in the center of each roll.

Forming of Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)- topping each with a cube of butter and sugar.

Check out what everyone else made!

  • Apple Bread Rolls from Sneha’s Recipes
  • Cherry Sweet Rolls from Palatable Pastime
  • Cottage Country Style Chelsea Buns from Making Miracles
  • Fastelavnsboller + Some Danish Culinary History from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
  • Hawaiian Sweet Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Orange Sweet Rolls from Cookaholic Wife
  • Overnight Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Rolls from Cook with Renu
  • Pan de Mallorca from Caroline’s Cooking
  • Portuguese-Style Sweet Potato Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
  • Sticky Buns from Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking
  • Sweet Balsamic Blackberry Crescent Rolls from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
  • Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns) from Tara’s Multicultural Table

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns) on a platter with coffee and more in the background on a silver wire rack.

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns) Recipe

Adapted from Vagabond Baker

Print Pin
5 from 6 votes

Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)

A recipe for Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)! These golden, cardamom-scented buns have a center bursting with butter and sugar.
Course Bread
Cuisine Finnish
Keyword bread, butter, Finland, Finnish, pearl sugar, pulla, voisilmäpulla
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 12 minutes
Servings 20 Voisilmäpullat

Ingredients

  • 1 cup lukewarm milk 105-115˚F
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened at room temperature
  • 1 large egg

Topping:

  • 5 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter chilled
  • 1 egg
  • Pearl Sugar
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Stir and allow to sit until the yeast is frothy, about 10 minutes.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough attachment or a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cardamom, and salt.
  • Mix in the softened butter, egg, and yeast with milk to form a dough. Add a little more flour if too sticky (just enough to remove the stickiness- don't add too much or it will create tougher rolls) and a little more milk if too crumbly.
  • On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until soft and smooth. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour (this may take closer to 2 hours in cooler kitchens).
  • Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or lightly grease.
  • On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 20 equal pieces, each about the size of a golf ball (45 grams/1.5 ounces). Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place on prepared baking sheets around 2 inches apart. Cover with dish towels and allow to rise until puffed, about 30 minutes.
  • Use a finger to make a depression in the center of each roll. Cut the chilled butter into 20 equal cubes. Place a cube in each depression.
  • In a small bowl, beat the egg and brush it over each roll. Pour 1/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar directly over each cube of butter in the bun. If desired, sprinkle pearl sugar around the edges.
  • Bake the voisilmäpullat in the preheated oven until golden, about 12 minutes.
  • Allow to cool on a wire rack and they are best served warm.
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Filed Under: Bread, European Tagged With: bread, butter, cardamom, europe, European, finland, Finnish, pulla

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wendy Klik

    13 January, 2020 at 6:01 am

    They look beautiful. I wish I had one with my coffee right now.

    Reply
  2. Irina Hynes

    13 January, 2020 at 12:58 pm

    LOVE your blog! Can’t wait to try these!

    Reply
    • Tara

      13 January, 2020 at 2:32 pm

      Thank you so much Irina! Hope you enjoy them!

      Reply
  3. Karen

    13 January, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    These look fantastic, and I just happen to have some pearl sugar! Beautiful!

    Reply
  4. Sid

    14 January, 2020 at 6:07 am

    You had me at Cardamom, and adding butter in the middle of the rolls, heaven. Of course being a Dane, we do tend to obsess about cardamom and butter anyway.

    Reply
  5. Renu

    14 January, 2020 at 9:03 am

    They look so beautiful, soft and moist. Loving the cute shape, would be perfect for my breakfast.

    Reply
  6. Caroline

    17 January, 2020 at 7:24 am

    I’m a big fan of Nordic baking – I think it’s partly that cardamom is used a lot and it’s a favorite spice. These look wonderful, can’t wait to try!

    Reply
  7. Emily Liao

    28 February, 2021 at 3:46 pm

    5 stars
    So soft and fluffy.

    Reply
  8. Lima Ekram

    28 February, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    5 stars
    It looks incredible – the whole family will love it!

    Reply
  9. Irina

    28 February, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    5 stars
    WOW! These cardamom-scented buns require even double wow! They look amazingly delicious.

    Reply
  10. Claudia Lamascolo

    28 February, 2021 at 4:06 pm

    5 stars
    I am a bread aholic! These look fabulous I have had Finnish bread with cardamom sounds like I am going to love this!

    Reply
  11. Beth

    28 February, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    5 stars
    Definitely will make these soon! So delicious and yummy!

    Reply
  12. Gigzi

    25 October, 2021 at 10:58 pm

    Big hit with extended family. My to-go treat when visiting the grandchildren! Thank you!

    Reply
  13. Andrew Bergstrom

    14 November, 2022 at 9:23 am

    Hello
    A great recipe! But, I had trouble keeping the hole open. Being elastic dough, it kept wanting to close, and finally baked closed. Apparently, I need to keep the butter beneath the top of the bun. Some ran over the top, and washed away the pearl sugar. Would some almond paste be good on the center – if so, how?
    Thanks,
    Andrew

    Reply
    • Tara

      21 December, 2022 at 11:33 am

      Hi Andrew! If the dough kept wanting to close, it sounds like it did not have long enough to proof. I haven’t personally tried almond paste, but it sounds delicious.

      Reply
  14. Maha

    20 December, 2022 at 11:49 pm

    5 stars
    The cardamom was such a hit with everyone! The buns were soft and fluffy and of course the butter and sugar in the middle was the best. I’ll definitely make this recipe again!

    Reply
    • Tara

      21 December, 2022 at 11:30 am

      So happy to hear Maha!

      Reply

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