America vs Sweden: Which Cinnamon Bun is BEST??

The eternal question: who makes better cinnamon buns?? Americans?? Or Swedes??
Today’s episode is not so much a competition but a reflection on the two. How are the does different or similar? Comparing and contrasting has always been more interesting to me than competition.
I rescaled my recipes to both use 500g of flour to make comparing the ratios easier. If you’d like the smaller, equal sized recipe I’ve published it on my substack Parties and Pastries which you can subscribe to here:
open.substack....
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If however you don’t care about the smaller sized recipe (you could always just screen shot it anyway??) here are the two recipes in their “normal” size:
AMERICAN CINNAMON BUNS:
Recipe: ceciliatolone....
How-to: • AMERICAN CINNAMON ROLL...
SWEDISH KANELBULLAR:
Recipe: ceciliatolone....
How-to: • KANELBULLAR | Swedish ...
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Website: ceciliatolone.com
Substack: substack.com/@ceciliatolone

[@marywa288]

Both are delicious but with a cup of coffee I like Swedish version. Less sweet. Prefer European pastries because of this. More butter the better!!

[@Sanne78]

It's so fun to see different recipes for the same thing. Danish cinnamon buns/cinnamon snails are almost a mix of the 2 💜 We also put royal icing on ours instead of buttercream or sprinkling of sugar

[@hwcamp]

Hard decision! The only cinnamon roll recipe I make is by Woks of Life since theirs is a milk bread base. I find the milk bread easier to inhale multiple buns haha. They also recommend adding a bit of lemon extract to the cream cheese icing which is heavenly. I'd be curious if baking the American buns separately gives you the best of both worlds. More crunch and more sweet.

[@kathyy631]

Thank you so much for showing the differences, great video! For me, I’m partial to the American cinnamon buns, I just prefer the fluffy delicate texture American cinnamon buns have a little more. That being said, I do think Scandinavia has the best pastries in the world!

[@alxaf]

For me the question is super easy, the Swedish ones are the best! I dislike cheese and over-sugared pastries, as a cinnamon/cardamom lover, kanelbulle are my to-go pastries paired with my daily black coffee.

[@jamie032300]

I love to make browned butter cinnamon buns. I just replace the butter in the filling with browned butter and then sub out a tablespoon or two of the butter in the cream cheese icing for browned as well. Takes them to another level! That being said, I think kanelbullar will always be my go-to. ❤

[@sama1732]

Do you let the browned butter firm up a little to be spreadable for the filling?

[@carriewilhelm6019]

I adore Swedish Kanelbullar! Looking forward to trying your recipe after making ATK's recipe several times. The trickiest part for me was winding the dough around my fingers and tucking it under the roll. Much improved since the first time I made them. Loved the video and thank you for sharing!

[@katlinnorway4881]

I think I'll bake a mix: American cinnamon rolls med black cardamon and top with cream cheese 😊 😂 Hilsen fra Norge ❤

[@gimmekitkat007]

You should Frankenstein a best of both buns Cinnamon roll that takes the best of each recipe!

[@aeolia80]

both are good for their own reasons, but I will not eat a North American style bun for breakfast, lol, even though I'm from the States, lol, it's way too sweet, maybe for afternoon or after dinner, but I gotta go with the Swedish bun if I was to have one for breakfast/brunch

[@roukayab295]

I have tried your American recipe a couple of times and they’re a big hit with the family! They take forever to double in size though 😅 Can’t wait to make them when it gets warmer here in the uk 🇬🇧

[@charoalvarezorrbon1337]

Swedish Kanelbuller rocks! Because of cardamom!

[@AussieAngeS]

They both look so delicious to me 😍😍

[@martinezveralucia1582]

First time seeing this kind of machine looks very smart

[@제정은-f7j]

I like both, but for American rolls, I prefer nuts in the filling along with the cinnamon sugar (walnuts, pecans, etc., and the sugar being brown sugar) but without cream cheese frosting. For kanelbullar, the intense cinnamon flavor is my most favorite part.

[@pietfoku1921]

Danish cinnamon rolls are the best

[@christianjensen3494]

One of the Swedish networks needs to sign you immediately! Justja jag är ju svensk. Ja som ovan då 😊

[@chidang7077]

Thank you for sharing with us. Just wondering what are your tips on how to reheat these buns from frozen?

[@DallasMarks]

Love your videos and your unique perspective. Would have been interesting to have Swedish tasters to see which one they preferred.

[@ceciliatolone]

I did film my Swedish boyfriend trying them but he is also a baker and so it got so nerdy so fast hahah. I thought people would maybe find it boring so I cut it out 😭

[@gjylijesylejmani5819]

Jag tycker svenska kanelbullar smakas himla gott 🎉❤❤❤

[@nefertiti2953]

Just wondering, you have the same amount of flour for each version but different amounts of yeast, why is that? Do you want the Swedish rolls to puff up more?

[@wastedglitter]

I find it odd that you think the American cinnamon rolls are sweeter because the Swedish cinnamon rolls contain 145 g of sugar, 31 g more of sugar than the American variety. I really tried to like the Swedish version, but in my two trips to Stockholm, every kanelbullar that I tasted was dry and heavy. I think I need to try making them with your recipe!

[@MundusGregorius]

Sweetness comes from the frosting

[@makath3149]

Then you've probably just been unlucky so far. There are many excellent bakeries, but in my opinion you can get the best bullar at Lillebrors bageri. 😍🤤

[@wastedglitter]

@ Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll definitely add it to my must see list for my next trip. In the meanwhile, I’ll attempt your recipe. 😁

[@wastedglitter]

@@MundusGregorius I totaled the sugar amounts of each recipe with the icings, the Swedish recipe was 31 grams higher. Perhaps by virtue of the icing being on top, the American version seems sweeter, but it has less sugar.

[@제정은-f7j]

For real! When I make the kanelbullar with Cecilia's recipe I often halve the sugar in the dough - sometimes I even halve the filling when I'm running out of butter - and I still find it "sweet enough." I wonder if it's the contrast from the cream cheese that "tricks" the brain into thinking the American ones as sweeter? Not to mention the bigger amount of spices in the kanelbullar will probably cut through the sweetness.

[@EE-hi4re]

American because of the ooey gooey cinnamon sugar goodness.

[@kathycarlson7947]

I'm a 100% Swede born in the US. I prefer the Swedish bun. 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

[@Sekreterare75]

What kind of cinnamon did you use?

[@janecollette9504]

I add mashed potatoes to mine and believe me, it makes them so much more light and soft.Just sayin.

[@catharinevinson7769]

I am partial to Finnish cinnamon buns. The Swedish come a close second. Always love your videos.

[@ceciliatolone]

What’s different with the Finnish ones? I’ve never had them!

[@charoalvarezorrbon1337]

@@ceciliatoloneBoth are similar but buns are different shaped. Finnish buns are by cut the roll into slanted pieces alternately to the right and left. The sharper you cut the slanted pieces, the better the cinnamon rolls will open up when baking. Turn the pieces so that the narrower side is facing upward. Finnish buns are stand up with pearl sugar on top and bottom will be slightly burned caramelized.

[@catharinevinson7769]

@@ceciliatolone The Finnish ones (Korvapuusti) are smaller (about 40-50 grams) and rolled and shaped differently, more like a triangle (not a good description). If I can find photos of some I used to make for my mother who remembered her Finnish grandmother making them and never lost her fondness for them, I will post them. The dough is leaner than the American dough. It's the same enriched dough the Finns use to make "Pulla." Like the Swedish rolls, they boast a good bit of cardamom. I use a mixture of cinnamon varieties - the mild canela (Mexican cinnamon) is more floral than the norm, so I use 1/2 and 1/2. It makes for a rounder flavor. They are light, almost crisp, and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. Pearl sugar topped and NEVER a powdered sugar glaze. I think I have made almost EVERY one of your recipes and made all my friends gain at least five pounds in the process. 😁

[@catharinevinson7769]

@@charoalvarezorrbon1337 Great description! I'm going to see if I can attach the recipe I worked on several years ago to replicate the buns my mother's Finnish grandmother used to make.

[@doloreswilliams6826]

No comparison. They are so different..

[@MultiHeheboy]

Let your father know we miss his contents.

[@alekscains4862]

Question, your filling didn't leak out? I'm Swedish but live in the UK, have done for over 20 years and no matter what I try to fix it, my filling always melts and runs out of the buns and turns into burnt caramel on the tray. And it's gotten worse recently. Help.

[@UrbanSikeborg]

One way to reduce leaking is to add some flour to the filling, one or two teaspoons. Personally, when dealing with doughs with such high content of butter (my favourite recipe had 1g butter per 1 ml milk, with the filling included), I used to form the dough into loaves, put them in loaf pans lined with parchment paper and cut a pattern on top of each loaf with a pair of scissors. All the butter remains in the dough; no need to scrape off burnt bottoms; it saves space in the freezer, and you cut as thick or thin slize as you want.

[@alekscains4862]

@UrbanSikeborg I've tried that, both wheat flour and cornflour and it makes no difference, which makes me question the quality of UK butter.

[@larrya3989]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@familjenm1947]

hi can you make semlor

[@ceciliatolone]

Hi! I already have, it was one of my early videos! If you click on my top videos it’s in the top 5, so it’s easy to find 😊

[@rebel6367]

Wow, du har äntligen hittat en bättre maskin ?

[@ceciliatolone]

Jaaaaaaa!!!

[@anashiedler6926]

From the perspective of a central european (Austrian) the US ones look awful, the icing makes my stomach turn a bit. While the Swedish ones just look like our Austrian ones (called "Zimtschnecken' (EN: Cinnamon Snails) here.

[@staciejackson7497]

I’m American, and that was too much frosting.

[@Filip_Finbom]

The swedish made cinnamon buns The germans put them in a pan and baked it together and made butterkaka The americans put icing on them

[@DanielaNo]

Big american cinnamon rolls without the frosting is my favorite version

[@EE-hi4re]

Same

[@hildurmildur]

As a swedish person... the american version just looks gross. All that icing 😂 A properly made swedish cinnamon bun will be soft and moist and sweet, no icing needed. But it does take practice to get them right!

[@waitasecond3]

After years of making my own delicious American cinnamon buns, I tried the swedish ones a couple times from your recipe and... I got to say, it was a nice change of pace, but I gotta stick with my American ones! It's really the cream cheese frosting that wins out over everything 😅

[@ceciliatolone]

Hahaha I too love frosting, it’s just so good!