Skoleboller- Norwegian Custard Buns

Dish of the Week- Custard Buns

Selecting what was going to be my first recipe to share on the blog was easy and had to be something sweet!


I have always loved Skoleboller- Norwegian Custard Buns, and still remember how good my grandmother's ones tasted when I was a kid. Mine are far from as good as hers, but I have spent some time perfecting the recipe. I am originally from the city of Bergen in Norway, and I would say that we have a passion for good buns that comes in all shapes and forms. I am not sure whether this stems from the days when Bergen was a part of the German Hanseatic League, but there are no buns that can compete with scrolls from Baker Brun (a bakery chain) in Bergen.













Since moving to Australia my homemade custard buns have become a bit of a signature dish, as I have made them for a lot of different social occasions at work and among friends. I believe the custard buns signifies how simple food can be without losing its taste and distinct flavors!


Ingredients for dough:
350 ml milk
50 g of yeast (dry or fresh)
100 ml of butter
100 ml of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
Approximately 1000 ml of plain flour


Ingredients for Custard Cream:
1 vanilla bean
300 ml of milk
6 egg yolks
50 ml of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornflour
Approximately 200ml of whipped cream

Making the buns:
1. To make the dough melt 100ml of butter in a saucepan and add 350ml of milk. In order to not 'kill' the yeast ensure that the liquid is not more than 38 Celsius degrees (I use a thermometer but you can also double check with splashing some of the milk on the wrist to see that it is body temperature and doesn't feel hot). I prefer using fresh yeast but also know that it is not easy to get it in all countries, so dry yeast is a good supplement. Add the dry yeast in a big bowl and pour the liquid in to the bowl and stir. Add sugar, cardamom and use a sieve to sift the flour while using a whisk and/ or a spatula to combine the ingredients. Add the dough to the kitchen bench and kneed until it is smooth.

2. Put the dough back in the bowl and drizzle top with a little bit of flour and cover the bowl with a lid. Fill kitchen sink with hot water, and put a rack over the water and put the bowl on it. Cover it with kitchen towels to contain the heat from the water. Let the dough raise until twice it's size.
Whilst the dough is set to rise, make the custard cream. I am a big fan of making my own custard, as it doesn't take much time and is easy to make. In my house custard bought from the shop is a big no-no.


3. Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape of the vanilla seeds with a knife and add it to a saucepan. I normally put the rest of the vanilla bean in with 300ml of milk in the saucepan in order to get as much of that yummy vanilla taste out of the bean, and just take it out when the custard is finished. Add six egg yolks to the saucepan along with 50 ml of sugar. Put one tablespoon of cornflour in a small container and add one tablespoon of water and mix it together, and add it to the saucepan. 


4. Cook the custard on low heat, and be careful and make sure that it doesn't come to a boil  to avoid it from separating. I use a thermometer in this process as well which allows me to control the process and I normally don't let it get above 80 Celsius degrees. Stir the custard occasionally and when it has reached a thick consistency pour it in to a bowl, and put the bowl in to a sink with a bit of cold water. Ensure that you keep stirring it when it cools down as well, and add 200 ml of whipped cream when the custard is cold and mix it around.


5. Preheat the stove to 225 Celcius degrees, depending on how your stove works you may want to put it on lower heat to ensure that it doesn't get too hot. When the dough has risen to twice its size, put it on a kitchen bench that has been covered with a little bit of flour and start kneading the dough. Use a knife and cut the dough in to small pieces and roll it in to round buns. Put your finger in the middle of the bun and make a deep whole. Add the buns to a rack with baking paper on it, and let them rise over hot water in the sink, with a kitchen towel covering them. When they have doubled in size put your finger through the whole in the middle again to make it deeper and add the custard cream. Put the rack of buns in the stove for
15 minutes or until golden color.

To sum it up my custard buns are pretty much made of a sweet dough with a generous portion of custard eggs in the middle. Drizzled with icing sugar and desiccated coconut around the egg and you have a winner!

Bon appetite and enjoy!

Linnemoren