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Pear and Cardamom Sweet Rolls

These are the perfect cozy dessert for early fall! Just like a cinnamon roll, but with earthy cardamom and juicy pears. The outside is crunchy and toasty, while the inside is soft and gooey as any sweet roll should be. We top these off with a brown butter maple glaze, which tastes exactly like caramel. It seeps into the rolls creating an ultra moist and flavorful dessert.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rising Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings: 12 rolls
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dough
  • 1 cup whole milk warmed to about 110℉
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • 1½ Tablespoons instant yeast (2 standard packets)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened and cut into 4 pieces
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
Filling
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 5 teaspoons ground cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 pears* peeled and cores removed
Glaze
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • ½ teaspoon espresso powder
  • a pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup heavy cream

Method
 

Make the dough
  1. Heat the milk to 35℉ in the microwave in 20 second increments. Pour the warm milk into a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and yeast and whisk to combine. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. The mixture should become foamy on top, and if it doesn't then your yeast is probably dead and you should start over with new yeast.
  2. Add the butter and beat with a dough hook attachment. It won't fully combine, just try to break it down a little. Add the eggs and salt, and beat again to incorporate. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined and a rough dough forms. Pour that out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 7 minutes until the dough forms a smooth and soft ball.
  3. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl (I use olive oil or butter) and turn to coat all sides of the dough in the oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or cling wrap and set in a warm and humid place to rise for about 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size. I usually let it rise for about an hour and a half.
Prep the filling
  1. In the last 10 minutes or so of rising, prep the filling. Slice the peeled and cored pears vertically. Try and get them as thin as possible, a mandoline is best for this. Place the sliced pears on a paper towel and gently blot some of the moisture out of them. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  2. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch rectangular baking dish with butter. Set aside.
Shape and fill the rolls
  1. Punch down the risen dough to release the bubbles. Pour it out onto a heavily floured surface and roll it out using a rolling pin into a 12x18 inch rectangle. Flip and rotate the dough frequently as you are rolling it out to make sure it isn't sticking. Spread the softened butter on top and evenly sprinkle over the brown sugar mixture. Layer the pears evenly overtop, leaving about an inch border. Some of them may overlap a little, that's ok! Slowly and carefully roll the rectangle up into a tight 18 inch log. Cut the log into 12 even rolls, and arrange in the previously prepared baking dish. Cover the rolls with cling wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rise again for about 45-60 minutes.
Bake the Rolls
  1. Preheat the oven to 375℉. Bake the risen rolls without the cling wrap for 25-30 minutes or until evenly browned on top and hollow sounding when tapped. If rolls are browning too quickly, carefully tent with foil. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the pan while you prepare the glaze.
Make the glaze
  1. In a small saucepan brown the butter over medium heat. It will melt and then begin to sizzle and foam. You will then see brown specks. Keep an eye on it, stirring frequently until amber brown. Then stir in the maple syrup, which will sizzle and splash, so be careful! Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso powder, confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt. Until just combined. Lastly, stir in the cream until combined. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls and enjoy.
  2. Rolls are best served warm but will keep for up to 3 days covered in foil.

Notes

Pears: I have used both green and brown pears, and they both work well.