Skoleboller (Skolebrød) Norwegian “School Bread” Custard Buns

I almost don’t want to share this skoleboller recipe because I’m pretty sure the main reason my American friends visit me in Norway is to eat skoleboller. And I don’t fault them for that, because skoleboller probably accounted for 90% of my decision to move to Norway.

But you can, in fact, make these Norwegian custard buns outside of Norway! Skoleboller (also called skolebrød) are Norwegian “school buns” (or school bread) made with a sweet cardamom dough, filled with vanilla custard in the center, and then coated in icing and dipped in coconut flakes. These Norwegian coconut and vanilla buns are an instant favorite amongst everyone who tries them – well, as long as they like coconut.

And if you don’t like coconut, try my other favorite Norwegian custard buns: solskinnsboller.

When I was growing up, every summer I would be so excited to get to eat skolebrød while visiting family in Norway. And then when I first moved to Norway I worked in the bakery section of a supermarket for a year, where I would make skoleboller every morning.

And I’m not even exaggerating when I tell you I felt like I truly had made it in life living in Norway getting paid to bake Norwegian boller. I no longer work in a Norwegian bakery so I don’t get paid to make skoleboller anymore, but I am very excited to get to share my Norwegian school buns recipe here!

Tips

One of the key ingredients in most Norwegian sweet buns is cardamom. And well, if you’ve seen my other Scandinavian recipes you probably already know what I’m going to say about the cardamom here.

You can use ground cardamom for this recipe, but if you have a mortar and pestal I highly recommend grinding cardamom seeds instead, as freshly ground seeds are much more flavorful. I wouldn’t bother unless it really made a difference, but it really does.

Pre ground cardamom doesn’t have much flavor, so if you do use it, I would probably double the amount of cardamom.

In Norway I usually use fresh yeast to make skoleboller dough, simply because it’s more commonly used here than dry yeast. But when I make these in the US I use instant yeast and they turn out the same, so you can use whichever you are most comfortable with or have available. However, if you use active dry yeast, be sure to follow the instructions on the packet and proof the yeast before adding it to the other ingredients.

Making the vanilla custard for the center of the skolebrød might seem intimidating, but it’s actually pretty easy. Just make sure that you keep whisking the custard the entire time you’re heating it so there aren’t any lumps. This recipe does make about twice as much vanilla custard as you’ll likely use, so you can be as generous as you like when filling the skoleboller. The custard also tastes delicious on its own, so I save the rest to eat as a little dessert.

You can prepare the vanilla custard before making the buns, or while the skolebrød dough is rising. If you make it while the dough is rising, it will probably still be a little warm when you’re spooning it onto the buns, but that’s totally fine.

When making indents for the vanilla custard in the buns, you need to really push down to the bottom of the bun. I start off making an indent with the back of a measuring spoon, and then I continue pressing the dough down with my fingers shaping it into a little cup (see video below). This ensures that even when the dough rises again there’s still space left for the custard.

I use a piping bag for the vanilla custard, mostly because I like to pretend I’m a pastry chef, but you can just as well spoon out the custard with a couple of teaspoons.

You can coat the skoleboller with as much icing as you like, and then simply press the bun down in a bowl of coconut flakes. The coconut won’t really stick to the vanilla center, so you can go ahead and press the whole bun flat into the coconut.

I gave this batch of skoleboller away to my neighbors, and now I’m regretting not saving a few more for myself. They’re so good!

If you have leftovers the next day, my little tip would be to pop these in the microwave for just a few seconds so that the icing gets a tiny bit warm (but not totally melted) and the bun softens a bit.

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.