Swedish Tea Ring

A holiday favorite, this Swedish Tea Ring is a sweet pastry filled with brown sugar, spices, and almond paste, and topped with buttercream frosting.

Swedish Tea Ring

If you have never had the pleasure of enjoying a Swedish tea yourself, you are in for a real treat. It is similar to a cinnamon roll or danish–yet different at the same time. So good!

This beautiful wreath-shaped pastry is perfect for serving for breakfast Christmas morning. It also makes a sweet treat any time of day throughout the holiday season. 

If you visit Crayons & Cravings regularly, you might notice that this recipe is a bit more complex than the easy recipes we typically share. But I promise you that it is so worth it.

Plus, it really isn’t all that difficult to make. It is more so just time-consuming, thanks to the sweet yeast dough which needs time to rise. This isn’t the kind of recipe that you can make at the last minute!

If you are looking for a quick & easy holiday breakfast, this Christmas morning monkey bread is the perfect recipe for you.

But if you are in for a bit of extra work, then stick with me and let’s get down to it.

Swedish Tea Ring Recipe

Start by gathering your ingredients. 

For this recipe you will need:

• milk
• sugar
• water
• yeast
• flour
• butter
• egg
• cardamom
• salt
• almond paste (make your own with this recipe)
• brown sugar
• powdered sugar
• almond extract
• sliced almonds
• maraschino cherries

How to Make a Swedish Tea Ring

PREPARE YEAST: In a small saucepan, heat milk to scalding. Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tsp sugar in warm water, stir in yeast, and allow the yeast to bloom.

PREPARE DOUGH: In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and egg. Add bloomed yeast and stir in milk. Add ground cardamom, salt, and flour a little at a time until the dough is not sticky and easy to handle. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, approximately 5 minutes.

ALLOW DOUGH TO RISE: Place in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1-1 ½ hours.

PREPARE FILLING: Cut almond paste into small pieces (this will make it easier to blend). Then, mix almond paste, brown sugar, and softened butter together well in a small bowl.

FORM RING: Roll dough out to form a rectangle (approx. 15 x 9 inches). Drop mounds of the filling out onto the dough. Spread the filling out the best that you can to create as even of a layer as possible. Roll the dough tightly lengthwise and place on an ungreased baking sheet or parchment paper. Bring the ends together to form a circle. Use kitchen scissors to snip 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals. Take each section and slightly turn it onto its side.

ALLOW DOUGH TO RISE (AGAIN): Set the dough ring aside to allow it to rise again and double in size, approximately 1 hour.

BAKE: Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

PREPARE BUTTERCREAM: Combine buttercream ingredients and mix well until smooth.

DECORATE AND SERVE: Top cooled tea ring with buttercream frosting (this tool helps), maraschino cherries, and almond slivers. Slice and serve.

Beautiful and so delicious.

Serve with tea or coffee and enjoy!

Use the handy recipe card below to print out the full step-by-step Swedish Tea Ring recipe–enjoy!

Swedish Tea Ring

Yield: 1 ring

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Rise Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours

A holiday favorite, this Swedish Tea Ring is a sweet pastry filled with brown sugar, spices, and almond paste, and topped with buttercream frosting.

Print

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tsp
• ¼ cup warm water
• 2 ¼ tsp yeast (1 packet)
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 ¼ to 3 ½ cups flour

For the Filling

• ½ cup almond paste
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup butter, softened

For the Frosting

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 2-3 tsp milk
• ½ tsp almond extract

For Topping

• sliced almonds
• maraschino cherries

Instructions

Prepare Dough:

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk to scalding. Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tsp sugar in warm water, stir in yeast, and allow to bloom.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and egg. Add bloomed yeast and stir
   in milk. Add cardamom, salt, and flour a little at a time until the dough is not sticky and easy to handle.
4. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, approximately 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a dish towel and let rise until doubled, about 1-1 ½ hours.

Fill & Form

1. In a small bowl, combine almond paste, brown sugar, and softened butter. TIP: The almond paste is easier to blend if you cut it into small pieces first.
2. Roll dough out into a rectangle.
3. Drop mounds of the filling on top of the dough. Spread the filling out the best that you can to create an even layer.
4. Roll the dough tightly lengthwise and bring the ends together to form a circle. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet or parchment paper
5. Use kitchen scissors to snip 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals. Take each section and slightly turn it onto its side.
6. Set aside and allow the dough to rise until double, approximately 1 hour.
7. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Make Buttercream & Decorate

1. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter, milk, and almond extract. Mix until smooth.
2. Top cooled tea ring with buttercream frosting, maraschino cherries, and almonds.
3. Slice and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 806Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 250mgCarbohydrates: 137gFiber: 5gSugar: 25gProtein: 18g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by a third party and intended to serve as an estimate only. Accuracy of nutritional information is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe?

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This recipe was shared on The Weekend Potluck  and Meal Plan Monday!