Franzbrötchen + Korvapuusti
So being from northern Germany Franzbrötchen are a staple here, but rarely you find good ones everywhere else. If you ever make a stop in Hamburg do yourself a favor and get one! Now when I was living in Finland you find something looking quite similar called korvapuusti, which is often translated into cinnamon bun, while looking like a Franzbrötchen. As also other Nordic dessert pastries, it includes cardamom and cinnamon and as friends suggested tastes better made with brown sugar.
So why not combine the flakiness of the Franzbrötchen with the flavors of korvapuusti?
While I am probably not the first person coming up with this idea, next time make your Franzbrötchen with brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. It will be very good!
Compared to croissants making a laminated dough for Franzbrötchen is more forgiving if something is not perfectly layered, but getting it right still makes for a nicer end result.
While I have not yet taken the time to refine my recipe, here are some starting points:
- Pretty traditional recipe, first one I made at home: https://web.archive.org/web/20190401042130/http://dahoamschmeckts.de/hamburgerfranzbroetchen/
- Similar and with good instructions, but haven't made this exact recipe: https://www.marcelpaa.com/rezepte/franzbroetchen/
- Decent instructions with video, though vanilla and lemon zest are traditionally not included (but tastes good), also wouldn't kneed extra butter into the butter plate: https://thomas-kocht.de/rezepte/franzbroetchen-selber-backen/
Whichever recipe you choose, don't forget to add some steam, otherwise your Franzbrötchen will brown way too quickly.
You will sometimes find rather interesting combinations being sold. Sometimes they really work, sometimes they don't. Feel free to experiment and report back.