Giant Coconut-Cardamom Bun
A special Daily Bread recipe from Shilpa Uskokovic
Cake friends,
Contrary to popular belief, morning buns don’t need to be sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Today in the newsletter, we’re sharing a recipe from Daily Bread by the ever-brilliant Shilpa Uskokovic, a senior food editor at Bon Appetit and the co-founder of Hani’s Bakery, a beloved spot in the East Village known for some of the city’s best pastries (and the iconic PB&J cake we served at our Daily Bread reading).
Shilpa’s Giant Thenga Cardamom Bun is a supersized, gloriously pink-glazed version of a beloved South Indian treat, best enjoyed with a scalding glass of strong, milky tea. “Thenga buns,” she writes, “are a staple across Southern India, showing up in old-school bakeries, tiny tea shacks, sleeper trains, and school cafeterias. On the outside, the palm-sized buns are deeply ordinary, plain as a bald head. But when you break one open? A galaxy of shredded thenga (the tamil word for coconut), jewel-bright bits of candied green papaya, and freckles of cardamom peer from within.”
Her version swaps in a bright pink cherry glaze and giant, cake-like presentation for a morning treat befitting a celebration—or just the weekend.
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this looks incredible