Når bollerne er varme, drysser jeg lidt kanel på dem.

Når usually means when, whenever, or once.

In this sentence, it introduces a time clause: Når bollerne er varme = when/once the buns are warm.

Why not hvis?

• når = when / whenever; it presents the situation as expected or regular
• hvis = if; it presents the situation as conditional or uncertain

So Når bollerne er varme sounds like a normal step in a recipe or routine.
Hvis bollerne er varme would sound more like if the buns happen to be warm.

A useful contrast:

• Når jeg kommer hjem, laver jeg kaffe. = When/Whenever I get home, I make coffee.
• Hvis jeg kommer hjem tidligt, laver jeg kaffe. = If I get home early, I make coffee.

This is because Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

Here, the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Når bollerne er varme

That whole clause takes the first slot. So in the main clause, the verb must come next:

• drysser jeg lidt kanel på dem

That is why you get:

• Når bollerne er varme, drysser jeg ...

and not:

• Når bollerne er varme, jeg drysser ...

If the sentence started directly with the subject, then you would say:

• Jeg drysser lidt kanel på dem.

Because Når bollerne er varme is a subordinate clause, and the comma marks the boundary before the main clause begins.

So the structure is:

• subordinate clause: Når bollerne er varme
• main clause: drysser jeg lidt kanel på dem

In Danish, this comma is normal and helps show the sentence structure clearly.

Bollerne is the definite plural form of bolle.

The pattern is:

• en bolle = a bun / a roll
• boller = buns / rolls
• bollerne = the buns / the rolls

So -ne is the ending that marks the in the plural.

This is very common in Danish, because definiteness is often added as an ending rather than as a separate word.

Because the adjective agrees with what it describes.

Here, bollerne is plural, so the adjective is plural too:

• bollerne er varme = the buns are warm

Compare:

• bollen er varm = the bun is warm
• brødet er varmt = the bread is warm (neuter singular)
• bollerne er varme = the buns are warm (plural)

So:

• varm = singular common gender
• varmt = singular neuter
• varme = plural

Drysser is the present tense of at drysse.

The infinitive is:

• at drysse = to sprinkle

The present tense is formed with -r:

• jeg drysser = I sprinkle / I am sprinkling

In Danish, the present tense can cover several ideas that English often separates:

• habitual action: I sprinkle
• ongoing action in context: I’m sprinkling
• recipe/instruction style: I sprinkle

So in a recipe-like sentence, the present tense is very natural.

There is a difference in meaning:

• er varme = are warm
• bliver varme = become/get warm

In this sentence, Når bollerne er varme focuses on the state the buns have reached.
It means: once they are warm, I do the next step.

If you said Når bollerne bliver varme, that would focus more on the process of becoming warm, which is less natural here if you mean a recipe step done after warming.

So er varme is the more natural choice for when they are warm.

Lidt means a little or some, and it is often used with uncountable nouns.

Kanel is treated as a mass noun here, like:

• lidt sukker = a little sugar
• lidt salt = a little salt
• lidt kanel = a little cinnamon

So there is no article before kanel in this phrase.

Also, lidt does not change form here. It simply tells you the quantity.

På means on or onto, and dem refers back to bollerne.

So:

• på dem = on them

This avoids repeating bollerne again.

Also, after a preposition like på, Danish uses the object form of the pronoun:

• subject form: de
• object form: dem

So after på, you say:

• på dem

not:

• på de

Yes.

Danish present tense plus når can be understood in more than one way depending on context.

It can mean something habitual:

• Whenever the buns are warm, I sprinkle a little cinnamon on them.

Or it can work like a recipe/instruction step:

• When the buns are warm, I sprinkle a little cinnamon on them.

So the grammar stays the same, and context tells you whether it is a general habit or one specific occasion.

Yes. It is a subordinate clause.

It has its own subject and verb:

• subject: bollerne
• verb: er

So it is not just a phrase like when warm. It is a real clause meaning when the buns are warm.

That is important because a full subordinate clause at the beginning affects the word order of the main clause, which is why you get:

• drysser jeg

instead of:

• jeg drysser