Semla
Swedish cardamom buns split and filled with almond paste and whipped cream, the Shrove Tuesday treat, in 1 hour 5 minutes plus rising.
Photograph credit: SemlaFlickr (image of semla on Wikidata Q1139319) by Frugan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Make Ahead and Storage
Best fresh. Unfilled buns freeze for 1 month.
Semla: The Method
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Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cardamom, lukewarm milk, egg and butter and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
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Shape into 10 round buns, set on lined trays and leave for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F.
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Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Cool completely.
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Slice the tops off and scoop out some of the centres. Mix the crumbs with the grated almond paste and 100 ml milk.
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Fill the buns with the paste, pipe on whipped cream and set the lids on. Dust with the icing sugar.
Worth Knowing
- Cool the buns before filling.
- Whip the cream until stiff.
- Eat within a few hours.
Why the Method Is What It Is
Hollow out the bun, and mix the crumbs with the almond paste. That is the quick tip for a semla, the Swedish Lent bun, because the inside of the bun makes the filling and the lid sits over it like a hat. Semlor are eaten on Shrove Tuesday, and in Sweden the shops start to sell them in January.
The buns are a soft cardamom dough, rich with butter, egg and milk. Knead for 10 minutes and rise for 1 hour, shape into 10 smooth round buns, rise again for 30 minutes and bake at 220°C / 430°F for 20 minutes, until golden. Cool completely. Slice the top off each bun and scoop out some of the centre. Mix the scooped crumbs with grated almond paste and a spoon of milk into a thick, sweet filling.
Spoon the filling into the hollows. Whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks and pipe a swirl on top of each. Set the lids on at an angle and dust with icing sugar. The traditional way to eat a semla is in a bowl of hot milk, as hetvägg. Eat within a few hours, as the bun softens.
What to Put Next to It
Hot milk · Coffee · Tea
Semla FAQ
How long does Semla take to make?
45 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 30 minutes of Rising, so allow 2 hours 35 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling completely, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 10.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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