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Sweden, Europe

Semla (Swedish Cardamom Cream Bun)

Sweden's beloved Lent bun: a soft cardamom bun hollowed out, filled with almond paste and topped with a tall swirl of whipped cream.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time45 min
Rising and cooling+ 1 h 45 min
DifficultyMedium

Method

  1. Warm the milk and butter in a small pan over low heat for , just until the butter melts. It should feel lukewarm on your finger (about 37 °C); too hot and it will kill the yeast.

    Add in this stepMilk (for the dough) 65 mlButter (for the dough) 22 g

    low heat

  2. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, cardamom and salt, pour in the warm milk and bring it together into a dough. Knead on the worktop for , until smooth and elastic, slightly tacky but barely sticking to your hands.

    Add in this stepPlain flour 110 gSugar 14 gInstant dried yeast 3 gGround cardamom (freshly ground if possible) ½ tspSalt 1 pinch

  3. Put it back in the bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for , until doubled in size. It is ready when a finger poke springs back slowly.

  4. Knock the air out gently and divide the dough into equal pieces, one per serving (2 in total). Shape each into a tight ball by tucking the edges underneath, and set them well apart on a tray lined with baking paper. Cover with a cloth and leave to puff up for .

  5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 225 °C. Beat the egg, brush it thinly over the buns and bake for , until deep golden on top and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath.

    Add in this stepEgg (for brushing) 1

    oven

  6. Cool the buns completely on a wire rack, at least . If they are still warm, the cream will melt and slide off.

  7. Cut a 1.5 cm lid off the top of each bun (a triangle lid is the Stockholm style) and scoop out about a third of the inside with a spoon. Mix the scooped-out crumbs with the grated almond paste and the filling milk into a moist, thick paste, and spoon it back into the buns.

    Add in this stepAlmond paste (higher almond content than marzipan) 75 gMilk (for the filling) 1½ tbsp

  8. Whip the cold cream with half the icing sugar until it holds firm peaks, then pipe a tall swirl over the filling with a star nozzle. Put the lid on and dust with the remaining icing sugar through a sieve.

    Add in this stepDouble or whipping cream (35% fat or more) 150 mlIcing sugar 1 tsp

Cook's tip

One serving is one large bun. If you can't find almond paste, mix equal weights of ground almonds and icing sugar and add milk a little at a time. Filled semlor are best eaten the same day; unfilled buns freeze well and can be filled after thawing. In Sweden, some like them as hetvägg, served in a bowl of hot milk.

Cooking it at camp

Baking at a campsite is impractical. Bake and cool the buns at home, bring the almond filling in a sealed tub and the cream cold in the cooler, then whip it on site with a whisk and assemble. Keep the cream below 5 °C and eat the buns the same day.