Swedish Semlor

Tophondo's Note:

A traditional Swedish recipe. You eat semlor on ”Fettisdagen”, second Tuesday in February, during Lent. It’s best described as a cream bun with almond paste. A traditional way to eat this bun is to put the ‘semla’ in a bowl with warm milk, also known as ‘hetvägg’ translated it will be ‘hot wall’. Or you can just enjoy it with a cup of coffee.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 16 semlor

• 75 g butter
• 1 cup milk
• 25 g yeast
• 1 pinch salt
• 10 teaspoons sugar
• 3 cups wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon cardamom, ground (optional)
• 1/2 cup egg, beaten

Filling

• 300 g almond paste
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups double cream
• confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, pour in the milk och warm until lukewarm (99 F).
2. Crumble the yeast in a bowl and stir in a little of the warm butter/milk until the yeast is completely dissolved.
3. Add the rest of the butter/milk, salt, sugar, cardamom and most of the flour (save some for the rest of the baking). Work the dough smooth and shiny. It should let go from the edges of the bowl. Allow the dough to rise under a baking cloth for 40 minutes.
4. Sprinkle flour over a baking board and place the dough there. Make 1 bun per person by rolling the dough against the baking board in your cupped hand.
5. Put the buns on a baking tray with oven paper and allow them to rise for an additional 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 440°F.
6. Brush the buns with the beaten egg and bake them for about 10 minutes in the middle of the oven. Let them cool on an oven rack under a baking cloth.
7. Cut of a cover on each bun. Take out a part of the crumb and put it in a bowl. Crumble in almond paste, mix and dilute with the milk to a rather soft mixture.
8. Distribute the filling in the buns. Whip the cream and put a large dollop in every bun.
9. Put the cover on and sift some confectioners’ sugar over ‘semlorna’.

Reviews

[Swexican Mom's Recipes]

I lived in Sweden 12 years and bought "Semlor" in the bakeries of Stockholm and Gothenburg every year! Love them! I missed the breads and thank you for posting such a simple recipe to follow! I decided to substitute the mil with "Silk" or soy milk. The dough is rising. We'll see how it turns. Tusen tack! Liz in Texas

[Iceland]

I make these every year and i love this recipe as it is easy to follow and works just great. Thank you so much for sharing! I could eat those buns every day for every meal...

[L DJ]

Know I shouldn't have made'em, then I shouldn't have ate'm, but oh, they where ever so good. Thanks for sharing.