Swedish Semlor – Lent buns
Every January, the excitement builds because our customers know it is almost time for Semlor buns. Scandinavians celebrate the start of Lent in different ways, but all of us like to eat as many of these addictive treats as physically possible (rumour has it there are no calories in a Semla if you eat it with your eyes closed).
Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 13 grams dried/active yeast or 25g fresh yeast* (see * below) – can be bought here
- 250 ml whole milk heated to 36–37°C (97–98°F)
- 80 grams butter melted and cooled slightly
- 40 grams caster/granulated sugar
- 300-400 grams white strong bread flour – can be bought here
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom – can be bought here
- 1 egg lightly beaten
FILLING
- 100 grams marzipan/almond paste (50% almond content is preferred) – can be bought here
- good dollop or pastry creme/custard – recipe here or buy here
- 500 ml whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar – can be bought here
- icing/confectioners' sugar to dust
- 100 ml raspberry jam (optional)
Instructions
- *If using fresh yeast, add it to the finger-warm milk and mix until dissolved. Then pour it into the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
- If using dried active yeast granules, sprinkle the yeast granules into the finger-warm milk and whisk together. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to activate and become frothy and bubbly. Pour into the bowl of a food mixer with a dough hook and stir in the melted butter. Add the sugar and stir again. Add half of the flour as well as the salt, baking powder and ground cardamom. Add half the beaten egg (reserve the other half for brushing before baking).
- Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated and then start to add more of the flour, bit by bit, until you have a dough that is only a little bit sticky. Take care not to add too much flour. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes in the mixer. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm (not hot) place until it has doubled in size – about 30–40 minutes.
- Turn the dough out to a floured surface. Knead again for a few minutes, adding more flour if needed. You want a firmer but not dry dough. Cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Place, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet. Leave to rise for 25–30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.
- Brush each bun with the beaten egg and bake for 8–10 minutes or until baked through – keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Remove from oven and cover the buns with a lightly damp dish towel immediately – this will prevent them from forming a crust.
- When they have cooled completely, cut a ‘lid’ off the buns – about 1.5 cm/1⁄2 in. from the top. Scoop out about one-third of the inside of the bun and place this in a separate bowl. Mix it with the marzipan paste until it forms a very sticky mass – add a dollop of custard or Crème Pâtissière at this point to help it along. You want a spoonable, even mixture. Spoon the filling back into the buns, equally divided.
- Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar until stiff, then use a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle to pipe cream on all the buns. Put the ‘lids’ back on and dust lightly with icing sugar.
Equipment
- piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle
Notes
From the book The ScandiKitchen Cookbook by Bronte Aurell, photo by Pete Cassidy. Book Available on Amazon or ScandiKitchen.
Don’t have all the ingredients? Check out our Semlor Bundle here, which contains some of the ingredients to get you started.
