Semlor (Swedish Cardamom Cream Buns)

About This Recipe

Semlor is a real, traditional Swedish dish, known as Swedish Cardamom Cream Buns. Cardamom-scented buns hollowed out and filled with almond paste and whipped cream, traditionally eaten before Lent.\n\nSemlor were originally eaten only on Fat Tuesday before Lenten fasting began, but by the 20th century Swedes had extended the tradition to the entire period from January through Easter, making it one of the most anticipated seasonal treats.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Swedish home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 12

• 500 gall-purpose flour
• 75 gsugar
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 1 tspground cardamom
• 0.5 tspfine sea salt
• 250 mlwhole milk(lukewarm)
• 75 gbutter(melted)
• 1egg
• 200 galmond paste
• 3 tbspwhole milk(extra, for the filling)
• 300 mlheavy cream(whipped)
• 2 tbsppowdered sugar(for dusting)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mix flour, sugar, yeast, cardamom and salt, add warm milk, melted butter and egg, and knead for 8 minutes until smooth.

2. 2

   Rise

   Cover and let rise for 1 hour until doubled.

3. 3

   Shape the buns

   Divide into 12 pieces, shape into tight round buns, place on a lined tray, cover, and rise again for 30 minutes.

4. 4

   Bake

   Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 12 minutes until golden. Cool completely.

5. 5

   Hollow and fill

   Cut a lid off the top of each bun, hollow out some of the crumb, and mash it with almond paste and a splash of milk to make a soft filling.

6. 6

   Assemble

   Spoon the almond filling back into each bun, pipe generously with whipped cream, replace the lid, and dust with powdered sugar.

Variations

• •

  A vegan version uses coconut cream and a flax egg in the dough.

• •

  Some bakeries drizzle a bit of rosewater into the almond filling for a floral note.

• •

  Serve semlor in a bowl with warm milk poured over, an older, traditional way to eat them (hetvägg).

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions