Semlor - Swedish Buns

Semlor or semla (singular) is one of the most traditional sweets from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Estonia. It is a cardamom bun filled with almond cream and cream. In my case, I have opted for cream and mascarpone, since for my taste, it is, in addition to having a better texture and body, much richer.

Although these delicious buns need to rest and rise for several hours, they are not difficult at all. They are very easy to make, and if you have a Kitchenaid, the job is done, it alone will be in charge of kneading it for 15 minutes and the only thing you will have to be patient with is resting.

As is logical in this type of dough, the ideal would be to eat them the same day to be able to taste the semla at its peak, freshly baked, however, as the days go by they will no longer be as tender as the first day, therefore, In Sweden they have a “trick” for leftover buns: serve them in a bowl of hot milk and take it by spoonfuls. How about?

Ingredients (10 units)

• 450 g sifted strong flour
• 70g sugar
• 1 egg L + 1 S for brushing
• 70 g melted butter
• 200 ml. whole milk
• 15 g fresh baker's yeast
• 5 g flaked salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
• Powdered sugar to sprinkle

• 125 g ground almonds
• 60 ml whole milk
• Powdered sugar

• 250 g very cold mascarpone
• 120 ml. cold whipping cream, minimum 35%MG
• 60 g icing sugar

Preparation

1. We melt the butter in the hot milk, and once it is warm, we add the fresh yeast until it melts.
2. We add the rest of the ingredients to the Kitchenaid bowl along with the milk mixture and knead for 15 minutes with the hook accessory.
3. We let it ferment for 2 hours in a container greased with oil and covered with film.
4. Once fermented and doubled in volume, we divide the dough into portions of about 80 g each. We form the buns and place them on a tray provided with a silicone mat, or failing that, greaseproof paper. We let it ferment for another 2 hours covered with greased plastic wrap.
5. We preheat the oven to 220ºC. Brush each bun with beaten egg and bake for 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Mascarpone cream preparation
In the Kitchenaid bowl, fitted with the “whisk” accessory, beat the mascarpone with the icing sugar. Add the cream and beat until it forms a very hard and consistent cream.

Almond paste preparation
Mix all the ingredients until you get a homogeneous paste.

Mounting

Finally, once cold, we cut the lid into a triangular shape, empty the inside a little, fill with almond paste and mascarpone cream. To do this, you can use a pastry bag fitted with a nozzle or simply put it on top with the help of a spoon. To finish, place its lid on top and sprinkle with icing sugar.