If You’ve ever been to Sweden, You probably know what’s commonly on offer in the Swedish bakeries. Pick any bakery or cafe, and You are likely to find traditional gorgeous cream-filled, cardamom-scented pastries named Semlor (to be precise, Semla in singular form and Semlor in plural but let’s be honest, any decent pastry lover would have more than one bun so let’s call them Semlor). I promise that once You tried this yumminess, You’ll never forget it’s name! Boy oh boy, I’d love to have one right now!
Now you’re probably thinking ‘How does Semla look like? What should I look for in the bakery?’. Note: special features – cardamon scent, wheat bun with it’s top cut off, mix of almond paste inside the bun, whipped cream layer and a cut-off top that serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar. Somehow I feel that with every word You’re getting more and more hungry, haha. That’s why I decided to share a recipe of Swedish Semlor for Fika (Fika is a Swedish concept that has no equivalent in English language and it basically means ‘to have coffee”, often including pastries or sandwiches).
This was my first time baking Semlor, and boy am I proud of myself. Buns turned out super soft and moist and for the first time I’ve experienced that amazing smell of baking cardamon in my home! It was a WOW! Also, be confident about this recipe because the author is a pastry chef. Oh, I should remind You that the recipe yields 32 buns, so You should either freeze half of the dough for the next time or invite friends and family to drop by.
