My best friend has been begging me for years, wanting me to bake semlor, every time I brought up the word shrovetide/carnival buns. But since I’m not a big fan of marzipan, it didn’t happen until this year. I chose to make two versions as I made a whole batch of dough up and we were only few to eat them. They should be eaten as fresh as possible. This one has the classic flavours of marzipan and whipped cream, but I also made a version with raspberry jam and chocolate cream.
SWEDISH SEMLOR
10 BUNS.
15 G FRESH YEAST
50 G BUTTER
100 ML BUTTERMILK
2 TBSP. SUGAR
½ TSP SALT
½ TSP. GROUND CARDAMOM
1 EGG, WHISKED TOGETHER
275 G FLOUR
1 EGG YOLK
Crumble the yeast into a bowl.
Melt the butter and mix well with in the buttermilk.
Whisk the liquid into the yeast a little at a time.
Add in sugar, salt, cardamom and eggs.
Add the flour and knead the dough until it is smooth, supple and soft. The dough shouldn’t stick to the sides of the bowl or your hands.
Let the dough rise overnight in the fridge under a moist tea towel.
The next day: Shape the dough into 10 buns of 50 grams each and place them on a baking sheet with baking paper.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Brush the buns with the egg yolk.
Bake the bun in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they sound hollow when you tap lightly with a finger on the bottom of the bun.
FILLING:
100 G GRATED MARZIPAN, MIN 60% ALMONDS
50 G CHOPPED ALMONDS
100 ML MILK
250 ML HEAVY CREAM FOR WHIPPED CREAM
POWDERED SUGAR
Once the buns have cooled, cut a small portion of the top off and set it aside for later.
Hollow out the bottom and crumble the scooped out bread into a bowl.
Mix the bread with grated marzipan, chopped almonds and milk. Add the milk in a little at a time, it should not be wet, but creamy and soft.
Put the filling back into the hollowed out semlor, pipe whipped cream on top with a star piping tip, put the top on and sift some icing sugar on top.
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