Semlor buns are really easy to make, just remember to use freshly ground cardamom.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time8 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr48 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Swedish
Servings: 12Semlor
Author: Louise
Ingredients
Buns
1tspCardamom Seeds
500gStrong white Bread Flour
70gButter, diced, room temperature
60gCaster Sugar
A Pinch of salt
250mlWhole Milk
30gFresh Bakers Yeast
1Eggbeaten
450mls Double or Whipping Cream
a little Milk
1-2tsp (level)Icing Sugar and to decorate
½tspVanilla extract
extra egg for glazing
Almond Paste
200gblanched almonds
100gicing sugar
1tblsegg white
1tspwater
Instructions
Almond paste
Classically the almonds should be ground, unfortunately, these days not many people have a rotary grater so my suggestion would be to pulse the almonds in a mixer to a course meal.
Put the almond meal into a bowl and add the icing sugar. Add the egg white and water a little at a time to work it into a dough. Wrap the almond paste in parchment paper and store in the fridge until needed. It will keep for 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.
Buns
Crush the cardamom seeds finely in a mortar. Heat the milk in a saucepan with the cardamon to 38°C. Combine the flour, sugar and salt and place in a free standing mixer with a dough hook attached.
Sprinkle the yeast into the warmed milk and stir to dissolve. Pour this into the flour and mix on a slow speed. Now add the egg. Finally add the butter, mix until you have a smooth, silky elastic dough, approximately 4-5 minutes.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 25-30 minutes or until doubled in size.
When the dough is ready knock back and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece in turn on a work surface using your cupped hand until it forms a smooth bun. Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper. leave to prove for a further 30-45 minutes depending on your room temperature. Meanwhile preheat the oven 200°C fan/Gas 7.
Brush each bun with the remaining egg (add a little milk to the remaining egg) and then bake in the middle of the oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Add 1-2 teaspoons of icing sugar and the vanilla extract to the cream and whip until the cream just holds its form.
Once the buns have cooled, they need to be hollowed out. You can either cut a triangle or literally slice the top off, then scoop out 1/3 of the insides and crumble. Weigh out 150g of the almond paste. (Freeze the remainder for another time). Grate the almond paste into a bowl and then add a little milk and the bun crumbs to make a smoothish paste. It should be a nice soft pipe-able consistency.
Stuff the buns with the almond filling using a spoon or a piping bag. Pipe or spoon the cream on top and then put the tops back on. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.
Notes
These buns freeze successfully for up to 3 months (unfilled)