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Semlor Buns

 
Semlor buns are really easy to make, just remember to use freshly ground cardamom.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time1 hour 48 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Swedish
Servings: 12 Semlor
Author: Louise

Ingredients

Buns

  • 1 tsp Cardamom Seeds
  • 500 g Strong white Bread Flour
  • 70 g Butter, diced, room temperature
  • 60 g Caster Sugar
  • A Pinch of salt
  • 250 ml Whole Milk
  • 30 g Fresh Bakers Yeast
  • 1 Egg beaten
  • 450 mls Double or Whipping Cream
  • a little Milk
  • 1-2 tsp (level) Icing Sugar and to decorate
  • ½ tsp Vanilla extract
  • extra egg for glazing

Almond Paste

  • 200 g blanched almonds
  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 1 tbls egg white
  • 1 tsp water

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)