Swedish cream-filled cardamom buns (semlor)

“These delicious buns are traditionally eaten in Sweden on Shrove Tuesday (or Fat Tuesday, as it’s known in Scandinavia), but they’re so popular that more recently they can be found in bakeries all year round. A light cardamom-spiced bun is filled with a soft marzipan mixture and plenty of sweetened whipped cream.” Adam Liaw, Destination Flavour Scandinavia

• makes

  12

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 80 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 250 ml (1 cup) milk
• 25 g fresh yeast (or 12 g dried yeast)
• 40 g caster sugar
• 525 g (3½ cups) bread flour (or 00 pasta flour), plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten in two separate bowls
• icing sugar, for dusting 

Filling

• 300 ml pouring cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 100 g (60%) almond marzipan, finely grated
• 125 ml (½ cup) thickened cream

Resting time 1½ hours

Instructions

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk to the pan, then transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool until lukewarm. Crumble in the yeast and stir until dissolved, then add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in half the flour until combined, then add the salt, cardamom, baking powder and 1 lightly beaten egg, stirring to combine. Gradually add the remaining flour and mix until the dough just comes together, taking care not to add too much flour for softer buns. Using an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place into a lightly greased bowl and cover with a tea towel, then stand in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down, then use a small sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 x 80 g portions. Shape each portion into a ball, making them as round as possible. Place onto a large baking paper-lined baking tray at least 5 cm apart. Cover the tray with a tea towel and stand in a warm, draught-free place for another 30–40 minutes or until almost doubled in size again.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C. Glaze the buns with the remaining beaten egg and bake for 10–12 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when knocked on the base. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, whip the pouring cream and icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and refrigerate until needed.

Using a small knife, on an angle, cut a triangle from the top of each bun and place each lid next to the bun so they don’t get mixed up. Scoop out the centre, tearing it into small pieces into a bowl. Mix the bread with the grated marzipan and thickened cream and divide equally amongst the buns. Pipe over the whipped cream, then replace the lids of the buns and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Photography, styling and food preparation by Adam Liaw.

Visit the Destination Flavour Scandinavia program page for recipes, videos and more.

View recipes from past seasons: Destination Flavour Down Under, Destination Flavour Japan, Destination Flavour S1.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.