A semla has many names in Sweden, semla, hetvägg, fastlagsbulle and fetistasbulle to name a few. The word semla probably comes from the Latin word for flour, simila, and only refered to the actual bun without the filling.

Semlor are immensely popular this time of the year with cafes and newspapers running competitions and features of best semla of the year in the local towns.

One of Sweden’s most well-known Semla fans is the fictional detective Ture Sventon from author Åke Holmberg’s novels. Ture calls his semlor ‘temlor’ and prefers the ones from the fictional Rotas konditori on Drottninggatan in Stockholm.

A semla can best be described as a bun flavoured with cardamom, filled with a marzipan, topped with whipped cream and then dusted with icing sugar. A traditional way to eat this bun is to put the semla in a bowl with warm milk, also known as ‘hetvägg’ translated as ‘hot wall’. Or you can just enjoy it with a cup of coffee.

If you are in Sweden during this time of the year you will see these delicious buns in most cafes. Or why don’t you try making your own semla at home?

Here is a recipe to try:

Semlor

Makes 16-20 semlor

5 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
3 teaspoon instant yeast (10 gram)
A pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups wheat flour
1 teaspoon cardamom, ground (optional)
1 egg, beaten

Filling:

1/2 lb. almond paste
½ cup milk
1 ½ cup whipping cream
Icing sugar

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, pour in the milk, heat until lukewarm (99 F).

2. Crumble the yeast in a bowl and stir in a little of the warm butter/milk until the yeast is completely dissolved.

3. Add the rest of the butter/milk, salt, sugar, cardamom and most of the flour (save some for the rest of the baking). Knead the dough until smooth and shiny. It should let go from the edges of the bowl. Allow the dough to rise under a baking cloth for 40 minutes.

4. Sprinkle flour over a baking board and place the dough there. Make 1 bun per person by rolling the dough against the baking board in your cupped hand.

5. Put the buns on a baking tray with oven paper and allow them to rise for an additional 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 440°F.

6. Brush the buns with the beaten egg and bake them for about 10 minutes in the middle of the oven. Let them cool on an oven rack under a baking cloth.

7. Slice the top off each bun. Take out a part of the crumb and put it in a bowl. Crumble in almond paste, mix and dilute with the milk to a rather soft mixture.

8. Distribute the filling in the buns. Whip the cream and put a large dollop in every bun.

9. Replace the tops on the buns and sift some icing sugar over ‘semlorna’. 

If you're in London you can find semlor in the wonderful Scandinavian food store, Scandinavia Kitchen on 61 Great Titchfield Street near Baker Street and Marylebone. Rather dangerously this place is just around the corner of the VisitSweden office so it is hard to resist buying a semla or two on your way to work every morning!