Semlor: Swedish sweet buns

Hey pixels!! Yesterday was Mardi Gras, so I did this Swedish recipe. I like to try international recipes sometimes, and I found that Semlor are made just for Mardi Gras. Perfect!! I brought this cuties to a family gathering, and everyone enjoyed them.

I changed a bit the original recipe (sorry, Sweden), because the actual one calls for marzipan and I used grounded almonds. Marzipan is not for me… And I did not had cardamom at home, so I used cinnamon instead… Again, sorry, Sweden.

I just made two  changes. The rest of the recipe is the original one. At least, the version I’ve found… Making this buns is easy, it just requires a bit of time: kneading, waiting until the dough rises, making glaze and filling…. But all this job is worth.

The result is a sweet bread filled with almonds, with a whipped cream mountain on top. Beautiful and yummy.

Ingredients (about 12-14 units):

Buns:

• 2 teaspoon dry yeast
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• ⅓ cup + ½ tsp sugar, divided
• ½ cup warm milk
• ⅓ cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon cardamom (I didn’t had cardamom at house, so I used cinnamon)
• 4 cups all purpose or bread flour, or more if needed

Glaze:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Almond paste:

• 1  egg white
• ½ cup ground almonds (without skins)
• ¾ cup powdered sugar

To assemble:

• whipping cream
• powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

Place the lukewarm water, yeast and ½ tsp of sugar. Allow to rest for a few minutes, until the yeast begins to grow. Mix the milk, melted butter, beaten egg together, then add to the yeast mixture.

Add the cardamom/cinnamon, flour, ⅓ cup of sugar and salt. Mix and knead.

Dough will be slightly sticky. When the dough is ready, cover it and let rise on the counter until doubled in size.

After it’s risen, punch down the dough, and let rest for 5′. Cut pieces of the dough and shape into round balls, and place onto a greased cookie sheet.  Place the tray in the oven (do not turn it on) to rise for about 30′ or until doubled in size.

Once doubled, remove the buns from the oven and brush with the egg glaze (just mix the egg and cream together and brush on gently.)

Preheat the oven to 175ºC; then cook the buns for approximately 20′, or until golden brown. While they are baking, prepare the almond paste.

Whip the egg white until soft peaks form, then fold in the ground almonds and powdered sugar. Cover and set aside.

Remove the cooked buns from the tray, and place on a cooling rack.

When the Semlor are completely cool, whip the cream and assemble them.

Begin by cutting a top on each bun with a sharp knife, cutting down into the center of the bun to create a space for filling in the bun. Then put a teaspoonful, or more, of the almonds paste.

Next, top with whipped cream.

Place the top on the cream, and dust with powdered sugar. Repeat with remaining Semlor.

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras, my happy pixels? Do you make any sweet? Have you ever tried Semlor? Please, let me know in the comments below.