Semla Aka Swedish Cream Buns

• portioner: 8 buns

Ingredienser

Cardamom-infused milk*

250g milk

5 cardamom pods

Optional: Orange and lemon zests

Bun dough

15g bread flour

1 tsp cardamom*, fresh if poss

85g cardamon-infused milk

235g bread flour

4g dry yeast

45g sugar

4g salt

60g cardamom-infused milk

50g eggs

65g butter

*If you are using the black seeds only, reduce this to ½ a tsp.

Salt roasted almonds

150g almonds

45g fine salt

200ml hot water

Almond paste

100g raw almonds

100g roasted almonds

Water for soaking

200g caster sugar

¼ - ½ tsp flaky salt to taste

80-120g cardamom infused milk

Breadcrumbs from buns (see recipe)

10g butter

Whipped Cream

225ml double cream

Plus: Salt roasted almonds and icing sugar for assembling

Vejledning

Dough Method - Tangzhong

Off the heat, whisk the milk and flour together

Heat on a medium temperature, whisking/stirring all the time until it thickens. It will be very thick. Take off the heat and move into the bowl of a stand mixer, leaving to cool slightly (so you can touch it!)

Dough Method - Mixing

In the bowl of a stand mixer first add the liquids on top of the warm tangzhong, followed by the dries. Mix on a medium speed for about 6-8 minutes until medium gluten development is reached – this is when you can pull on the dough, and it stays together, but it is still quite fragile. You can take it further than this, but this is the minimum requirement before adding butter.

Add in the soft butter a teaspoon at a time with the mixer running. Mix until very smooth – another 6-8 mins – and full gluten development is reached. This is when you can pull a thin, almost translucent layer with the dough. Remove from the bowl and ‘round’ it a few times on the bench so it has a smooth surface. Leave to rest / rise in a bowl, covered, for 1 hour.

Shaping and baking

Divide dough into 55g portions. Shape into balls using a cupped hand. Place on a tray with a few inches of space in between. Cover lightly with clingfilm and leave to proof until very puffy 1-2 hours

Pre-heat oven to 175c fan. Eggwash the buns carefully. They rise quite a lot in the oven so try and get all the way around the edges

Bake for 11-12 minutes – they will be very golden and risen! Check the internal temp is 95C if you’re not sure if they are ready.

Leave to cool before filling. If you are filling the next day, wrap the buns well. They are best on the first day but still lovely on day 2 and 3, though you may want to refresh in oven for 5 minutes on 160c and leave to cool.

When you are ready to assemble, cut a triangle shape from the top of each bun and remove the innards of the bun to add into the mandelmassa.

Salt Roasted almonds

Dissolve salt in water completely. Add in almonds and leave for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 160c fan. Drain almonds and roast for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Almond paste “Mandelmassa”

Soak almonds in water for at least 2 hours or overnight (cold water). To speed up, you can also soak in boiling water for about 30 minutes. They should increase about 30% in weight. Add into the bowl of a food processor with the sugar and blend to a rough paste.

Heat 10g butter in a pan until sizzling, then toast the hollowed-out bun breadcrumbs in the butter for about 5 minutes until golden. Add the toasted bread into the almond paste with the salt and blend again.

Add half the milk and check the texture - you want it to be pipeable but not runny. Depending on how much water your almonds took on, you may need more or less. Plus goo level is always down to personal preference.

To assemble:

Pipe about 50g almond paste into the buns. Add a few roasted chopped almonds on top.

Whip cream until it just leaves trails with the whisk and can *just* hold its own weight. This took me about 5-6 minutes. Do not overwhip it at this stage because it will continue to whip in the bag as you pipe it. Use cream as soon as its ready or it begins to set.

Fit a piping bag with a 1.5cm star nozzle. Put in the cream and pipe a swirl of cream onto the roasted almonds.

Place the triangle bun hats on a separate tray and dust with icing sugar. This makes the cleanest prettiest semla. Place back onto the swirl of cream.

Serve within 2-3 hours.