A semla is a cream bun traditionally served in Sweden on Fat Tuesday. It is a cardamom-scented yeast roll with a filling and a topping of whipped cream. Its most traditional version features almond paste as filling, topped with unsweetened whipped cream. While I appreciate the classic semla (or semlor, plural), over the years I have started having a personal preference for those filled with vanilla custard instead of almond paste.

There are, in fact, many variations to the classic semla. Every year new flavours come up, like saffron, red velvet or tiramisu. A few years back I used to make unicorn semla at a café where I worked, topped with rainbow whipped cream, glitter dust and a fondant horn. Despite being a traditional dessert, many untraditional fillings and variations exist, and I kind of like this thing.

Whatever flavour you want to have, if you live in Sweden semla is available at most bakeries from as early as the end of January. Obviously, semlor are being sold everywhere on Fat Tuesday. If you’re not in Sweden, or it’s just not the right time of the year to get one, you can always bake yourself a batch. It’s easy.

The ingredients

Here are the ingredients needed to make Swedish semla bun. For the filling, add one batch of vanilla custard and whipped cream.

For detailed quantities and to convert into American measurements, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make semla

Warm the milk in the microwave until lukewarm (or about 37C). Crumble the fresh yeast into the milk, add one tablespoon of sugar and stir to dissolve. Pour milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the sugar and half of the flour. Start the mixer on low so it starts combining the ingredients. When the flour has been incorporated, add the salt, the butter (it needs to be soft) and the rest of the flour. I work with an Ankarsrum mixer fitted with the roller, if you have a different type of mixer you need to use the attachment you would usually choose for a dough.

When the dough is starting to come together, pour in the crushed cardamom and let the mixer work the dough for another 5-10 minutes. Depending on the humidity where you are, you may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. I have noticed that some Swedish recipes turn out too moist in different environments. This has to do with the very dry climate up here. Let the dough rest covered for 2 hours.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the air out of it and place it onto a floured surface. You need to divide it into 12 balls. The easiest way to do so is by weighing the dough and dividing by 12.

Cut the dough into 12 even pieces, form into balls and place onto an oven tray lined with baking paper. Space them out evenly so they have room to grow. Cover with cling film and let rest another half hour.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200C (390F). Bake the rolls for 12 minutes or until golden on top.

How to fill a semla

First off, you need a batch of vanilla cream and a batch of whipped cream. If you have a box of instant vanilla cream, proceed to prepare it according to instructions. If it’s very runny, you may reduce the amount of milk to have it slightly firmer. You can also make it from scratch using my vanilla custard recipe. Please notice that my vanilla cream is meant to be pipeable and quite firm, so you may consider thinning it out by whisking in 50 ml of milk.

The whipped cream should be on the firmer side and unsweetened. Transfer both creams to piping bags, the one for the whipping cream fitted with a star tip.

When the semla buns have cooled to room temperature, carve the top making a triangle shape. Remove some of the soft crumb to make more room for the filling. Pipe the cream into the hole.

Top the cream with a swirl of whipped cream and place the lid back on. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Useful tips

Once assembled, semla should be consumed within a day. You can store it in the fridge covered with cling film. If you need to delay when to serve it, I’d recommend making the buns and the creams, keeping everything separated and assembling before serving.

While in theory it is possible to do a slow fermentation of an enriched dough in the fridge, I tried and would not recommend it with these buns. The end texture was way chewier than with a regular fermentation at room temperature.

Store your baked semla buns in the freezer for up to 6 months. If you have leftover buns, you can cut them in half and toast them for a delicious breakfast treat.

More Swedish sweets?

Loved these Swedish Fat Tuesday treats? Try also:

• Kanelbullar – Swedish cinnamon buns
• Kladdkaka – sticky chocolate cake
• Chokladbollar – cocoa oatmeal balls
• Pepparkakor – the Ikea ginger thins
• Lussekatter – Advent saffron buns
• Ischoklad – Christmas chocolate praline

If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you’re planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.