Recipe: semlor buns

Cardamom-flecked and honey enriched dough, almond and pecan paste, blackberries, and blackberry & vanilla whipped cream

I tried my first semla bun back in Scotland a few years ago. It was from Big Bear Bakery, which was a 10 minute walk from where I lived. It was a morning not too long after I had moved to the area when I took a stroll to explore, through a small housing area, past the cricket club nearby and over the river. A small queue was formed outside Big Bear which I gladly joined, knowing that there was the promise of coffee and a pastry at the end. I spied the semla almost immediately–it is not a bake that you see often in Scotland, in fact I can only think of one other bakery that I’ve ever seen make them. Their little cardamom-studded hats sat high above a tall whip of pearly white cream, with a subtle but vibrant fuschia pink edge at the bottom. I was somewhat familiar with what traditional semlor buns comprised of, and knew that nothing pink was included in that ingredient list. I was intrigued, and so I got one. A soft bun fragrant with cardamom, a rich almond paste within as well as a much welcomed tartness from fresh berries which paired beautifully with the whipped cream. Traditional or not, it was delicious.

This semla recipe is not traditional either, though it doesn’t deviate too far. The bun is more akin to that of a maritozzi–slightly burnished, soft and buttery, aromatic with flavours of fresh cardamom and honey. It is filled with a paste of roasted almonds and pecans, a few juicy blackberries, a cloud of blackberry and vanilla whipped cream, and finished with a crown of chopped roasted almonds.

It is a recipe done over 2 days. The dough is left to rest in the fridge overnight once prepared to allow the flavours to develop further. The fridge stay inhibits the rising of the dough, so the next day I like to give it some time to bulk rise, before shaping and allowing a second rise before baking. You can also make the frangipane the day before, using part of it as an element for the paste that is used in the baked buns, and freezing the rest for later use.

Though I recommend an overnight stay in the fridge for flavour, you can let it bulk rise at room temperature instead to speed up the process.