Semla

Ingredients

• 1¼ lbflourfor the dough, adjust by feel
• 1¼ cupsmilkabout 250 ml lukewarm for the dough, the rest to loosen the filling
• ¼ ozfresh yeastor about 25 g fresh yeast
• 3⅛ ozbuttersoftened or melted, for the dough
• 2¾ ozsugarfor the dough
• 2egg1 for the dough, 1 beaten for brushing
• ½ tspsaltfor the dough, a pinch also in the filling
• 2 tspcardamomfreshly ground, for the dough
• 8¾ ozalmond pastestore-bought or homemade from ground almonds and sugar, for the filling
• 1½ cupscreamcold, whipped; a splash for the egg wash
• 1⅓ ozicing sugarto sweeten the cream and for dusting
• vanillaextract or vanilla sugar, for the cream or filling (optional)

Method

1. Make the yeasted milk baseWarm the milk for the dough until lukewarm, melting the butter in it if you like. Stir in the yeast, then the sugar, salt, freshly ground cardamom and one egg.
2. Work in flour and kneadWork in the flour a little at a time. If you didn't melt the butter in the milk, knead in the softened butter now. Knead for about 10 minutes into a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
3. Let the dough riseCover the dough and leave it to rise for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
4. Shape buns and proof againDivide the dough into 12 equal pieces, shape them into smooth balls and set them seam side down on the baking sheet. Cover and let them rise for another 30 to 45 minutes, and preheat the oven to about 390 °F in the meantime.
5. Glaze and bake until goldenBrush the buns with the beaten egg and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Hollow out and mix fillingCut a lid off each bun and scoop out a little of the crumb from the middle. Mix the almond paste with the crumb, a pinch of salt and a splash of milk or water to make a spreadable filling.
7. Whip the creamWhip the cold cream with the powdered sugar until stiff, adding a little vanilla if you like.
8. Fill, top and dust with sugarSpoon the almond filling into the buns, pipe the cream on top, replace the lids and dust everything with powdered sugar.

Tips and variations

Instead of almond paste, you can fill the buns with homemade vanilla custard; the Finnish version uses raspberry jam. To make the almond filling yourself, use ground almonds, sugar and egg white or milk, and add toasted chopped almonds for some bite. If cardamom isn't for you, leave it out of the dough and flavour the filling with bitter almond extract. For a richer shine, brush the buns with egg yolk and a splash of cream. Short on time? Fill store-bought buns. Fill semlor just before serving so the cream stays firm and the buns stay soft.