Recipe: Semlor - Swedish Marzipan Cream Buns (2024)

• 13 g dried yeast or
• 25 g fresh yeast *
• 250 ml whole milk heated to 36–37°C (97–98°F)
• 80 g butter melted and cooled slightly
• 40 g caster sugar
• 300-400 g white strong bread flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Filling

• 100 g marzipan (50% almond content is preferred)
• good dollop or crème pâtissière or custard
• 500 ml whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• icing sugar to dust
• piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle

• *If using fresh yeast, add it to the finger-warm milk and mix until dissolved. Then pour it into the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.

• If using dried active yeast granules, sprinkle the yeast granules into the finger-warm milk and whisk together. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to activate and become frothy and bubbly. Pour into the bowl of a food mixer with a dough hook and stir in the melted butter. Add the sugar and stir again. Add half of the flour as well as the salt, baking powder and ground cardamom. Add half the beaten egg (reserve the other half for brushing before baking).

• Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated and then start to add more of the flour, bit by bit, until you have a dough that is only a little bit sticky. Take care not to add too much flour. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes in the mixer. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm (not hot) place until it has doubled in size – about 30–40 minutes.

• Turn the dough out to a floured surface. Knead again for a few minutes, adding more flour if needed. You want a firmer but not dry dough. Cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Place, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet. Leave to rise for 25–30 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.

• Brush each bun with the beaten egg and bake for 8–10 minutes or until baked through – keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Remove from oven and cover the buns with a lightly damp dish towel immediately – this will prevent them from forming a crust.

• When they have cooled completely, cut a ‘lid’ off the buns – about 1.5 cm/1⁄2 in. from the top. Scoop out about one-third of the inside of the bun and place this in a separate bowl. Mix it with the marzipan paste until it forms a very sticky mass – add a dollop of custard or Crème Pâtissière at this point to help it along. You want a spoonable, even mixture. Spoon the filling back into the buns, equally divided.

• Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar until stiff, then use a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle to pipe cream on all the buns. Put the ‘lids’ back on and dust lightly with icing sugar.

Recipe and photo from the ScandiKitchen cookbook, image credit: Pete Cassidy for Ryland Peters Small

Can also be found in the new baking book (Best Off) - Bronte at Home - also by RPS.

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