Swedish semla
Ingredients
Dough
- 25g of fresh yeast
- 125ml of whole milk, cold
- 2 tsp cardamom pod
- 325g of plain flour
- 1 medium free-range egg , lightly beaten
- 50g of granulated sugar
- 1/2 tbsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g of unsalted butter , softened
Egg wash
- 1 egg , lightly beaten with 1 tbsp of water
Filling
- 100g of ground almonds
- 100g of granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp of water
- 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla cream
- 200ml of double cream
- 1 tbsp of icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
1
Begin by making the dough. Place the yeast in the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook. Gently stir in the cold milk until the yeast has completely dissolved
2
Crush the cardamom in a pestle and mortar and remove the outer pods. Grind the remaining seeds to a fine powder and add to the yeast and milk in the mixing bowl
3
Add the plain flour, beaten egg, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl. Start mixing on a medium speed for 5 minutes, or until a ball of dough forms
4
Cut the butter into pieces and add to the dough a piece at a time, ensuring that each piece is incorporated before adding the next. Continue to mix the dough for another 10–15 minutes
5
When the dough stops sticking to the side of the bowl and is very soft and elastic, turn off the mixer. Leave the dough to rest in the bowl for 10 minutes
6
Divide the dough into 9 pieces, approximately 70–80g each. On a clean work surface (you shouldn't need to dust it with flour) take a piece at a time and lightly cup your hand around it. Without using too much pressure roll each piece around on the work surface in a circular motion to shape it into a smooth round ball
7
Cover a large flat baking tray with baking paper. Place the balls of dough on the paper, making sure you leave some room in between each one for spreading. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise somewhere warm for 1 hour 30 minutes
8
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7
9
Brush the tops of each of the buns lightly with egg wash and bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack
10
Meanwhile, make the filling by placing the ground almonds and granulated sugar in a blender. Blend together and add just enough of the water to make a smooth paste
11
Crush the cardamom for the filling in a pestle and mortar and remove the pods. Grind the seeds to a fine powder and add to the almond paste along with the vanilla extract
12
Using a small sharp knife, cut a lid off of the top of each bun and make a little well in the middle by scooping out some of the bread – add any crumbs to the almond paste
13
Use 1 tablespoon of the double cream to loosen the almond paste mixture a little and spoon the paste into the holes
14
To make the vanilla cream, place the vanilla extract, icing sugar and remaining double cream in a bowl and whip with a balloon whisk until the cream is stiff enough to spoon or pipe into the buns
15
Spoon or pipe the cream on top of the almond filling and replace the lid. Dust with icing sugar and to serve
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Swedish semla
