Chef Mik's Semlor

About Semlor: Originally these little cream filled buns hark back to the days before Sweden embraced the Lutheran church and were eaten on fat Tuesday with warm milk, though now a days Swedes tend to devour them whenever they can, many of them making themselves sick overdosing on their shire decadence, in fact its said the late King Adolf Fredrik ate so many he croaked!

FoodPerfected must bake truck loads of semlor every year to satisfy the Swedish masses here in Los Angeles, last year we baked one for SWEA that was over 4LB’s and had ½ gallon whipped cream in it!! At work we make our semlor completely from scratch, including the almond paste! We use the highest quality cardamom available and use real Madagascar vanilla in our whipped cream. At home one has a bit more freedom and can be a bit more flexible and on that note here are some helpful baking tips and pointers I hope will help you with your finished product. I am using a combination of pastry flour which ranges from about 9% to 11% protein, and all purpose which ranges somewhere between 11 to 13%, if the protein is two high the dough will be very bread like in consistency. Here I am using baking powder, however traditionally in Sweden when baking; Swede’s typically use something known as "hjorthornssalt" which loosely translates to “baker’s ammonia”, though hardly used anymore today as baking powder has become so readily available. To help prevent sticking be sure to cover the cookie tray covered with greased parchment paper, also be sure not to over crowd or the buns will stick together. Another thing to be mindful of is not to over proof the dough or the end result will not live up to expectations. To that end some signs to look out for are if the dough appears wrinkled, looks some what collapsed they are over proofed. One way to check if the buns have proofed and prevent over proofing tap them they should feel tight and bounce back quickly, if they do so they are ready to go into the oven. I like to brush my buns with a little egg wash, although it is not mandatory as they will be covered in powdered sugar, the reason I do so is I just feel it helps with the browning process. Another thing I like to do is when I prepare my almond paste I like to incorporate the filling from the buns I have hollowed again not mandatory.

Shopping List

Unsalted butter

Heavy cream

Whole milk

Eggs

Yeast

Sugar

Confectioner’s sugar

Blanched almonds

Almond extract

Pastry flour

All purpose flour

Baking powder

Vanilla stick, purée, or extract

Cardamom

Salt

My Mad Method 

Ready to eat!!

Using a dough hook start by mixing together 2 dl melted butter, 3 dl warm whole milk, 2 eggs and 2 TBSP instant yeast

Sift together 1.2 L pastry and all purpose flour, 2 dl sugar, a pinch of salt, 4 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp cardamom; add to the mixer in batches

If you have incorporated all your flour and it is still sticking to the bowl add more flour a very little at a time until it has completely released itself

The dough is finished and ready for action!

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with a cloth, and store in warm place for about a half an hour

When the dough has raised and almost doubled in size as it has here it will be ready for the next step, at which point flatten out, divide in two

Weigh out 150g pieces, form into balls, place on sheet pans, proof (allow rising time) for 30 minutes until they have nearly doubled in size

When the buns have proofed, place them in a 200c preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes

The buns are ready when browned and if taped should feel hollow’ish, cool on a wire rack, slice off the lid, set aside but do not discard. Hollow out the bun.

Prepare the almond paste; 100g blanched almonds, 100g confectioners sugar, 1-2 TBSP each almond extract, and egg white,1 tsp water puree until smooth

Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks adding confectioners (powdered) sugar and vanilla when almost finished

Place 1 TBSP almond paste in each bun fill with whipped cream return the lid and sprinkle the top with some confectioners sugar. SEMLOR!!