EASTER SEMLA BUNS
Lent is well under way and I am a little late in making Semla Buns this year.
Semla Buns are Swedish cardamon flavoured buns traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday. But like hot cross buns, the period for eating them has lengthened, and they are now eaten throughout Lent. Well if hot cross buns go on sale in Sydney on 26 December, I suppose a little leeway is acceptable for the making and eating of Semla Buns!
The buns are traditionally filled with marzipan/almond paste and topped with sweetened whipped cream and dusted with icing sugar.
I made my buns this year minus cardamon - I actually forgot to add it in! I like my buns rich so I made a brioche style of dough.
The Swedish instructor at my gym told me that sometimes the buns are filled with jam, rather than with marzipan, so I filled some of the buns with lingonberry jam - yum! - and topped them with whipped cream.
For the dough
275ml full-fat milk (room temperature)
2 free-range egg (room temperature)
10g instant yeast
255g plain flour
255g strong flour
50g caster sugar
10g salt
80g unsalted butter in small pieces (softened)
For the filling
300ml cream for whipping
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon icing sugar
200g marzipan/almond paste
2 tablespoons milk
or
100g berry jam
To make the dough, mix the milk and egg and whisk in the yeast in a jug or bowl. In an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Scatter the butter pieces through the dough. Add the milk, egg and yeast. Turn the mixer to low and mix to combine the ingredients.
Continue to mix on low until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes. After this time, check to see if the dough windowpanes.
The dough should be lovely and stretchy and pass the windowpane test if you pull and stretch a small section – it should be translucent.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a plastic shower cap and leave to prove for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Press the dough down, and then place the bowl in the fridge for 2 hours. The dough will develop some more plus firm up to help with the next stage of shaping.
Remove the dough from the fridge and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and cup your hand over the top of the ball with your palm gently pressing on the dough. Move your hand in a circular motion, to tighten the dough. Try not to use any flour.
Place each ball on two baking trays lined with baking paper. Cover each tray with a large plastic bag and refrigerate overnight or for several hours.
Preheat the oven to 195°C or 175°C fan. Remove the buns from the fridge and bake for 15 minutes until burnished brown. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
Bun fillings
Whip the cream to soft peaks with the vanilla and icing sugar.
Once the buns are cool, cut the top off each bun and set aside.
For the marzipan buns, using a teaspoon, take out a spoonful of bun from the cut bun and mush with the milk and marzipan to make a rough paste. No need to be too precise. Fill each of the buns with a teaspoonful of this marzipan mixture.
Pipe the whipped cream on top of the marzipan filled buns. Replace the bun tops, and dust liberally with icing sugar.
For the berry jam buns, place a spoonful of berry jam on each cut bun, and pipe whipped cream on top of the jam. Replace the bun tops, and dust liberally with icing sugar.