Celebrate Fat Tuesday With These Easy Semlor Rolls

It’s okay if you forgot to order the king cake again. Mardi Gras always seems to be creeping up (lunar holidays like Easter are always moving around the calendar), but you can still whip up something festive to celebrate the occasion. If you’re in love with almond butter and whipped cream like I am, the Swedish semla bun will be your new official snack this time of year. Here are two ways to make your own: the scratch method and the scammer method.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, also called Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday. In the Christian sphere, this is the day before Lent, preceding Easter. This is a time when supervisors may want to give up indulgences, and historically this could include things like cream, butter and sugar. So instead of wasting it, people put it all together into a recipe to make hearty cakes, breads and pancakes. Today we have more efficient storage methods, but celebrating the holiday with traditional dishes is still fun.

Swedish semlor buns (the only word is semla) are bread rolls enriched with butter and eggs. A cavity is then hollowed out in the finished bread and filled with sweet almond paste. It’s done with whipped cream and the little bread lid goes back on top of the fluffy mound. Although it sounds like a dessert, I found the semlor to be not too sweet. For me, this bread is more suitable for breakfast with a cup of hot coffee or tea, but you can eat it whenever it seems necessary.

How to make semlor buns from scratch

1. Knead the dough

I started with the semlor recipe from Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break and made some changes to it. This is a pretty typical bread recipe. Dissolve instant yeast in warm milk. Add melted butter, egg, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and crushed cardamom seeds. I have also made an adjustment here: I believe you may not have whole cardamom seeds, so the amount of cardamom powder is reflected in the recipe. It smells just as good as dough, but the dough pieces don’t spread out evenly.

I kneaded the dough in the mixer with the dough hook for about 10 minutes. The dough will come together into a mass that will stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl.

2. First proof

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Gather the edges into a “bag” and pinch them together. Turn it over and form into a ball. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough in it, making sure to get some oil on the top of the dough as well. Cover it and let it sit for an hour or until it has almost doubled in size. Keep in mind that proofing may take longer if your home is cold.

3. Form and second proof

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface again. The dough should be fluffy and soft. Fold the dough in half and stretch it into a rectangular shape. Cut the dough into at least 12 or up to 16 pieces. I made 16 because I wanted a miniature semlor. Form the dough pieces into balls and place them on a couple of parchment-lined baking sheets. If you don’t know how to do this, watch my video on forming dough balls . Cover the pans with a large plastic bag or damp kitchen towels to keep them from drying out while proofing. Proof the buns for another hour. If you press lightly on the ball and your fingerprint only comes back halfway, it’s ready to bake.

4. Bake

Brush the buns with the egg wash and bake for about 15 minutes in a 350°F oven. The buns will brown slightly. Let the bread cool completely. From here, I suggest keeping only those buns that you want to eat today or tomorrow. Package the rest and freeze to enjoy semlor another day.

5. Cut and fill with semlor.

To finish the buns, cut a small “lid” off the top of each bun. Hollow out the centers, leaving a quarter-inch thick wall to support the structure. Place half of the crumbs in a medium bowl (break into smaller crumbs if necessary). The filling is made by mixing fine breadcrumbs with almond flour, sugar, almond extract, salt and enough milk to moisten the paste. Squeeze out as much almond paste as you need to fill each bun. Spoon (or use a star piping bag) a handful of sweetened whipping cream onto the almond filling and place a “lid” on each scone. Dust them with powdered sugar and enjoy a cup of hot coffee.

Semlor Rolls “Can’t Wait” (Scammer Method)

Hey, Fat Tuesday might be your last chance to treat yourself before Easter, and if that’s the case, you don’t have time to waste.

1. Buy good sweet buns.

You don’t have to bake bread from scratch, just buy some buttered rolls. Most grocery stores sell packs of brioche buns or packs of Hawaiian Kings buns. Just cut out the hard part and bring it home.

2. Cut and fill the semlor.

Look at it! You moved on to step five so quickly. If necessary, separate the buns and cut off the top to create a “lid.” Carefully cut out the rolls, especially if they are very soft. Use half the breadcrumbs for the filling and add them to the bowl. Add almond flour, sugar, almond extract, salt and milk to form a paste. Fill each bun with almond butter and top with sweetened whipping cream. Cover them with a bread lid and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Since the semla trick is so simple, you have almost no excuse not to do it today.

This recipe includes a brioche portion, but if you buy bread, skip to step 5 and just use the almond filling and whipped cream measurements.

Semlor buns recipe

(Modified from Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break. )

Bread ingredients:

• 1 glass of milk, warm

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 7 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

• 1 egg, room temperature

• ¼ cup sugar

• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder

• Egg wash

For the almond filling:

• ½ bread crumb

• 2 cups almond flour

• ½ cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ cup milk (or water)

For the whipped cream:

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (plus more for decoration)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Start by making the bread. Add milk and yeast to mixer bowl. After a minute, stir. Add butter, egg, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom. Using a dough hook, stir and knead the dough for 10 minutes until it comes together into a ball. It should be sticky.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a large ball. Place it in a greased bowl and cover with a lid. Let it rise for an hour or until it has roughly doubled in size.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface again. Fold it in half and then stretch it into a rectangular shape. Divide the dough into 12 or up to 16 pieces. Form them into balls and place them on two baking sheets. Make sure there is about two inches of space between them. Cover with a plastic bag or kitchen towel and let sit for another hour. (Use the “fingerprint test” mentioned above to test the dough.) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.

4. Egg the scones and bake them for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Cool the buns completely.

5. Cut off the very top of each bun and set aside. Scoop out the centers of the buns and reserve half the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Throw away the rest or save for other uses. Add all the almond filling ingredients to a bowl and stir until a thick paste forms. If it seems dry, add a little more milk. Using a spoon, press the paste into each bun.

6. Add all the whipping cream ingredients to a bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. ( Look here to see what firm peaks look like.) Spoon whipped cream onto each scone (or use a star tip with a piping bag for added beauty) and place the lid back on each scone. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.

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