When we think of Easter and food in Australia, it immediately conjures up images of freshly baked, spicy hot cross buns. The debate about hot cross buns is both heated and intense, with differing opinions about whether there ought to be peel-or-no-peel in the hot cross buns, sultanas or fruitless or alternatively whether people expressing an affection for chocolate hot cross buns ought be crucified.

Here in Sweden, similar arguments rage over the traditional pre-Lenten delight of semlor or fastlagsbullar. These delicious buns, traditionally eaten today (fettisdag or Fat Tuesday) are fairly simple to make and far too easy to eat. After spending nine winters in Sweden, I can assure you I have had ample opportunity for a fairly detailed examination of the buns.

The basic concept is: Cardamom, cream, almond paste, all in a sweet bread. They're an institution across Sweden, with annual competitions to find the best baker, and discussions about who has good ones for how much. There's no talk about varieties or flavours as with hot cross buns, because the only common variations on this traditional item are what to do with the almond paste, whether to add extra almonds and how to eat them. I have, however, seen recent mention of chocolate semlor and ones filled with raspberry jam. My Swede, who is something of a semlor fundamentalist says "Sacrilege! Crucifixion!"



Now, before I continue, it's only fair to warn you that these buns have killed once and they'll no doubt kill again. What could be more thrilling than tempting fate by eating a delicious cream filled bun that was thought to have been the cause of the Swedish King Adolf Fredrik's death in 1771. Of course it might have also been the enormous meal he consumed before scarfing down 14 of the buns served in bowls of warm milk. While these buns are heavenly, I don't know that eating more than one or two in one sitting is recommended.

The history of the traditional Fat Tuesday treat is rather interesting. I was raised a Catholic, so I'd never really encountered these before having one in Sweden and I was curious. The modern semla (plural - semlor) is descended from the German and Danish kumminkringlor, a pretzel-shaped bread with cumin, which came to southern Sweden during the 1600's when that area belonged to Denmark. The first mention of semlor being eaten in Stockholm dates back to 1689.

The name semla comes from the Latin word simila, meaning wheat flour which was a luxury reserved only for the very wealthy classes. The buns were originally filled with hot cream, butter and cinnamon. The almond paste filling didn't arrive until the 1800s when Swiss bakers came to Sweden bringing their knowledge of almonds with them and the whipped cream filling and cap on top didn't become common until much later in the 1930s.

The oldest name for the buns, hetvägg, indicated that it was served in hot milk. Although most English recipes for the buns instruct the cook to serve in a bowl of hot milk, the tradition seems to be rarely observed anymore. Besides making the bun rather difficult and messy to eat, a bowl of hot milk doesn't really add flavour or better texture to the bun. If made without the whipped cream, the hot milk would be somewhat more appealing.

So now to how to make them!

Semlor / Lenten buns

Makes: 16 buns
Time: about 90 minutes

* 25g fresh compressed yeast
* 250ml whole milk
* 3oz or 85g superfine granulated sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 heaped tablespoon ground cardamom
* 2 eggs, room temperature
* 1lbs 5oz or 600g plain flour
* 7 tablespoons or 100g melted butter
* 1 egg white and a dash of milk (for egg wash)

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Weigh and measure out all of the ingredients and arrange them near your workspace. Warm the milk to around 40C/105F. Crumble yeast into the warm milk and stir until it has fully dissolved. Stir in the sugar, salt, cardamom, eggs and a few tablespoons of flour. Stir until the mixture is smooth and the flour completely incorporated. Set aside for a couple minutes until it begins to bubble.

Pour the yeast mixture into a larger bowl and begin adding flour a few tablespoons at a time. Stir with a whisk or dough whisk until it begins to thicken. From this point on, knead the dough with your hands. Continue adding flour a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is soft but still slightly sticky. You may have a bit of flour remaining, but resist the temptation to add it all if the dough has the right feel. The amount of flour you need to use to reach the point of soft, yet slightly sticky, dough will vary depending on the type of flour, the age and moisture content of the flour and the humidity in the air.

Knead in the butter (it is important that the butter does not come in contact with the yeast before the yeast has had a chance to start expanding) until it is fully incorporated. Again, resist the urge to add more flour in lieu of kneading the dough until the butter has been absorbed. Sprinkle a tiny bit of flour over the dough if it is a bit too soft and tacky once the butter has soaked in, but be conservative. You want a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead for a couple of minutes and place into a bowl that has been lightly greased with vegetable oil or butter, cover with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm spot for about 20 minutes to rest (Don't leave it for an hour thinking more is better since you don't want to over-proof the dough as this will make it tough).



Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a smooth surface. Do not flour your workspace or the dough. Knead dough lightly and divide into two parts. Roll each half into an 8-inch rope and cut into 8 1-inch pieces.



Take each piece, place it on your workspace cupped in the palm of your hand and, with a reasonable amount of pressure, press down while moving your hand in a circular motion until the dough has formed a smooth, tight round ball.



[See also diagram] If your dough isn't a little sticky or you are having trouble forming a smooth ball, rub your workspace with a damp towel and try again. Arrange balls on baking sheet lined with baking paper leaving an inch or so between them. Lightly brush with egg wash. Cover with a teatowel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes or so.

Heat oven to 200C/390F. Bake buns for 10-12 minutes until they are a light golden brown. Place on cooling rack and allow to cool.



Traditional Almond Filling:

* 200g almond paste
* 1,5 dl or 3/4 cup milk
* bits of bun scooped out for filling

Grate almond paste into bowl. Beat until smooth. Blend in milk. Add bun crumbs and beat until smooth.

Whipped Cream:

* 3-5dl (1½ cups) whipping cream, cold
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

Pour cream and sugar into a completely dry, cold bowl and whip to stiff peaks. Place cream in a pastry bag fitted with a #7/14-mm star tip.

Assembling:

1. Slice top off of buns. Take the tops of the buns and cut into heart, star or other shapes if you like. For the strictly traditional, use a pair of scissors held at a 45-degree angle to make a triangular cut on top of the bun about 2cm or 3/4-in deep. Trim excess bread from the underside of the triangular divot.



2. Spread almond mixture onto the buns or into the triangular hole.

3. Pipe whipped cream generously over the tops.

4. Place top of bun over the whipped cream.

5. Sprinkle with icing sugar.


Now enjoy!