Semlor (Cardamom Cream Buns) Recipe (2024)

I’m a Swedish person living in Sweden and this sounds yummy enough, although it’s slightly adapted to the American audience. We never use vanilla extract in the filling and, as suggested in the introduction text, we don’t use ground cardamom but whole cardamom seeds that we grind coarsely in a pestle and mortar. That gives a much richer cardamom flavor.

Living in a New York City apartment makes it hard to own a stand mixer as most of our kitchens are tiny. Please ask ALL recipe authors to remember that some of us would still be mixing by hand or with a small hand electric beater. Just as you now do metric measures for those outside the USA, please remember those of us who work by hand.

These were lovely. I made them exactly as written, and the dough was easy to work with (I did it by hand because I don't own a stand mixer). The first few I piped high as instructed, but actually liked subsequent ones with a little less almond cream and whipped cream (I still used a good amount, just not towering). I may make them smaller overall next time for a higher yield on the recipe, but rest assured there will be a next time, because they were terrific.

14 grams ends up being about 2 "packets" yeast. When weighed, two packets come to right about 13 grams.

It is not like Swedes don't know of or use vanilla. The most popular is their vanilla sauce! I have had Semlor with and without the vanilla and they are both great! It is the cardamom bun I love and the cream just tops it off! In the past, Semlor were only available during Lent but now they are avaiable almost year round! Times are changing!

Answering @GC:The traditional filling is almond paste. Nowadays you find all sorts of variations of Semla out there - vanilla, semla-wrap, chocolate, licorice, you name it. But a traditional filling would consist of milk, cream, almond paste and perhaps chopped raw almonds as well. Never only whipped cream (the whipped cream goes on top of the almond filling). It’s very filling, yes!

Just baked these and had to use Oatly for the milk because my regular milk was out of date. I (I used 1 Cup Oatly +1/3 Cup whole cream) was pleasantly relieved that the buns baked up just fine!

Yes, being from Sweden and eating semlor for 50 years, I can attest that almond paste is traditional. Without it, it wouldn't be a semla and I'm shocked you found one in Sweden lacking that essential piece.

When I lived in Sweden we’d have these in a shallow bowl with warm milk for both breakfast and dessert — I recommend giving it a try!

Writing as a Swede: no vanilla, and don’t sugar the cream, and be careful not too use too fatty cream (vispgrädde in Sweden is less fatty than ”heavy cream”). And no ground cardamon, as another Swedish reader already noted.

Not enough whipped cream in the semlas in the picture though. I would double the amount of cream.Also, cardamom should be freshly ground.Love semlas and will eat one tomorrow for sure!(From a swede living in Stockholm)

Step 6 needs a video. Not sure I want to try this without one. I also would not mind seeing the “small portion” taken out of each bun, although that I can figure out for myself.

I also use a hand mixer and don't see any steps that would need to be changed to accommodate it.

I have an allergy to milk. I made these with the same amount of vegan butter and oat milk and then Trader Joe’s vegan whipped topping. Delish!

Add cardamom (freshly ground!) into the whipped cream. Trust me. You won’t be sorry.

A note regarding cardamom: I keep whole cardamom seeds in a old salt grinder--it came filled with sea salt, but I repurposed it once empty--and freshly ground is far superior to pre-ground! And the salt grinder is easier and gives a better grind than my mortar and pestle.

Late to the dance here. I am new to the NYT recipes page. I live in the States and find recipes using grams much more accurate than cups and ounces. Thanks for that! For those that have tiny kitchens and don’t have space for a large mixer, you will have to hand knead most of the “bread based” recipes for probably 10 to 15 minutes in order to get a nice smooth ball of dough. Regrettably, your hand mixer won’t cut it.

Perhaps I removed too much of the interior of the bun but I was able to make a 1/2 recipe of bread pudding with it using this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012636-simple-bread-pudding. I added 1/2 t. cardamom and 1/4 t. almond extract and strawberries. Baking as we speak.

Admittedly I have never tried these buns before. The recipe was fairly simple and my buns turned out looking beautiful just as they do in the recipe photo. However, the buns are just too yeasty for the cream filling. To my palate they were not complementing flavors. Perhaps I did not remove enough of the inside of the buns?

I made these as part of a Lenten Coffee Hour for my church. People loved them. I really enjoyed learning how to make homemade marzipan. I also wanted to make whipping cream that was a bit sturdier but still tasted like and was whipping cream. I read I could add a bit of corn starch along with powdered sugar after I had been whipping the cream for a brief while. It really turned out well! People really enjoyed them. I made them half the size so I could make more. Beautiful and very flavorful!

These were wonderful. The dough came together easily and they were very impressive with whipped cream and almond fillings. I followed the recipe as written for this first time, but next time I will make my own almond filling using ground almonds instead of using the Odense almond paste. Besides being hard to find and expensive, there was something about it that tasted a little sharp to me. I also may divide the dough into more portions - these were huge!

As pointed out by MPL, the traditional way (or a traditional way) is to eat semlor in a bowl of warm milk. Called "hetväg". It is the way I plan on enjoying mine after I finish making these later today!

Was nervous bc I had never made enriched dough before, but recipe was very forgiving. Would increase cardamom (mine was older) if I make again.

Had never made enriched dough and was pleasantly surprised by the texture how easily it came together. If you’re using older cardamom would increase the amount, flavor was a little faint for me (might grind some fresh next time). Echo that weighing packets of yeast is a waste of time and 2 is the right amount.

Absolutely delicious! I also mixed the buns by hand. No changes in the recipe- I did purchase bread flour and the buns were just right. 2 packages of yeast were14 grams. Very filling- I gave away half to my neighbors.

Made a half recipe for elevensies today; mixed last night, let dough overnight in the fridge. This morning, shaped and set into a warmish oven with a bowl of boiling water to proof. No dough hook either so have learned to incorporate flour into liquid a bit at a time over an hour; used less than 2 cups flour. Flour to liquid in the recipe seems off to me-too much flour-use less and add a bit at a time. Guessed at the yeast-used 1tsp- "grams" is not helpful. Yummy and not difficult to make.

I’ve never had semla before to compare, but these buns seemed a little too doughy and heavy. I’d like to try a different t variation and compare. I also live at altitude so my baking situation may be off. I also divided into 8, maybe I should have made them smaller.

Just had these today! My friend served them in a pool of warm milk, which softened the buns so they were perfect to eat with a spoon.