The day is here. The Semla-day (Semmeldagen). As you might know, many
cultures with pasts in Christianity have developed a celebration just before
the fast begins. There is Mardi Gras, Pancake day in great Britain, and in
Sweden we have the Semla. A semla is basically a pastry/dessert designed to be
as stuffed with sugar, butter and cream as possible so that people could
splurge before fasting. The Semla-day is actually formally called Fettisdagen,
which literally translates into Fat-Tuesday.
So what is this
Semla? Let’s me introduce you to its simple anatomy. The base consists of a
sweet, yeasted roll, flavored with cardamom. Once baked the top of the roll
(the lid) is cut off. The roll is then filled with an almond paste filling,
which can be as simple as a slice of almond paste or a more complex mix of
almond paste, butter, cream and added layers of flavor from bitter almond or
cardamom. Some scrape out a bit of crumb of the roll, break it apart and mix it
with the filling, other leave the roll intact with the filling on top. The next
component is the whipped cream. Whipped into soft peaks and sometimes slightly
sweetened, it is piped on top of the filling. The lid is placed on top of the
cream and for a final touch it is dusted with some powdered sugar. And that’s
it. Or really, it’s far from the entire story. The semla is a big thing in
Sweden, and there are therefore probably as many versions of the perfect semla
as there are swedes. I’m not even going to go in to all the different crazy
kinds I’ve heard about, or the science of eating them either.
Traditionally
semlor are supposed to be eaten only on this one day every year. Well, that’s
not true any more. Swedes go into an insane Semmel-craze starting after
Christmas (if not before) and continuing all the way to Easter. But on the big
day, the Semmel-day, it is estimated that about 5-6 million semlor are consumed
in Sweden. And we are only 9,5 million swedes. So it’s a thing, to say the
least. A thing that even vegans should be able to join in on.
From the
description above, you might have gathered that semlor aren’t precisely the
most vegan-friendly of baked goods. Of course, one could take the easy road and
use margarine for the roll and filling, and buy a fake whipped cream with loads
of emulsifiers and thickeners. But that’s not my kind of semla. Instead, this
year I took on the challenge of making a vegan semla from scratch, and I’m
surprised to tell you that I’m actually really happy with the result! Wow!
The recipe for the
sweet dough makes about 12 rolls. The proofing times included in the recipe are
approximate, as they depend on a number of factors such as the temperature in
your kitchen. Instead I recommend going by the descriptions I’ve included on how
the dough should be. It’s up to you to use your sixth baking sense a bit. The
filling and cream recipes make enough for 4 semlor. You can make more of these
and store in the fridge, or make more the next time you’re in the mood for a
semla.
Sweet, yeasted dough
(Makes 12 rolls)
3 dl vegan milk
¾ dl vegetable
oil, such as canola
¾ dl sugar
1 chia egg (1 tsp
chia seeds/ground chia + 2 ½ tsp water)
25 g fresh yeast or 1 ½ tsp dry yeast
8-9 dl all-purpose
flour
1 tsp salt
2-3 tsp cardamom
(2 if ground, 3 if your crushing the seeds yourself)
No-egg wash: 1 tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp hot
water
Carefully heat the
milk, sugar and oil in a saucepan until lukewarm (about 37 C for fresh yeast
and up to 45 C for dry). If it’s any hotter you’ll kill the yeast. Whisk in the
chia egg. Place the yeast, salt and cardamom in a bowl. Pour over the liquid
and stir to dissolve the yeast. Gradually add the flour and knead until you
have a soft and elastic dough. It should still be quite sticky, as it will
become firmer while proofing. If you have a bread mixer, do use it as it will
improve the quality of the dough. In that case, wait to add the salt and first
knead the dough for a good 10 minutes on medium speed. Increase the speed, add
the salt and knead for another 2 minutes. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel
and let proof until it’s doubled in size. This can take 1-2 hours.
When the dough is
done proofing, turn your dough out on your counter top, after dusting it with some
flour. Knead it carefully a few times and then divide it into 12 pieces. Roll
each piece to a firm ball and place on a lined baking sheet. Cover with the
sheet with a kitchen towel and let proof for a second time. This time you’re
waiting for the rolls to become soft to the touch. They should feel airy and
light. This takes about 1 hour.
Heat the oven to
225 degrees Celsius. Bake the rolls for 8-10 minutes until they are nicely
browned and sound hollow if you tap them underneath. While they’re baking combine
the sugar and water for the no-egg wash. When the rolls come out of the oven,
brush them with the wash and transfer to a cool on a cooling rack covered again
with a kitchen towel.
Almond filling
(Enough for 4
semlor)
50 g unblanched
almonds
About 70 g sugar
2 tbsp vegan milk
½-1 tsp vinegar
A pinch seasalt
Grated bitter
almond/almond extract to taste (optional)
More cardamom to
taste (optional)
35 g roasted,
slivered almonds
Soak the almonds
overnight. Drain away the water (you can save it and use it later if you want
to). Weigh the almonds again. As they’ve absorbed water they’ll be heavier. Add
as many grams of sugar as you have almonds. Mix in a blender until a quite
smooth paste. Add milk, vinegar, salt, bitter almond/almond extract and cardamom
if you’re using that. Blend to mix and taste for more cardamom or bitter
almond/almond extract. Scrape into a bowl and stir in the roasted almonds.
Whipped coconut cream
(Enough for 4
semlor)
Note: I used
coconut cream and not coconut milk. If you can’t find the cream, it is possible
to use milk. Place a can of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours. Turn
upside down and open at the bottom. Pour of the liquid and use only the thick
part.
300-350 ml cold
coconut cream
Powdered sugar to
taste
Optional: A few
drops vanilla or almond extract
Open the can of
coconut cream. Pour out any liquid that may be in there and use only the thick
part. Place this in a bowl and whip for about 30 seconds with a hand-held
mixer. Add sugar to taste and whip for another minute or so. You can whip it by
hand; it’s just a bit more work. It is also possible to whip it in a blender.
Add extracts if you want to.
Assembly
You’ve already
learned how a semla is built. Cut the lid off and if you want to take some of
the crumb and mix with the filling. Fill the semla and top the filling with
some whipped cream. Put the lid back on and dust with some confectionary sugar.
Tada!
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