My sister is trekking through europe right now and I’m super jealous. I’m living vicariously through the pics she’s been texting me – most of them are food, she knows what I like. She visited this one super yummy looking vegetarian buffet restaurant in Sweden like 3 times – I didn’t even know that was a thing over there, ugh, missing out. And then she sends me pics of this mini bun cake thing called semlor and tells me it’s pretty much the best thing ever. I got the whole series – before, during and after she devoured it. Apparently its claim to fame happened back in 1771 when King Adolf Fredrik ate 14 of these delicious little cardamom cream cakes and then up and died on the day known as Fat Tuesday. Not judging him, not even a little. So obviously I needed to make them asap and Emily’s surprise virtual baby shower(!!!!) was the perfect excuse! Because I’m totally sharing these with an internet party today and not scarfing them down all by myself. Totally. Yay! Internet party! I was so excited when I found out Emily was going to be a mom, we have yet to meet in person but I just know she’s going to be the best mom ever. And her daughter will be the cutest and the funniest and I can’t wait for all the baby pics to start taking over Emily’s food feed! I don’t have a ton of baby shower experience but I have hosted one in real life so I do know that boozy things are fun. That being said, I spiked the almond paste with Disaronno – just two tablespoons, guys, don’t freak. Just enough for these buns to say ‘hey there’s an amaretto party in my belly, eat me!!’ Ok! I will! Not quite 14 tho because I have to save room for all the other goodies! So many goodies you guys – check them out below!
Sweet Things
Brownie Tiramisu Trifle | Cake Over Steak
Toasted Coconut Tahini Mounds | Will Frolic for Food
Strawberry-Balsamic Goat’s Milk Frozen Yogurt | Fix Feast Flair
Grain-Free Macadamia Nut Brownies | So…Let’s Hang Out
Matcha Mint Milkshakes | Jewhungry
Chocolate Layer Cake with Bavarian Cream | The Food Gays
black sesame mochi ice cream | Lady and Pups
Savory Things
Spicy Gochujang Pigs in a Blanket with Kimchi Relish | Two Red Bowls
Tex Mex Salad | Beard and Bonnet
Miso-Parmesan Shishito Peppers | Dula Notes
Minty Pea and Ricotta Toast with Crispy Prosciutto | A Little Saffron
Dukkah Deviled Duck Eggs | The Bojon Gourmet
Chili Roasted Beet Hummus | Nosh and Nourish
Fried Chicken Musubi | Loves Food, Loves to Eat
Smoked Salmon Cucumber Bites with Asparagus Ribbons and Dill Cashew Sour Cream | Tasty Yummies
Jalapeno Popper Deviled Eggs | I am a Food Blog
Pepita Red Pepper Salsa with Sweet Potato Chips | 80twenty
Drink Things
Pink Grapefruit Sparklers | Dunk & Crumble
Raspberry + Chamomile Cream Sodas | With Food + Love
-
Step 1
To make the almond paste – Blanch the almonds: Place almonds in a bowl, pour boiling water over them. As soon as the almonds are cool enough to touch you can pop their skins right off simply by pinching them!
-
Step 2
Add all the ingredients for the almond paste into your food processor and blend.
-
Step 3
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk and heat until luke warm. Remove from the heat. Mix in the yeast.
-
Step 4
Combine the salt, sugar, cardamom and flour into your stand mixer bowl. Mix thoroughly. Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture and the egg.
-
Step 5
Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is sticky, but doesn’t stick to your hands. If the dough needs some help coming together add some more flour – just enough until the dough starts pulling away from the sides and a nice ball forms. Leave the dough to rise covered with a kitchen towel for about 30 minutes.
-
Step 6
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth adding flour as needed if the dough is too sticky, but keep the addition of flour to a minimum. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Work the dough into balls of the desired size. I made 12 balls. Continue until all the buns are formed and let them rise, covered with a kitchen towel, 30-40 minutes. Bush them with an egg wash for a shiny look.
Ingredients for the Semlor Buns
5 tbsp butter
1¼ cups milk
3¼ tsp yeast
½ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp freshly ground or cracked cardamon
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 packet of vanilla sugar (optional)
Ingredients for the Boozy Almond Paste
1 1/2 cups blanched almonds
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg white
2 tablespoons amaretto
generous pinch of salt
1 egg for egg wash (for the buns)
1 cup whipping cream
1 packet of vanilla sugar (optional for sweetening the whipped cream or just use a tablespoon of regular sugar and sweeten to taste)
powdered sugar for dusting
Directions for the Semlor Buns
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk and heat until luke warm. Remove from the heat. Mix in the yeast. Combine the salt, sugar, cardamom and flour into your stand mixer bowl. Mix thoroughly. Make a well in the center and add the milk mixture and the egg. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is sticky, but doesn’t stick to your hands. If the dough needs some help coming together add some more flour – just enough until the dough starts pulling away from the sides and a nice ball forms. Leave the dough to rise covered with a kitchen towel for about 30 minutes. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth adding flour as needed if the dough is too sticky, but keep the addition of flour to a minimum. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Work the dough into balls of the desired size. I made 12 balls. Continue until all the buns are formed and let them rise, covered with a kitchen towel, 30-40 minutes. Bush them with an egg wash for a shiny look. Preheat the oven to 430°F. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Slice off the top of each bun and set aside. Fill them with almond paste (directions below) and whipped cream. Whip the cream until very stiff. Pipe or spoon the cream over the top of the almond paste filling creating a large mound. Place the lids of the buns on top of the cream and dust them with powdered sugar. They are best eaten on the day they are filled, ideally within a couple of hours.
Directions for the Boozy Almond Paste
Blanch the almonds: Place almonds in a bowl, pour boiling water over them. As soon as the almonds are cool enough to touch you can pop their skins right off simply by pinching them! Add all the ingredients for the almond paste into your food processor and blend. If you’re freaked out about using a raw egg white just get the pasteurized kind. I used a raw farm fresh egg white and I’m still alive. I’ve made it a couple times now and keep coming up with excuses to make it again – it’s that good.
Notes
Semlor Buns slightly adapted from here.
Almond Paste inspired by this recipe.
The Sheet Pan Supper Giveaway winner is Michelle Wong! Yay!