"Semla" Swedish Fat Tuesday Buns - Food Wishes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- If you’re just about to start a long fast, you’re going to want to eat a few Semla before you do. These Swedish, cardamom-scented, Fat Tuesday buns are filled with sweet almond paste and whipped cream. Enjoy!
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We, the Finnish fans of Food Wishes, now demand you make a video on Runeberg torte in the name of equalizing the field in our Finnish-Swedish rivalry.
As a swede, I agree. Equilibrium must be maintained.
😂
Then the Norwegians and Danes will demand something similar. 😂
Just.. no 😁
Or even better, mämmi 😋
Och trots allt, du är den enda,
som kan bestämma hur du vill baka din semla.
Very nice semla, Chef John! 😍
Best part of a solo life, no rules for dinner, or food in general for that matter.
With a myriad of medical issues, 5 autoimmune disorders, all the majorly painful ones Rheumatoid, primary, then Scalp psoriasis arrived, a stressors best friend. Celiac disease, major life/diet changes, no questions asked, no other choice but eat gluten free for the remainder of my life. The nice part is it doesn't matter when I get hungry! I can eat whenever I get hungry! We, the cat and dog stare at me!, had faux nachos with Fritos and chili con queso sauce at 3 am mid week. Last night we added in chili to the Fritos, had some left over rice, added that for texture. It's the time to prepare vs time cooked before eating is so fast, and easy clean up! I was missing shredded cheese for most dishes, it's always one i.portant thing you leave behind!
yeah!!! what this person said!!
Så sant 😆
bread is so good for you...especially freshly milled wheat or einkorn. Stimulates digestion with probiotics. People eating semolina flour in Sardinia live longer. Maybe take ancestry test and upload to genomelink. Double check but believe says if genes match those to celiac disease. I have ptsd like pain attacks with anxiety incontinence, many months after first time having Covid. Feels more of judgement in world over spirituality and being weak when world energy drops. Hope you are able to get better food in lifestyle, as feel spirit of anorexia comes in public trends. Bad humility after disaster. 🌤🌽🌶🍅🍚
Absolutely phenomenal job on this! Ekström gave you one heck of a recipe there! As a Swede, I have absolutely zero critique. 10/10 semla, would devour in an instant
Instämmer till fullo
mandelmassan är hemsk, det här är typ en ica maxi semla
But cardamom in the almond paste...?
Also these were a bit on the small side for a proper Swedish semla. I would've made maybe eight buns out of that amount of dough.
As a Swede I would say.. Very very bold decision to make a Swedish national dish so bound to tradition as a "Semla". You Chef John did not stumble one bit. This is truly a perfect Swedish "Semla". And as you so well put it in your commentary, the filling can vary quite a lot these days, but the traditional filling, as I remember it, is like yours but without the cardemum (it is only in the bread). An awsome job there Chef John. And I am very pleased that you did not put cayenne on this one 😁
Håkan, he did add some cayenne to the chokladbollar.... *facepalm*
@@MaiaMirabell 😆
🤣🤣🤣
Im Swedish and my guilty pleasure is having 2 semlas and 2-3 beers for dinner. Im ashamed to admit it does happen a few times during the dark february winter. :)
😲🧐
Way to Lent . 2 thumbs up
There are two kinds of healthy food; body healthy and mind healthy. Your dinner falls into the later, and equally important, group.
As long as you're not trying to make it like every meal, you have no reason to be ashamed. Food is meant to be good.
@@jimmccorison Well said! I eat reasonably but sometimes sillyness and a few bears can be good for your mental state :)
Big Mom's favourite food.
😂
Big Mom turned into a villain because of this food
Watch out
In sweden we love cardamom so glad you included it :)
Cardamom is so good!❤
I love learning how different cultures like the same spice. I first learned of cardamon from Pakistan and India. Now to learn it is loved in Sweden too. YAY!
As a Swede it sure is great to see you´re making a semla, Chef John. Fat Tuesday is Feb 21 this year when you´re "supposed" to eat a semla, but they´re eaten and enjoyed by Swedes from the the end of December to mid-March. My favorite kind of semla is when the almonds are very toasted so the almond paste gets a more brownish color and deepened flavor combined with chopped up toasted almonds in the paste. Heavenly!
Ooooh, that sounds amazing!! Toasted almond paste, how divinely yummy!
I wonder how bad of a heresy it is that I've never eaten these with almond paste.. I think most homemade ones here in Finland are jam and whipped cream, at least that's how my mum always made them and how I've made them
Now that sounds delicious!
@@TheLazyFinn that is very much considered a war crime
Get some real ones right away :p
@@Yaksoup98 too bad, made the jam ones ! :D
As a Swede I must say you made us proud.
As a Swede who make and eat many semlas this time of year, this is as close to perfect you can make em. Really good job! Cardamom is very important in Swedish baking cuisine and many seems to not get that in the vast majority of cases it's an essential spice. You can't make Swedish cinnamon rolls without cardamom, you can't make semlas.
So cool to see semla on an american channel! Greetings from Finland!!! 🇸🇪🇫🇮
I wonder if popular in upper Midwest where many Swedes immigrated to long ago?
fastlagsbulle? :) is that what u call it in Finland? (at least what i heard in the north)
@@reallivebluescat laskiaispulla in finnish
One trick with the almond paste is to grate it on a cheese grater, then mix it with the milk (or heavy cream, as I prefer). Also recommended is using freshly ground cardamom in larger pieces, more like sand than dust. Makes for a better flavor!
Fully agree, especially about the cardamom! Also, I am not sure why anyone would use powder sugar instead of regular and cheaper caster sugar for the dough. It will dissolve completely during the kneading.
I STRONGLY disagree with the triangle shape on the lid. Round all the way baby! 😆
I have to admit, despite that, they look amazing. I approve!!!
TIP:
Also, if you end up with a few buns left over, that goes a little bit dry, you can put the finished Semla in warm milk and eat it with a spoon. It's called "hetvägg" ("hot wall") and is FANTASTIC! 👍
Greetings from Stockholm!
Slicing the top off instead of cutting it in a triangular shake makes it easier to create a large hole for your filling. The vast majorities of all semlas have a round lid.
Im actually very very impressed. Semla is my all time favorite
based
That is glorious! It sounds wonderful. Clever clever people, the Swedes!
Swede here. Cardamom in the filling is a novelty to me...! Many would mix the inside of the bun that you dig out with the almond paste. Personally, I always eat the lid first, then the rest😄 But it's a very authentic recipe! Some people would also make their own almond paste. That's a lot of work!
Holy shit, I must make these soon! This construction combines two of my all-time favorite flavors on Earth, almond paste, and cardamom. I first discovered the joys of cardamon when I was in professional baking, and had my first ever, truly homemade Danish, where the dough had been scented with cardamom. I thought I was going to faint from euphoria. Anyway, I will definitely be making these within the next week. Thanks for putting this one up.
My 3 favorite spices: Garlic, Oregano and Cardamom
How did your semla turn out?
I lived in Stockholm when I was younger. I really miss Swedish baked goods and sweets -- even the salt licorice. I am excited to see this.
I made them! They were wonderful, I didn't realize cardamom was so delicious. I made my own almond paste, it was super easy in the food processor. Just almond flour, egg white, and sugar.
One traditional way of eating Semla is "Hetvägg" or "Hotwall". Just put the Semla in a deep bowl with warm milk and eat it with a spoon. Highly recomend this.
I was appalled that he had cardamom in the filling. Try bitter almond for full almond flavour instead. Or in addition since you like cardamom.
Next February, you can make a traditional Finnish Runeberg torte! Named after the national poet of Finland, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, It's a torte flavored with almond and arrack, with frosting and raspberry jam on top. We eat them on February 5th, Runeberg's birthday.
Fun fact: the jam and frosting on top look like a nipple and areola, and they are always sold in packs of two XD
Rum! The correct way to flavor it is with rum!
@@drivernephi2212 Por qué no los dos? I like both versions or Roonybarries (that's how my English husband calls them, and they're his favourite thing). Anyway, good luck getting them right. I've tried making them at home many times and they never turn out quite right, always either too dry or too soggy or too this or too that. Only a small handful of bakeries get them just right, and I'd like to know their secret recipe.
Funny how a swedish man is the national poet there
@@Yaksoup98 Finland Swedish. We've been here for like 800 years.
Yeah fennoswedish, not swedish. Huge difference. I'm half fennoswedish and I consider that half as finnish, as do pretty much all fennoswedes.
Greetings from another long time swedish viewer! I really liked this video. Semlas are great!
Another thing you should know about them is that the traditional way to eat them is actually to put the entire bun (with the almond paste filling, whipped cream and powdered sugar) in a bowl with warm milk. That is called "Äta semla med hetvägg" or "to eat a semla with hot wall".
Acording to legend, King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden died in year 1771 after eating one tom any semlas
It was also without whipped cream if I'm not mistaken. That is a "new" addition.
Great recipe! It's always fun to see a swedish classic get some recognition for an international audience.
A tip for the filling is to grate the almond paste before to make it easier to mix without a blender/mixer.
It is also not uncommon to mix in the parts of the bun you remove into the filling so as not to waste anything.
Chef John missed a perfect opportunity to work in an "assembla your semla" pun at the end 😀
For all my fellow cinema fans, yes, this is the pastry treat featured in the movie "A Man Called Otto". An A+ film for my money and highly recommend!
You made a Swede proud ❤️🇸🇪
I agree!
Vilken fin semla! Greetings from Sweden 😊
Mycket fin.
Perfekt
Perfect timing. These are traditional almost exclusively eaten only once a year. Which is next week! But I assume that was quite planned
Nah, no Swede only eats a semla at Fat Tuesday. They´re so yummy they´re eaten from the end of December to mid-March.
@@sungod86 Jag har då aldrig mött en människa som äter dem så ofta
@@Fillster Att äta 5-6 semlor under säsongen är inget ovanligt.
@@sungod86 Dock är det just fettisdagen som är traditionellt. Om det är någon dag så är det denna. Jag köper så gott som aldrig utöver. Men det var därför jag skrev nästan exklusivt istället för bara exklusivt.
As a swede I can suggest to not cut a triangle.
Cut a lid. Reason is:
1. You get a more hockey puck sized filling meaning every bite gets some.
2. Proper way to eat it is to take of the lid first and use as a scoop to dig into the top half of the filling and cream biting of a small piece of the lid.
Then your left with bottom bun and bottom part of the filling and cream, eating it like a sandwich.
Everything else is just cafe poser style.
Its also on the small side 😁
But it looked great!
I like a more substantial lid as well. You can't just bite into a semla - it's too tall and I for one don't want cream on the tip of my nose - so you need more of a lid to be able to scoop off enough of the cream that the rest of the semla is biteable. I was taught to push the lid into the cream and spin it so it picks up a lot of the cream when you lift it off.
A pretty popular way to make the filling is to actually use the scrapings from the bun in the mix. Also if using a food processor, adding a bunch of whole almonds is a good idea, for that extra crunch.
Great to see Semla on here, one of my favorite things!
The triangle top is nice but the best way is having a larger lid and then first using that to scoop some of the cream and eat that. And then bite into the delicious lower part of the bun.
Excellent semla, great work! I would recommend scraping out more of the interior of the bun and mixing some of it with the filling - you get more of the filling in every bite without losing the bun.
As for round vs triangular lid - I see both here in equal measure, but the triangles sure are pretty fancy.
Next up - try the legendary Hetvägg: put a semla in a bowl, pour over hot milk and eat it. Sounds utterly strange but it's pretty great!
Yep, I once upon a time worked in a Swedish Bakery.. And yes, the scraping should be in the filling.
@@MikaelLindberg Yeah some places don't do it but I vastly prefer it.
Omg, these look absolutely amazing!!! Cardamom is a gift from heaven! 😋❤
I always mix the crumbs from the middle with the almond paste and milk to get the filling. I don’t think the filling needs more sugar as the almond paste is already very sweet.
You are the Viking of making your semla to your liking.
I was licking the screen by the time these were done!!! I love those so much! Thank you Chef John for making these. 🥰🥰🥰
Licking the screen 😂… yeah they do look delicious 😍
when the buns are a bit old and stale you can put them in a bowl of hot milk and make a hetvägg aswell!
Pullavanukas 🤓
In Estonia we call them vastlakukkel and we often fill them with jam 😊 Thinking I might cook my own this year after seeing this, thank you Chef John!
Interesting, "vastlakukkel" is pretty close to "fastlagsbulle" as they are called in swedish speaking Finland, since "Semla" is an ordinary bread-roll in Finno-Swedish.
@@roskis6493Maybe it was brought to Estonia when Sweden still used to own it or maybe some Swede in Finland brought it there.
Jävla fin semla John! i've been watching your videos for years, watching you cook (well bake i guess) this recipe makes me so happy! many international chefs do swedish dishes/desserts very strangely to put it kindly, this however is as close as you can get to the real thing
Swede here! This looks sooo good! You sure did an amazing job and I'm proud to call this a perfect semla
The crumbs scooped out from the bun can be mixed into the almond paste. I also like mine made with a day-old bun so that they're a little drier, which is especially important if you want to serve them the traditional way as a hetvägg; prepare the semla and put it in a bowl, heat up some milk (I usually put in a little vanilla sugar and cinnamon in it), then pour it over the semla. The milk smelts some of the cream, and the bun sucks it up and turns into a wonderful goopy mess.
Chef John, I've spent a lot of time in Sweden over the last 20 years, and I have never seen a semla with a triangle cut in the top! I'm not criticizing or saying it's impossible -- but many, many semlor are consumed with the lid just sliced off. You did, however, do a great job here. Semlor are one of the loveliest treats anywhere! Thanks for sharing!
In my 48 years I may have eaten one supermarket Semla with triangle cut. It's just a quirk.
As a Swede I’m so happy to see this! These are my moms most guilty pleasure 😂 I’ll have to make it soon
Okay Chef u got me again 😅 I’m making these immediately! Like I watch so many of ur recipes this month and went to the market so many times I am now fully stock and can make anything on hand now lol thanks chef ❤
Perfect! Im serving semlor at a event on saturday, the buns are waiting in the freezer. Cheers for sharing one of the best swedish pastrys with the YT crowd! ❤ from 🇸🇪!
5:20 you are supposed to add the hollowed out bun insides to the mix. Also, use a fork and not a spoon, press down on it so the forks prongs "cut" the mix, then it will only take a minute or so.
we get them here in Estonia too, once a year on Valentines day. Actually ate them yesterday
As a alternetive way of eating them, you can place the Semla in a bowl or a soup-plate, and add a cup of hot milk around it and eat it with a spoon. It then become a "Hetvägg" or "Hot wall" that is a old way of eating it.
As someone who has like 9% of Scandinavian in me, I have no idea what these are. I’ve been watching One Piece and these were in it. I’m intrigued.
I have never baked a semla but I have a black belt in eating them. They are delicious and yours look as good or even better than most I had. Swedish cooking is also very good. We have some fantastic cousine like kålpudding (cabbage pudding) and other recepies that you could serve in any fine restaurant.
The long dry winter up in the Nordic countries is the perfect condition for these. They’re very persishable. You won’t find them untampered in warmer climates. If you live in SoCal or similar, I suggest whipping up the cream with cream cheese / mascarpone and keeping the bowl and utensils cold too. That would make the pastry last a couple days in the fridge in pristine condition.
Back to Sweden. They’re either made artisanal by sweet bakers and cafés or you can just buy them at the grocery store by big factories like Dahl’s and Johnsén’s. I’m lactose intolerant and thus I’ll have Dahl’s Lactose Free variant of this.
Great to see semla on your channel! All Swedish newspapers and many influensers has their semla-tests from bakeries this time of year. Your Swedish fanclub is proud! And yes, it is important to get whipped cream on your nose and in your mustasch.
I'm Swedish. I've never seen a semla with a triangle top.
Nicely done.
I love how this is just a plain Semla. No elevated or experimental fuss.
Why mess with perfection? It's classic for a reason.
I usually mix the breadcrumbs in with the almond paste mixture!
My father makes Swedish Cardamom Braid !! We grew up on that bread. It's absolutely delish !!
It would appear that all of Sweden follows Food Wishes, judging from the comment section. I've been wanting to try semla for a long time now, so I really should take this as a sign and finally do it.
As a Swede I give you thumbs up on this recipe. It’s more or less how we make them over here. Just one thing, I think you use far too much cardamon. We put a little of that only in the dough, not in the filling as well. It’s also nice to use roughly ground cardamon so you can still see the cardamon specks in the bun. It’s a significant flavor of semlas so you should be able to see that it’s there. It’s something people look for here when they buy ready made semlas, the little black spots. It’s a part of the semla look too. If you use finely ground cardamon, you get the flavour but your buns risk to get a grey ash tint all over. Our marsipan or almond paste comes sweetened here so we don’t usually add more sugar too it but you can if you use unsweetened almond paste. Semlas are sweet pastries but not overly sweet. You only have to soften the paste a little with a bit of water or milk. If you want, add some roughly chopped almonds to the almond paste to make it a bit more rustic and tasty, but it’s not necessary. Some like them more smooth. The inside of the bun that you remove, we add to the almond paste, again not necessary, but you don’t get any waste this way. Good job though, you have made really genuine semlas. To make triangular lids has become popular lately but a normal hamburger shaped lid is the classical look of the semla and it also gives you a bigger lid. As some people like the sugared lid a lot and tend to eat that bit first, they get more of it with a bigger lid. If you eat it as a hetvägg (hot wall) with a mirror of warm milk in a deep plate, you preferably need the classical lid cut a bit further down so that the semla can absorb the milk better.
4,36 million subscribers. Since I subscribed to you I have made 3 children with a few different wives- the oldest soon turn 10. You had about 40k 😉
You have been a beacon through all this time John, you literally made me a chef.
Finally you make a Selma, and it was also a very good version - now I can die happy!
I'm definitely going to make these! Thank you chef John!
The whipped cream on the nose after a bite is classic. I often eat it with a spoon nowdays tough it might be heretical.
Actually you're not supposed to eat it like a burger or sandwich or whatever. Use the lid/top to scoop up some of the cream and eat it with that, then you'll have the bottom bun with almondpaste and cream you can eat it without spilling everywhere.
Making them with the triangle top is prettier but concentrates all the paste in the center. If you cut the top of you can spread the paste for more even distribution. I'd wager Ekström either suggested his own personal style or possibly a traditional style. The common way to make them is by cutting the top and it makes for a more plessant eating experience. There are also all sorts of Semla these days, semla wraps, semlas with nutella-whipped cream and bananas etc.
I'll let you in on a Swedish secret John: Remove and eat the lid first! I suspect you avoided the cream-on-the-nose phenomena due to keeping the lid on the Semla during consumption. Great video as always!
What we usually do is instead of eating/throwing the inner bread from buns, adding it to the almond mixture. Also, adding there a bit more milk and an egg, then heat it till it becomes dense. Boiling the buns in the milk afterwards is completely optional :)
Damn Jon, you put yourself on the radar of big mom watch out.
I literally bought all the ingredients to make this upon watching this! Time to make it
Chef John, you did a perfect semla! Not surprised about that though.
Semla is so delicious!! The reason for just slicing the bun in half is that you can put a lot of the filling in.
The semla is even better if you make the "hetvägg", when you put the semla in a bowl and let it sit in about half an inch of hot milk! The bun becomes goey and yum, together with the almond and cream filling.
There is also a summer version, with vanilla custard, strawberries and the whipped cream. Sometimes the bun is even made of Danish pastry.
How do you resist eating at least half of the filling before you fill these??? They look amazing. 👍
Looks flawless
What is great about the Semla is that you can create your own filling or you can mix some jam into the whipped cream. You can even use vanilla cream as a filling. Very tasty!
Those look absolutely fantastic! I think some people add the part of the bun that you gouge out into the almond paste, if you don't want to eat it but still don't want to waste it.
And about getting cream on your nose, a lot of people eat the lid first and then there's less protection for getting cream on (or in) your nose ;)
I'm with you, Chef John. I hate cleaning my food processor, so I avoid using it.
Ooh, I'd love to try making these. Also I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with an aversion to using the food processor because of the cleanup afterwards.
The music at the end and you saying enjoy is my favorite part of these videos
More and more cafe places in Sweden have started experimenting with different Semlor varieties.
Such as Banana flavor, Blueberry, Nuttela,
Certain parts of southern Sweden eat these with the semla placed in the middle of a plate or very shallow bowl of warm milk.
I personally think that's utterly insane, but feel free to give it a shot.
Oh, the “hot wall” way is the best way. Never suffer a dry bun again :)
Amazing job! Personally I prefer the cardamom to be just lightly crushed with a mortar and pestle instead of all ground up.
I occasionally enjoy it in a little bath of hot milk flavored with cinnmon, try it!
I was almost about to shout out loud when you were mixing the almond filling to switch to a whisk and you switched to one.😂
Can I say that it is a pleasure to watch you work and I love your style.
Wonderful job! Those look just perfect
Now you have to try the "Het vägg" or "Hot wall" method of eating a Semla. It's when you put it in a deep plate with warm milk. Some even put some cinnamon on there, but that's extra
That triangle lid does look fancier, im used to the normal round lid. Theres also were you have the semla in a bowl with hot milk and eat it with a spoon. I like that too but the semlas you buy in stores have almost too soft buns for it so I would make my own that end up being more dense buns.
Happy Valentines Day Chef John 💘
Those look delicious!
As a Swede i am impressed, it looks perfect! But when you have a big moustache/beard its way easier to eat with a spoon and i really love to have a bit warm milk on a plate and let the semla soak some up, yummy :)
Very good one. You can make the dough bread with saffron too.. The original filling is the best and the cream. But u can use nutella, snickers, etc fillings u whisk togheter and some in the cream too .. but then is not a original Semla
I cut the triangle off and promptly put it in my mouth! So I had one without a triangle top which I sliced 1/3 of the top off and put the almond past and then the whipped cream and then the sliced top. The sliced top method was way easier to eat.
6:10 The most common and traditional one is the simple sliced one. The round slice gets the filling more evenly distributed, I don't get the point of the weird triangle thing. Think of it like a dessert hamburger - you want a proper top bun, and the sauce should be spread evenly, not in a deep hole in the bottom bun.
you can also replace the almond paste with jam, strawberry usually but its up to you
I always use the top piece as a sort of spoon and scoop up most of the whipped cream, and then I eat the rest of the semla. And regarding if the top should be a triangle or not, my belief is that the fancy kind of snobby semlas use a triangle, and the more common, and frankly good, semlas just cut the thing open straight across. But nevertheless a great video, 10/10!
As a famous Swede once said, "My dessert plate don't get none unless you got Semla buns, hon."
My family recipe has a lot less sugar in the buns, and by my reckoning the secret ingredient to the filling.
You begin by cutting a top lid off of and scooping out the buns, then you soak the crumbs in milk, shred in the almond paste (enough to fill about half the cavity in each semla before shredding) and mix until smooth. It should have a thick, but still runny consistency, thin enough to not quite be a paste, thick enough not to pour out when you bite into the semla.
Chef John, awesome recipe! But next year you shoul definitely check on polish "faworki" recipe. We have "fat thursday" in Poland :) And it's delicious ^^
I just had one of these yesterday for Fat Tuesday!!! So delicious!
Hello from Sweden! 😂
As yet another swede I first want to agree with previous commenters on your fine work on this, and second just point out that traditionally one starts with the "hat" before munching on the bun.
Big Mom approves of this. IYKYK
I''m allergic to almonds, so I just use what I carve out of the semla, and mix it with a little whipped cream (that I already have), and good amount of powdered sugar. Then puts it in just like the almond mixture. Ends up with a similar consistency and sweetness. :)
I always mix my almondpaste (mandelmassa) with the cream, which makes it easier to get the same flavour profile throughout. Great work on your Semla!
Growing up, we would have these in a shallow bowl of warm milk. And the almond paste *should* be mixed with the crumb that's removed from the inside before putting it back into the bun.
My mom told me my maternal grandad loved eating Semla in the "Hetvägg"-style which is when you serve the Semla in a warm bowl of milk and you can add some extra spices on it like cinnamon or whatever and eat it with a spoon.