A semla, or three (semlor)

As I have fika with Pete, enjoying tea and semlor, I remember the first time I ate this very Swedish pastry.  I was at Ikea back home, a few years ago.  There were huge posters with pictures of these cute buns outside the store and my interest was piqued.  I remember thinking, "The Swedes eat this? Well, I'm in Ikea so let's do as the Swedes do!"

I bought one from the cafe and sat down for my first mouthful.  I didn't like it.  I thought it was dessert but the bun wasn't sweet, there was way too much whipped cream and I could taste cardamom and almond paste.  I couldn't find anything to like in it.

Fast forward to today.  Here I am, sitting next to a real Swede and enjoying the semla.  I am actually enjoying it.  Amazingly, I was the one to bug Pete to buy some for our fika.

February is the time for semlor.  If you are wondering why I go back and forth with the semla and the semlor, it's because semla is the singular form and semlor is the plural form.  That's Swedish grammar for you.  It's not just about adding '-s' to the end of the nouns but that's a topic for another post.

Doesn't this look cute?

Anyway, back to the semlor.  Traditionally, semlor is eaten in February, especially on the 12th. That is the day the Swedes call fettisdagen.  It is the last day before the the start of the Christian fasting period before Easter and it's when people used to eat semlor.  Oh, an interesting piece of trivia: On February 12 1771, King Adolf Federick, the Swedish king at that time, died after eating a huge meal of lobsters, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and 14 (yes 14, not 4) hetvagg, which is the early form of semla served in a bowl of hot milk.  He died of digestive problems, which I think is not such a surprise.

These days, semlor are found in the bakeries even before Christmas day.  A semla is made from a bread bun flavoured with cardamom.  The top of the bun is cut off and the inside is scooped out.  It is then filled with almond paste and whipped cream.  The top is the put back and it's dusted with icing sugar.  I love how cute they look when they are arranged in rows in the display cabinets.  They really call out to you to grab one.  Which was what I did one day last December.

I don't know what made me change my mind about these cuties.  Maybe it was the cold outside that just makes me crave for something creamy.  Maybe I have gotten used to having the taste of cardamom in the bread rolls here.  Maybe I have gotten used to having almond paste in my desserts.  Or maybe it's simply peer pressure - I am surrounded by semla-loving people here.  But I do know that I do enjoy them very much now.

The semla-craze has also gotten to the supermarkets.  Although you can buy ready made semlor everywhere, even at 7-11, you can also bake them at home.  There are lots of recipes online for you to make from scratch.  There are even semla-kits that you can buy from the supermarkets.  They sell ready made buns and almond paste.  You can buy these separately and assemble them at home.

This year, I have eaten the ready made semla thrice.  I like the semlor we bought.  They are not too sweet and the cardamom is not to over-powering in the bun.  But next year I think I would make my own. For now, now more semla for me.  I have had my fill.