In Sweden, Fettisdagen (Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday) used to mark the last day before Lent – the Christian fasting period – so this was the day to binge eat, and the feast typically included wheat buns in warm milk (the first, original semla), before the fasting ritual began. Those wheat buns really caught on, and over the years, fettisdagen became synonymous with semlor (plural of semla) in Sweden.
Today, the semla in Sweden has a filling of whipped cream and almond paste, but many Swedes still like their semla with milk. Contrary to the Danish fastelavnsbolle, except for a few minor details, the semla does not seem to have changed much over time. In fact, there is a strange “do-not-touch-my-good-old-semla” attitude among most Swedes, but one exception is the vegan semla. Many Swedes are going green these days, and vegan semlor seem to be one of the few variations that have been accepted by the Swedes and are here to stay.
I had long been curious about vegan baking, and semlor seemed to be a good, but challenging, place to start. The traditional semla contains egg and lots of dairy, and I was particularly concerned about how to find a good egg substitute, so I asked vegan friend Waz in the US, what she thought. She mentioned that apple sauce would probably do the trick, and I found that it worked out great.
For the whipped cream, I chose coconut cream as it is widely available, but I know there are better cream substitutes out there, so feel free to pick whatever you like. If you also go for coconut cream, make sure to chill the cans in the fridge for a minimum of 3-4 hours before use, so the white cream gets solid and separates easily from the clear, liquid, coconut milk.
The semlor have to cool off before you can add the filling, or the cream will melt and turn runny, so count in at least a couple of hours after baking before the buns are ready to be filled with cream and almond paste.
Recipe: Swedish Semlor – Vegan version
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semlorhad long been curious about vegan baking, and semlor seemed to be a good, but challenging, place to start. The traditional semla contains egg and lots of dairy, and I was particularly concerned about how to find a good egg substitute, so I asked vegan friend Waz in the US, what she thought. She mentioned that apple sauce would probably do the trick, and I found that it worked out great.
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Ingredients
- Wheat buns
1 pack active dry yeast (2 tablespoons)
½ cup melted plant-based butter for baking
1 cup almond milk
¼ cup agave syrup/nectar
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour (might need a little more)
- Whipped cream filling
1 can full fat coconut cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or vanilla essence
- Almond paste filling
1 ¼ cup almond flour
2 tablespoons apple sauce
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
¼ cup almond milk
Directions
- Wheat buns
- Melt the butter and mix in the almond milk. Heat until lukewarm.
- Follow the directions for activating the dry yeast. Combine almond milk and butter with yeast, agave syrup and salt in a bowl.
- Add flour and cardamom and knead or mix at low speed for 10 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Almond paste filling
- Mix almond flour, applesauce, almond milk and confectioner’s sugar/agave syrup to a thick paste. Done!
- Now on to the rolls again:
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into balls.
- Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 375ºF
- Brush the buns with cold coffee (optional) before baking for 8-10 minutes (until the surface is golden brown)
- Let the buns cool completely (that is 3-4 hours) before proceeding.
- In the meantime whip the cream. If you are using coconut cream, take the cans from the fridge. Scoop out the white, solid cream and place it in a bowl. Try to avoid getting any of the clear liquid (the milk) in the bowl, as it will make the coconut cream runny.
- Mix the cream with an electrical mixer for 2-3 minutes and you will have rather heavy, but sufficiently fluffy whipped coconut cream. Place in the fridge until using.
- Back to the buns. Now it is time to add the filling
- Cut out a triangular “lid” from each bun.
- Add almond paste.
- Add whipped cream.
- Put the lid back on top of the cream.
- Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Ready to serve!
