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Swedish recipe of the day: How to make traditional semla buns
https://www.thelocal.se/20150123/how-to-make-the-swedish-semla-bun
On Fat Tuesday Swedes gorge themselves on these fantastic cream buns, but they're usually available in stores right after Christmas. Food writer John Duxbury shares his best recipe with The Local. There are variations of semlor (sehm-lohr is plural, sehm-la is singular) throughout Scandinavia and in Sweden they go by several different names: semlor in the north, fastlagsbullar in the south, and hetvägg if they are eaten with warm milk and sprinkled with cinnamon. The buns hold a notorious role in Swedish history linked to King Adolf Fredrik. On the day now known as Fat Tuesday (fettisdagen) in 1771, he collapsed and died after eating a meal of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring, champagne... and 14 servings of semlor, his favourite dessert.
Summary
Makes 24 small/10 large buns
Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Total: 45 minutes (plus 1-2 hours for proving)
Ingredients
Semlor buns
75 g (5 tbsp) butter
300 ml (1¼ cups) milk
10 g (3¼ tsp) "instant" fast action dried yeast
½ tsp salt
55g (¼ cup) sugar
1 tsp freshly ground or cracked cardamom
500 g (3½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, extra may be required
1 egg
Filling
200g (7 oz) mandelmassa (almond paste)
120 ml (½ cup) milk
240 ml (1 cup) whipping cream
icing (powder or confectioner's) sugar for dusting
Method................
snip
8 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
This King Hated Coffee So Much He Tried to Kill Someone With It
Sweden's Gustav III believed coffee made people behave badly.
https://www.history.com/news/this-king-hated-coffee-so-much-he-tried-to-kill-someone-with-it
There are 92 references to coffee in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, whose protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, wreaks bloody revenge in Stieg Larsson’s Swedish crime thrillers. Indeed, people in the Scandinavian country drink the equivalent of 18 pounds of coffee every year, making Sweden the world’s sixth most caffeinated nation. But the country’s coffee habit hasn’t always been a given. Starting in the 18th century, Sweden’s leaders tried to ban the beloved caffeine source. And one Swedish king hated coffee so much, he pitted two murderers against one another to prove how deadly the drink was.
Coffee made its way to Sweden in the 17th century as world trade opened up, and Swedes immediately took to the drink. But their monarchs did not, believing that coffee made people behave badly. Starting in 1756, during the reign of Adolf Frederick, the country began to impose a heavy tax on coffee imports and consumption as a result of the “misuse of tea and coffee drinking.” Those who insisted on drinking coffee without paying the tax were punished by having their cups and saucers confiscated.
Later that year, coffee was banned altogether. Royal officials tried to paint coffee as an un-Swedish move and encouraged Swedes to enjoy other drinks instead. Swedes, especially upper-class ones who could afford the precious beans, shrugged and kept on drinking coffee despite the ban. A flourishing bootlegging trade made the beverage widely available.
Then Gustav III came to power. The son of the king who originally banned coffee, he was disgusted by coffee and convinced it had bad effects on one’s health. He was so against the bitter brew that he decided to use science—or what passed for it—to prove to his subjects that they should give up coffee once and for all. In a move that would make modern scientists’ jaws drop, Gustav enlisted prisoners for a scientific experiment. He found two convicted murderers on whom to conduct his experiment—an early example of a controlled study. The men had been sentenced to death, so the king offered them life in prison instead if they’d participate.
snip
Sweden's Gustav III believed coffee made people behave badly.
https://www.history.com/news/this-king-hated-coffee-so-much-he-tried-to-kill-someone-with-it
There are 92 references to coffee in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, whose protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, wreaks bloody revenge in Stieg Larsson’s Swedish crime thrillers. Indeed, people in the Scandinavian country drink the equivalent of 18 pounds of coffee every year, making Sweden the world’s sixth most caffeinated nation. But the country’s coffee habit hasn’t always been a given. Starting in the 18th century, Sweden’s leaders tried to ban the beloved caffeine source. And one Swedish king hated coffee so much, he pitted two murderers against one another to prove how deadly the drink was.
Coffee made its way to Sweden in the 17th century as world trade opened up, and Swedes immediately took to the drink. But their monarchs did not, believing that coffee made people behave badly. Starting in 1756, during the reign of Adolf Frederick, the country began to impose a heavy tax on coffee imports and consumption as a result of the “misuse of tea and coffee drinking.” Those who insisted on drinking coffee without paying the tax were punished by having their cups and saucers confiscated.
Later that year, coffee was banned altogether. Royal officials tried to paint coffee as an un-Swedish move and encouraged Swedes to enjoy other drinks instead. Swedes, especially upper-class ones who could afford the precious beans, shrugged and kept on drinking coffee despite the ban. A flourishing bootlegging trade made the beverage widely available.
Then Gustav III came to power. The son of the king who originally banned coffee, he was disgusted by coffee and convinced it had bad effects on one’s health. He was so against the bitter brew that he decided to use science—or what passed for it—to prove to his subjects that they should give up coffee once and for all. In a move that would make modern scientists’ jaws drop, Gustav enlisted prisoners for a scientific experiment. He found two convicted murderers on whom to conduct his experiment—an early example of a controlled study. The men had been sentenced to death, so the king offered them life in prison instead if they’d participate.
snip
https://www.asimn.org/visit/fika-cafe
Pre-Order Pastries
Semla buns are here! Pre-order FIKA's traditional Swedish pastries by calling 612-524-5108 or emailing fika@asimn.org. We ask for a 48-hour notice and payment when you place the order. Pick-up your order up at the counter.
Pre-Order Pastries
Semla buns are here! Pre-order FIKA's traditional Swedish pastries by calling 612-524-5108 or emailing fika@asimn.org. We ask for a 48-hour notice and payment when you place the order. Pick-up your order up at the counter.
and now I have two more packets of instant yeast from the King cake recipe I am trying out today. just need to find the almond paste or figure out a substitute. 
