Hot cross Swedish semla buns
A mashup of the traditional British hot cross bun and the Swedish semla (a traditional Shrove Tuesday sweet) is a perfect Easter treat.
Ingredients
Buns
1 cup milk, lukewarm
2 tbsp cream
50g castor sugar
50g unsalted butter
500g bread flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground cinnamon
7g dried yeast
rind of one orange
1 cup currants
icing sugar for dusting
Cross
75g flour
one whole egg, beaten
Filling and glaze
80g 60 per cent almond marzipan, grated
80ml milk
100ml whipping cream, whipped
2 tbsp apricot jam
Method
Step 1
Scald the milk and cream in a small saucepan and allow to cool almost to room temperature. Rub the sugar, butter, flour, salt, cardamom and cinnamon together to form breadcrumbs. Scatter the dry yeast through. Make a well in the centre, pour in the milk, orange rind and currants and mix to a shaggy dough.
Step 2
Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Place in a bowl and cover with a tea towel in a warm place. Allow to proof for one hour or until doubled in size.
Step 3
Punch the dough down and mold into 10 evenly sized balls. Proof for another 30 minutes until doubled in size again.
Step 4
To make the cross, mix the flour with about 100 millilitres of water, adding a little at a time until the flour forms a thick paste. Transfer to a piping bag with a smooth nozzle and pipe a cross shape on top of each bun. Glaze with the beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes in a 200C oven (180C fan-forced). Allow to cool.
Step 5
To make the filling, combine the marzipan and milk together in a small food processor and process to a smooth paste. Place the whipped cream in a piping bag with a fluted nozzle.
Step 6
Cut the buns in half. Heat the apricot jam in the microwave until liquid and brush over the top of the buns. Spread the base with a generous amount of the marzipan and pipe over the whipped cream using a fluted nozzle. Replace the lids of the buns and serve.
The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.
Sign up
Adam Liaw is a cookbook author and food writer, co-host of Good Food Kitchen and former MasterChef winner.
