All about the Swedish Semla

Most countries mark Shrove Tuesday with pancakes, others with doughnuts, but in Sweden it’s all about the semla bun.

First things first, what is a semla?

A semla (singular) is a wheat flour bun with the centre scooped out, flavoured with cardamom and filled with almond paste and whipped cream, then dusted with icing sugar.

Originally, a semla was simply a bun, eaten soaked in hot milk (known as hetvägg).

What’s the story?

Semlor (plural) are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday, known as Fettisdagen (literally ‘Fat Tuesday’). Back in the day, the buns would be eaten as part of a final celebratory feast before Lent began. The Swedish King Adolf Fredrik went all out at the feast he attended in 1771, to the extent that his cause of death was severe indigestion – presumably caused by the fact that he concluded a lavish meal with 14 hetvägg.

In keeping with Swedes’ love for rules and regulations, it used to be illegal to serve semlor ‘out of season’ (genuinely). But as with many seasonal food trends, they now stick around for as long as possible, and you’ll find semlor in bakery windows from Christmas to Easter.

Branching out

As if the original semla wasn’t enough, many bakeries now like to come up with new, trendy takes on the standard semlor; be it Nutella or blueberry, or even a hybrid of two of Sweden’s most beloved pastries, such as prinsesstårta (Princess cake) or kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) semlor.

Semlor at Royal Djurgården

Royal Djurgården is home to some of Stockholm’s best semlor! At Rosendal’s Garden they use organic ingredients to make their homemade almond paste and whipped cream. And if you want to branch out and try a different flavour, Café Monika Ahlberg bakes her famous blueberry semlor.

Make sure not to miss tasting this delicious Swedish delicacy!