Have you ever tried a Swedish semla? This is a sweet bun flavoured with cardamom filled with whipped cream and a sweetened almond paste, lightly dusted with icing sugar, which is popping up in bakeries all across the capital. But you have to be quick, these are a hot special that won't be around for much longer.
In Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia, these buns are eaten by many as their Shrove Tuesday treat. Where here in Ireland, we eat stacks of pancakes, they eat semlor buns. Semla is the singular, while semlor is plural, by the way!
As a place where taking time out for a cup of coffee and a sweet treat, known as fika, you can guarantee these would be delicious. In the likes of Stockholm, Malmö or Gothenburg, it's not uncommon to see variations of these cropping up in bakeries, but one of the traditional ways to eat it is in a bowl, covered in warm milk.
If you fancy trying to make them yourself, the Swedish tourist board have a recipe which you could follow. However, some Dublin bakeries have decided to offer them for a short period of time. Best to check with each bakery to avoid disappointment.
You can try these beauties at the following spots:
- Elliots, Phibsborough
- Bread 41, Pearse Street - a weekend special for February only
- Mud Bakery, every Saturday at Honest 2 Goodness Market, Glasnevin
- Lotts & Co - serving on Shrove Tuesday only in their three locations (Clontarf, Beggar's Bush & Terenure)
- McNally's Family Farm, Balrickard, K32 RW08, North County Dublin - serving on the first weekend of February only in the cafe
Dublin Delish on 98fm, thanks to Cully & Sully, Great Food & Soup-er conversation.
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