Semla
- 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast, like SAF
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter
- 4 eggs
- About 1 cup milk
- Butter or oil as needed
- 1 cup confectioners sugar, more or less
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Combine the flour and half the almonds in a food processor.
- Process until the almonds are finely ground, then add the spices, yeast, salt, granulated sugar, and butter.
- Pulse the machine on and off until the butter is cut throughout the flour.
- Add 2 eggs and pulse a few more times.
- With the machine running, slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk through the feed tube.
- Process for about 30 seconds, adding more milk if necessary, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is quite sticky to the touch, almost too sticky to handle.
- Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until nearly doubled in bulk, 2 to 3 hours.
- Proceed to step 3 or wrap some or all of the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.
- (Defrost in a covered bowl in the refrigerator or at room temperature.)
- Divide the dough into 15 to 20 pieces; use lightly buttered or oiled hands to roll each piece into a round ball, pinching the seam closed as well as you can.
- Place the balls on a buttered baking sheet or in buttered muffin tins.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a towel while you preheat the oven to 350F; set the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Separate the remaining eggs; beat the yolks and use them to brush the tops of the buns.
- Bake the buns for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and glossy.
- Let cool while you prepare the filling.
- Grind the remaining almonds in a food processor or spice or coffee grinder until as fine as possible.
- With an electric mixer, beat the 2 egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, then combine, by hand, with 3/4 cup of the confectioners sugar, the ground almonds, and 2 tablespoons of the cream.
- When the buns have cooled a bit, cut off the top of each one and put a bit of the almond mixture inside.
- In a clean bowl, using the mixer, whip the remaining cream with another tablespoon of the confectioners sugar and put a spoonful into each of the buns; replace the tops.
- Sift some confectioners sugar over all the buns and serve within a few hours.
allpurpose, almonds, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, yeast, salt, granulated sugar, cold butter, eggs, milk, butter, confectioners sugar, heavy cream
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/semla-386015 (may not work)