What exactly is 'Lucia' (or rather, who was Saint Lucia...!)?

If you are wondering about what happens on the 13th December in Sweden, check out this funny film about Lucia:

Now that we only have a couple of weeks left until Fettisdagen (Shrove Tuesday), this seems to be just the perfect time to share with you a recipe and instructions on how to bake your own semlor!
 
If you live in Sweden, surely you must have noticed these magnificent creamy buns on display at your local bakery or grocery store already, (the Swedish population of 10 million buys and eats around six million semlor every Shrove Tuesday!).
 
If you don’t yet live in Sweden, you will have to try this special treat at home. In fact, no matter where you live, if you have not made your own semlor before, take this chance to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself, because even though the bakery made buns are to die for, they will most certainly never be as fun as homemade semlor.
 
This recipe that we have found for you, will teach you how to perfectly bake the traditional Swedish cardamom bun, how to mix together the sweet almond paste filling and last but not least, top it all with fluffy whipped cream and dusty icing sugar.
 
Once you have mastered the traditional semla, you can allow yourself to get more creative and inventive with your pastries. Try to play around with different fillings, flavours and shapes. We have over the past few years seen out-of-the-box ideas such as semmelwraps, semlor with Nutella filling or licorice-flavoured marzipan.
 
Last year bakeries introduced the Princess semla, a merge between a classic Princess pastry and semla. A truly holy union for all adventurous seeking cream bun munchers out there!  This year, the latest Stockholm invention is a Mexican influenced nacho plate, featuring pieces of flat, triangular bread to dip in cream and almond paste.
 
But before you dive into all that, let’s start with the basics. Time to get ready for the best fika of the year!
 
Recipe makes 16-24 buns
 
Ingredients
2 eggs
2/3 cup of melted butter
1 1/2 cups warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F, 20-25 C)
1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk, or as needed
5 ounces marzipan
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons white sugar
 
Step 1
First of all, whisk together eggs with butter and milk in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the top and allow for mix to soften for 5 minutes. While waiting, sift together 5 cups flour with 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and ground cardamom. When the yeast has softened, stir flour mixture into milk mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover bowl with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
 
Step 2
Meanwhile, sift together flour and baking powder. Stir into risen dough, then knead until smooth. Form into 16 balls (or 24 if you'd like smaller semlor) and place onto greased baking sheets. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, 35 to 40 minutes.
 
Step 3
Turn oven on and preheat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
 
Step 4
Place in preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Buns should be golden brown and the center should be firm. Let the buns cool down on a wire rack until they reach room temperature.
 
Step 5
Make a lid by cutting a slice about 1/2 inch thick off of the top of the bun. Use a spoon to scoop out the center of the buns, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick. Crumble the removed bread into small pieces and place into a bowl. Moisten the bread with milk, then mix in marzipan until smooth. Add additional milk if needed until the marzipan filling is nearly as soft as pudding.

Step 6
Whip cream with 2 tablespoons sugar to stiff peaks. Fill each bun’s shell with a spoonful of marzipan filling. Place whipped cream on top of the filling to 1/2 inch over the top of the bun. Replace the tops onto the buns, and dust with icing sugar before serving.
 
Serve as is with a cup of coffee, or place the bun in a bowl with warm milk and ground cinnamon (this variant is known as hetvägg).
 
This recipe was provided by Justin Williams and Allrecipes.com. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/139232/semlor-semla/
 
To find out all there is to know about semlor, click here for our free guide.

Bakeries at this time of year try to make the best semlor - cream and marzipan buns - but some decide to fiddle with the recipe. Over the years, we have seen semlor covered in real gold, semlor smoothies, semlor wraps.

The Göteborg Post has found a supermarket in Vessigebro (south west Sweden) with a new variety for this year. These delectable-looking treats are filled with Nutella, cream, sliced banana and meringue. Sweet but sound very yummy!

What is your favourite semla? To find out all there is to know about semlor, click here for our free guide.

Not that the date matters - they are in the shops already...!

For those of you who would like to know more about the sticky cream-filled buns that are supposed to be consumed on Shrove Tuesday (Fettisdagen) but now you can get for at least a month in advance, check out our guide to them (and the all-important instructions for how to eat them):

We are not really sure why...but baker Magnus Johansson has created a semla with a price tag of around 900kr. Around, because it has to be $101 to beat the price of one in New York. Watch food blogger Johan Hedberg taste-test it here and find out more on their Facebook page.

Each winter, someone usually comes up with a new form of the Shrove Tuesday buns - semlor. Last year, it got turned into a drink! Here is a film about it (in Swedish but not rally necessary to understand the talking). Let us know if you've tried it!