A Swedish tradition for Shrove Tuesday, semlor typically consist of a cardamom bun, almond paste filling – not marzipan – lots of whipped cream and powdered sugar on top. While you can find the true classics at bakeries such as Fabrique and Bageriet, other London bakeries bring out exciting variations of the big, billowy buns. From fig reduction to orange liqueur and sweet, golden-brown cinnamon buns, it’s the season for London’s best semlor.
Semla bun: Fabrique Bakery
Fragrant cardamom-flecked dough layered with almond paste, a cloud of whipped cream and powdered sugar on top. A super fluffy bun with a pronounced, fruity kick, Fabrique’s semla sells out fast for good reason.
Multiple locations
Semla bun: Bageriet
Cardamom bun filled with copious amounts of almond paste, whipped cream and powdered sugar on top. Not only is this semla enormous, but chef/owner Daniel Karlsson roasts half of the almonds first, which achieves the most decadent, sweet-nutty flavour in the filling.
24 Rose St, London WC2E 9EA
Semla bun: E5 Bakehouse
Cardamom bun with orange- and Cointreau-spiked almond paste, velvety vanilla cream plus a little powdered sugar on top. The almond filling is thick yet moist, rich yet citrusy, with an underlying freshness that makes you want more, more and more.
396 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
Semla bun: Söderberg
Light, pillowy cardamom bun with almond paste, a generous amount of airy whipped cream and a touch of powdered sugar on top.
36 Berwick St, London W1F 8RR
Semla bun: Brett & Bailey
Cardamom bun filled with milky-soft almond paste, a swirl of whipped cream and lots of powdered sugar on top. A unique take on the filling, Brett & Bailey blitzes almonds with the fluffy interior (the hollowed part of the bun) plus organic whole milk, which gives it a much creamier texture.
London markets
Semla bun: Fortitude Bakehouse
Long-fermented brioche dough with fig reduction, vanilla and orange flower water cream and powdered sugar on top. The sweet syrupy figs, the subtle orange note and the dough, so soft inside it barely requires any effort to cut or chew, this isn’t a traditional Swedish semla no, but Fortitude’s, a bakery in a league of its own.
35 Colonnade, London WC1N 1JA
Cinnamon bun semla: Scandinavian Kitchen
Cinnamon bun filled with cinnamon butter, smooth almond paste, a tower of whipped cream plus crunchy pearl sugars on top. Scandinavian Kitchen swaps the classic cardamom bun for a gooey, golden-brown kanelbullar, one of the many variations to find on the counter at the weekend.
61 Great Titchfield St., London W1W 7PP
Finnish semla: Dunn’s Bakery
Cardamom bun with custard-like almond paste, a glob of chunky blueberry compote, whipped cream, plus a light dusting of powdered sugar on top. Tangy and sweet and not entirely traditional, this is Dunn’s take on the Finnish bun for Fettisdagen.
6 The Broadway, London N8 9SN
Semla bun: Miel
Cardamom brioche with toasted almond paste and a mountain of crème Chantilly on top. A rich buttery bun from a classically trained pastry chef, it’s perhaps no surprise that Shaheen Peerbhai makes a very French, Swedish semla.
57 Warren St, London W1T 5NR
Semla bun: Sourdough Sophia
Cardamom brioche bun with almond paste – or pistachio paste – and a glob of cardamom-spiced white chocolate Chantilly on top. If the option of two different fillings isn’t enough, the cream is sweet with a soft vanilla flavour, a reason alone to make the trek.
24 Middle Ln, London N8 8PL
Semla bun: Curious Yellow Café
Crusty cardamom bun with dense, ultra-smooth almond paste, oodles of thick cream and a dusting of powdered sugar on top. The complete opposite to commercial semla in presentation, but it’s wholesome and so very Fika nonetheless.
77 Pitfield St, London N1 6BT
