• recipes
    • small plates
    • large plates
    • sweets
    • baking
    • salads and soups
    • breakfasts
    • pantry staples
    • drinks
  • about
  • contact
Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Vegan semla

February 13, 2021 by Ania - 21

comfort food, refined sugar-freego to recipe

go to recipe

vegan semla buns crosssection

I’m so excited about today’s recipe as I’ve been meaning to tackle it for a while and I never quite got to it in time, in time for Shrove Tuesday (which falls, a little early this year, on the 16th of February) as this is when these beautiful cardamom buns get very very popular in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Estonia! That’s right, while the UK gorges itself on pancakes, the Scandinavian lot stuff their faces with marzipan filled cream buns. I know which camp I am in!

These photogenic little buns are very far from being vegan traditionally so I’ve decided to rectify this and offer my fellow vegans a plant-based take on these beauties. The dough is traditionally enriched with butter and milk, which I simply swapped out for almond milk and a smidge of fragrance free coconut oil but vegan butter works just as well. Once baked, the buns are carved and filled with marzipan (Duncan is a very happy bunny these days and he loves marzipan and he has already had a bunch of these), which often contains raw eggs and topped with a generous amount of whipped cream, which is as unvegan as it gets.

My initial idea was to create a cashew-based cream to top these beauties with but it’s a bit of a faff and while it’s creamy it doesn’t have the lightness of whipped cream. So I’ve also decided to experiment with a much simpler topping and as we found them both satisfying, take your pick. My easy option is to use thick vegan coconut yoghurt as it’s much lighter and while it does taste of coconut, something I was trying to avoid initially, I don’t actually find it jarring with the flavour of cardamom and marzipan. If you cannot get hold of one, you can always make whipped coconut cream yourself from a well chilled can of full fat coconut milk. Failing that, I’ve included a recipe for cashew coconut cream stiffened with agar agar, which is creamy, indulgent and with a more neutral taste.

I’ve opted for making these guys quite small as I love small things and my rationale is that they are already really indulgent and if you really want to go into a semla-induced food coma, you can certainly have more than one. I hope you’ll give these buns a crack and enjoy them as much we have.

If you make my vegan semla don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

vegan semla unbaked buns filling

vegan semla baked buns filling

vegan semla buns

vegan semla buns icing sugar

5.00 from 2 votes
Print
  • makes: 8
  • prep: 45 min
  • cooking: 20 min

Ingredients

DOUGH

  • 250 g / 2 cups all purpose wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
  • ¼ tsp fine salt
  • 1¼ tsp ground cardamom (freshly ground is best)
  • 7 g / 2¼ tsp instant dried yeast
  • 65 g / 1/3 cup sugar (coconut sugar if refined sugar-free)
  • 135 – 150 ml / ½ cup + 1-2 tbsp lukewarm plant milk
  • 30 g / 2 heaped tbsp mild coconut oil (or vegan butter)
  • vegan ‘eggwash’ – 2 tsp plant milk + 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 9 g / 1 tbsp icing sugar, for serving (optional)

ALMOND FILLING

  • 100 g / 1 cup finely ground almonds / almond flour
  • 75 ml / 5 tbsp maple syrup OR 40 g / 5 tbsp icing sugar (+ plant milk)
  • a good pinch of ground cardamom
  • ½ tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

CREAM simple version

  • 350 g / heaped 1½ cups thick coconut yoghurt (I used The Coconut Collaborative), chilled or whipped coconut cream*
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)

CREAM

  • 210 g / 1 cup coconut cream*
  • 130 g / 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar or maple syrup (optional)
  • 2 tsp agar powder

Method

DOUGH

  1. Mix the flour, salt, cardamom, instant yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Pour in lukewarm (around 40° C / 105° F) plant milk. Bring all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
  3. When the mixture has mostly stuck together, turn the mixture out on to a work surface.
  4. Knead the mixture by holding one end of the dough in one hand and stretching it out with the other hand. Reform the dough, turn it 90 degrees and start again. Repeat this for about 5 minutes, then work the coconut oil into the dough. To begin with the dough will be slippery and it will tear easily, it will look like it’s been ruined. Keep working it and eventually all the fat will get absorbed by the dough and it will become elastic and smooth (it takes about 10 minutes).
  5. Put the dough in a large clean bowl, coat it in a thin layer of oil and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Set aside, in a warm (but not too warm) place until the dough doubles in size (2 hrs or more). Proceed to make the filling and the cream.
  6. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch all the air out of it and divide it into 8 identical portions.
  7. Form each portion of dough into a ball, making sure the seam is at the bottom. Place on a baking tray, cover with a kitchen towel and set aside for another 45-60 minutes for the buns to proof for the second time.
  8. Towards the end of the proofing time, preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F (no fan).
  9. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven and cover the pans with a damp kitchen towel to prevent the hard crust from forming. Allow them to cool completely.
  10. Once cool, cut off 1/3 of each bun and set aside. Scoop a bit of crumb out to make some room for the almond filling. The scooped out crumb can be incorporated into the marzipan filling, but I’ve decided against doing that.

ALMOND FILLING

  1. Put all of the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. If using icing sugar instead of maple syrup, add enough plant milk (approx. 60 ml / ¼ cup) to loosen up the consistency.
  2. Using a silicone spatula or back of a spoon rub all of the ingredients into each other until you get a thick paste. If the paste seems too dry, add a small amount of plant milk to help it along.

CREAM simple version

  1. If you want to sweeten the cream (I don’t think it’s necessary), sift icing sugar over the yoghurt and fold it in using a gentle folding motion. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until you are ready to pipe.

CREAM

  1. Blend coconut cream, drained cashews and sweetener (if using) until super smooth in a blender. If your blender has trouble catching on, warm up a portion of the coconut cream to make it more liquid and return to the blender.
  2. Transfer the mixture to a medium pot. Sprinkle 2 tsp of agar agar powder (not flakes) over the mixture and allow it to rehydrate for 10 minutes.
  3. After 10 minutes, bring the mixture to a gentle boil whisking the entire time so that there are no lumps. Simmer for a minute or so and the mixture should visibly thicken. If it thickens too much, add a splash of plant milk to loosen it up.
  4. Refrigerate for a few hours to thicken, whisk well and adjust the consistency if needed before transferring to a piping bag.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Fill the scooped up buns with almond filling so that it’s level with the cut.
  2. Pipe cold cream over the top and cover with the cut off bun top. Sprinkle with icing sugar if you wish.

Notes

*The solid part that floats to the top of a can of full fat coconut milk after prolonged chilling (at least 48 hrs in the fridge, to be sure I recommend a few days). For this to work you need a brand that does not contain gums or stabilisers as they inhibit the naturally occurring separation process.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
SHARE
vegan meatballs tomato sauce cut
Previous:
Meaty vegan meatballs in tomato sauce
Next post:
Roasted leek and cauliflower pasta
roasted leek cauliflower pasta portion

get a sweet e-book

on joining our mailing list

I’d like to receive new recipe emails and a link to your free e-book.
(By submitting this form you agree to our privacy policy.)
This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

You may also like

vegan mince pies baked

Vegan mince pies

vegan apple pancakes stack

Vegan apple pancakes

vegan custart tarts plate

Vegan custard tarts

vegan jagodzianki blueberry bunscut open

Vegan jagodzianki – Polish blueberry buns

    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Lynn Bulock says

    February 13, 2021 at 9:49 pm

    Shrove Tuesday is three days from now, February 16, not March. So we need to hustle to make your tasty goodies.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 14, 2021 at 1:31 am

      Oh that’s what I meant to write, which is why I published this recipe today. Will correct now, thank you! x Ania

      Reply
  2. Alice says

    February 14, 2021 at 6:37 am

    They are sold like butter here in Sweden and there are so many remakes of the typical semla now days. In denmark and norway they are apparently not filled with marzipan but with jam instead (don’t know how it is in finland and eatonia) so i would say you have made a typical Semla, a swedish semla 🙏

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 15, 2021 at 1:58 pm

      Thanks Alice. It’s good to know although I talked to my Danish and Estonian friend before posting this recipe and neither of them mentioned these differences…maybe they didn’t think it was important. I must say that for me personally, marzipan trumps all other fillings so this is the one I would have chosen anyway 🙂 x Ania

      Reply
  3. Maureen says

    February 14, 2021 at 9:16 am

    You had me at marzipan! I have a lot of almond paste left over from my Christmas stollens (which had a significant amount of cardamom in the dough!) so have bookmarked this recipe – I have a can of coconut whipping cream sitting in the fridge… :).

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 15, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      Sounds a like a bit of a food fate to me, Maureen! I hope you’ll enjoy the result. x Ania

      Reply
  4. Lisa Freeman says

    February 14, 2021 at 9:37 am

    Love the idea of making these today but don’t have wheat flour in the house. Could I do a straight swap of plain white flour instead of wheat ?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 15, 2021 at 1:54 pm

      Hi Lisa,

      I think there may be a misunderstanding there, plain flour is the same as all purpose wheat flour and that’s exactly what I used in my recipe. Hope you’ll enjoy these. Ania

      Reply
  5. Veronica says

    February 14, 2021 at 10:17 am

    Love that you have a recipe of a Swedish treat, I am from Sweden myself. 😊 With the risk of sounding blasphemous, I must confess that I have never been a big fan of semlas, (😱) I don’t like the big clump of marzipan, but here is a tip for other people feeling the same; just stir the marzipan with the whipped coconut cream, or replace it with vanilla custard. You should try it, it is delicious!😋

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 15, 2021 at 1:42 pm

      Sounds equally lovely although in my household marzipan is very popular so there will be an outcry if I did that 😉 Thanks for the tips, perhaps other readers will find them helpful. x Ania

      PS: isn’t ‘semala’ already plural? Did I get that wrong?

      Reply
  6. Anneke says

    February 14, 2021 at 2:26 pm

    Vastlakukkel in Estonian and laskiaispulla in Finnish ☺️ Deffo gonna make these today, and gonna find a hill with a little bit of snow to have a long slide for a prosperity in the household 🤷‍♀️
    PS the legend is that King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771 after consuming a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne, which was topped off by fourteen helpings of hetvägg (semla), the king’s favorite dessert. (Wikipedia) The moral: just eat semlor and nothing bad will happen 😅

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 15, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      Hahaha, sounds awesome and I’m happy to oblige (I’ve eaten enough to avoid calamity for several lifetimes!). Hope you’ll enjoy my plant-based take on these! x Ania

      Reply
  7. Basia says

    February 14, 2021 at 7:28 pm

    These look super yummy! Quick question re ground cardamon: is it just the seeds or the whole pods + seeds that are ground?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 15, 2021 at 1:44 pm

      Hi Basia,

      It’s just the little black seeds that you find inside the pod that are ground. Hope you’ll enjoy them! x Ania

      Reply
  8. Samantha says

    February 16, 2021 at 8:07 pm

    Hi, I tried these with gluten free flour and they didn’t rise at all! Any tips for using gluten free flour? Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 16, 2021 at 9:25 pm

      Hi Samantha,

      Unfortunately gluten-free baking isn’t as simple as replacing the flour in yeasted baked goods as gluten plays a vital role when it comes to getting the dough to raise and in the final texture. I have not tried making these or any other yeast buns gluten-free so I am not sure, but there are blogs out there which specialise in gluten-free dough so I’m sure you will find some tips. Ania

      Reply
  9. Ethaar says

    February 17, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    Had never heard of Semla before but the amazing photos were so tempting I thought I had to try out. Very easy (and fun!) recipe to make and they really are delicious. I will defo be making these again in the very near future 😉. Thank you so much for sharing recipe 😉.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 17, 2021 at 9:19 pm

      Thank you so much, Ethaar! I’m delighted that you enjoyed both making and eating them. The photos you posted on my FB were stunning, you nailed it. x Ania

      Reply
  10. Veronica says

    February 18, 2021 at 10:10 am

    Hi Ania,

    Most people here enjoy their semlas with marzipan too, it is just nice to have options. 😊

    (PS. Semla is singular and in Swedish it is “semlor” in plural which translates to semlas in English. We have the same problem when using English words as they were Swedish, using the Swedish plural form on English words make them sound odd sometimes. 😄)

    Reply
    • Ania says

      February 18, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      Ah, how annoying, I double checked this and the first thing that came up said that semla is plural. Now, I realise that is wrong. Thank you for letting me know, I will correct asap. For me personally, jam does not sound anywhere near as exciting as marzipan filling, but if someone offered me jam filled semla I am sure I would devour them without any hesitation 😉 (as long as they were vegan of, course). What can I say, I AM GREEDY! x Ania

      Reply
  11. Veronica says

    February 19, 2021 at 9:32 am

    I have never had a jam filled semla but it actually sounds yummy! 😀

    Yesterday I went into a chocolate truffle store that also sold small semlas; the regular ones and those filled with chocolate marzipan, and others that had chocolate Amaretto (almond liqueur ) and chocolate mixed with the cream. I am not a big fan of alcohol in baked goods myself, but it shows you can mix them up however you like as long as you keep the bun and (vegan) cream. That intrigues me; I wonder what my ideal semla would look like…perhaps a gf bun made from sorghum flour, some oat flour and soaked, puréed buckwheat kernels, and filled with a silky hazelnut chocolate nut butter and chopped almonds, topped with vanilla scented vegan cream… 🤔😋

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Fields marked as * are mandatory
This form collects your name and email so that we can correspond with you and display your name and the content of your comment. Check out our privacy policy for more information.

I consent to having Lazy Cat Kitchen collect my name and email

Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
read more

Follow us on insta

Not sure about you but I have a hankering for nood Not sure about you but I have a hankering for noodles and not much time on my hands this week so these simple #satay #noodles have been a real life saver! Easy and quick to make, can be made both #oilfree and #glutenfree too! Enjoy 🤗😘Recipe link in my bio 👈 or 🏃‍♀️ to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe!#easymeals #veganmeals #vegannoodles #glutenfreevegan #sataysauce #peanutbutterlover #easyveganmeals #easydinner #easycooking #easyrecipe #easyfood #easyvegan #meatless #vegancomfortfood #veganbowl #eatwellbewell #eatplants #eattherainbow #veganlunch
What if I told you that there is only 6 pantry sta What if I told you that there is only 6 pantry staple ingredients that stand between you and a tray of fudgy on the inside and crispy on the outside #veganbrownies ? They are unapologetically indulgent but weekend plays by different rules so, hurry, get your oven on!recipe link in my bio or 🏃‍♀️ to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe...#vegandesserts #egglessbaking #veganbaking #aquafaba #vegandessert #veganbrownie #veganfoodporn #vegantreat #vegantreats #veganrecipeshare #veganfoodblogger #vegan #veganuk #easyveganrecipes #weekendbaking #vegantreat #vegantreats #veganrecipes #noeggs #veganrecipes
What's cooking this weekend, guys? I feel like a s What's cooking this weekend, guys? I feel like a some #vegancomfortfood as this week has been a bit hectic and I just realized I have the sauce for this #veganmoussaka already in my freezer 💡so it's a no brainer. It's delicious, indulgent yet #healthier than its traditional equivalent and it reminds me of how we moved to Greece on a bit of a whim in pre-pandemic times🤷‍♀️🤪recipe link in my bio 👈 if you fancy or Google 'vegan moussaka lazy cat kitchen'#veganchef #vegancooking #eatvegan #crueltyfreefood #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedprotein #veganrecipe #veganfoodblog #greekfood #dairyfreerecipes #meatlessmeals #healthierchoices #healthyvegan #vegandinner #weekendcooking #weekendtreat #veganaf #instavegan
On the blog, perfect #midweekdinner of roasted lee On the blog, perfect #midweekdinner of roasted leek and cauliflower #veganpasta that emerged from sad leftovers as I was too lazy to go food shopping 🙋‍♀️ Easy to make, full of flavour, creamy and really satisfying 😋#recipe link in my bio or 🏃‍♀️to lazycatkitchen.com and click on the latest post!#glutenfreevegan #easypasta #midweekmeals #cauliflowerrecipes #leek #easyveganrecipe #plantbased #plantbasedcooking #vegancooking #pastarecipe #pastalover #carblover #healthierchoices #dairyfreerecipes #dairyfreefood #veganrecipe #veganrecipeshare
Happy #veganpancake day, guys! If #crêpes aren't Happy #veganpancake day, guys! If #crêpes aren't your thing and you are after something quick and easy, these fluffy 1-bowl #veganpancakes might be just the ticket! They can be made #glutenfree too and best consumed to the tune of Jack Johnson's #bananapancakes song 🥞😋#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'fluffy vegan banana pancakes lazy cat kitchen' 🐈#pancakeday #pantrystaples #easyveganfood #easyveganrecipes #egglesspancakes #dairyfreerecipes #whatveganseat #whatfatveganseat #shrovetuesday #plantbasednutrition #plantbasedfood #veganfood #veganfoodshare #veganfortheanimals #fluffypancakes #onebowl #glutenfreevegan
Don't get me wrong, I do love #pancakes 🥞 and # Don't get me wrong, I do love #pancakes 🥞 and #crepes. This #veganpancake filled with ginger cream and roasted rhubarb is easy to make and utterly delicious 🤤👌#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'lazy cat kitchen buckwheat crepes'#veganpancakes #vegancrepes #vegancrepe #pancakeday #pancake #glutenfreevegan #vegantreats #easyveganrecipes #veganfoodblogger #veganfoodlover #veganfood #plantbased
While UK is going to gorge itself silly on pancake While UK is going to gorge itself silly on pancakes this coming Tuesday, most of the Northern European countries will pig out on marzipan filled cream buns, how is that fair??? I got a serious bout of bun envy and baked us a truckload of #vegansemla (that's what the Swedes call them). Who is with me? Pancakes are so last year...😜#recipe link in my bio 👈 or 🏃‍♀️ to lazycatkitchen.com to grab the latest recipe 🤓#whatfatveganseat #shrovetuesday #pancakeday #easyveganrecipes #vegandesserts #vegandessert #plantbased #vegantreats #veganfoodlover #feedfeed @thefeedfeed.vegan #bestofvegan #veganfoodshare #veganfood
If baking isn't your cup of tea, how about rolling If baking isn't your cup of tea, how about rolling some obscenely indulgent #amaretto #vegantruffles for your loved one 💕? It's a very old recipe but still a favourite of ours and while beetroot powder looks stunning, easier to get cocoa powder or chopped up almonds will work just as well!#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'lazy cat kitchen valentines amaretto truffles'#veganvalentines #veganvalentine #vegandesserts #vegandessert #whatveganseat #glutenfreevegan #plantbased #vegantreats #chocolatetruffles #easyveganfood #recipedeveloper #veganfoodlover #feedfeed @thefeedfeed.vegan
This #veganchocolate mousse and raspberry tart req This #veganchocolate mousse and raspberry tart requires no baking and is guaranteed to blow your loved ones 🧦 off. It's beautifully airy and a delicious marriage of #darkchocolate and tart #raspberries - an ideal #valentines dessert 💕#recipe link in my bio 👈 or Google 'lazy cat kitchen vegan chocolate mousse raspberry tart'#vegandesserts #vegandessert #veganvalentines #veganvalentine #easyveganfood #easyveganrecipes #veganfood #glutenfree #glutenfreevegan #veganfoodshare #refinedsugarfree #refinedsugarfreetreats #rawdessert #veganfoodlover #veganfoodie
Load More… Follow on Instagram
Lazy Cat Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca.

Follow Us On Pinterest

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy · Theme by Lazy Cat Themes · Logo by Sarah from The Small Object