Mmmmm... the Semla!

If you are travelling to Sweden anytime between now and Easter, you will notice an odd looking pastry in every bakery and café window. This is called a semla (plural: semlor). Originally the semla was eaten on Shrove Tuesday before Lent, but these days semlor abound in the months between now and Easter. Semlor consist of a hallowed out wheat bun, spiced with cardamom, filled with a mixture of bread crumbs, almond paste and milk topped with whipped cream. Quite the calorie bomb! They are either eaten plain with coffee or tea or served in a bowl of warm milk. Swedes generally love their semlor and local newspapers usually come out every year with a list of which bakery/café has the best semlor in town with a panel discussing what makes the perfect semla. Swedes will travel far for a good semla. If you are interested in trying one of these delectable treats while in Stockholm, then you don't have to travel far... they are sold in the Café Rival- made fresh in our bakery!
A bit of semla trivia: King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden ("the king who ate himself to death"- ruled during the 1700's) died of digestive problems after consuming 14 servings of his favorite dessert: a semla in a bowl of warm milk! A case of too much of a good thing... so, be careful of how many you eat!