Melt the butter and mix with the milk. If you use fresh yeast, crumble into a bowl and pour over the buttermilk. Stir until yeast has dissolved. Add all other ingredients and work the dough thoroughly until it's nice and bouncy. Let the dough prove until double in size - about 45 mins to an hour. Form the buns, about the size of golfballs and put on a greased baking sheet. Let the buns prove another 30 minutes under a towel and then bake 8 -10 minutes at 250°C/Gas mark 7.

FILLING
Almond paste or frangipani, with a fancier word. You can buy it ready made, or you can make your own: 1 part flaked or blanched almonds, 1 part caster sugar and 1 part icing sugar. Run through the blender until it's totally crumbly, then add a little bit of liquid - either egg white or water - until sticky.

Cut a thin lid off the top of the buns and remove a little of the inside. Mix with your almond paste and add cream so it's the consistency of thick oatmeal. Put a spoonful of the mixture in each bun. At this stage the buns are suitable for freezing. If you freeze them, defrost before finishing the Semlas and serving them.
Add a big dollop of whipped cream. Gently put the lid on top and press down. Dust over icing sugar just before serving.

In some parts of Sweden, semlor are eaten out of a bowl with hot milk, known as 'Hetvägg'.

Image borrowed from ica.se