This recipe is for a tender, juicy and incredibly delicious Swedish Mini Semla Cakes. They are made with easy and healthy ingredients and really easy to make. Make them for Shrove Tuesday or bake them for any occasion that calls for a delicious and cute cake or dessert. These Swedish Mini Semla Cakes are gluten, oil and sugar free.
I guess Sweden is most known for Swedish Cinnamon Buns… and meatballs. Yep, at least that’s what I always hear while talking to people abroad. But we actually do have a few more classic Swedish foods and pastries, that are less know abroad. During Christmas we eat saffron buns, for Midsummer we make strawberry cake… and in February we eat Semla. A classic semla is a yeast wheat bun filled with almond paste/marsipan and topped with whipped cream. Traditionally it was eaten during the official Semla day named “Fettisdagen” (Shrove Tuesday). But nowadays they’re sold from early January. A never ending debate that is lively discussed during “fika” (Swedish word for coffee and cake that you have in the afternoon) is the almond paste to whipped cream ratio in a perfect Semla. But also if the almond paste/marsipan should be smooth or slightly chunky. How sweet should the cream be? Do you lick the cream off the lid and use it to scoop more creams or eat the lid first, then dig into the rest of the Semla, ending up with cream on your nose. Some people argue the one and only way of eating a Semla is the traditional old-style way, where you place your smell in a bowl of hot milk and eat it using a spoon. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect Semla and how it should be eaten. I would say most Sweden love to eat Semla… but unfortunately Im not one of them. I find them quite boring and just overwhelming. But I do like the idea of cardamom in a cake, I love almond paste and a little whipped cream never hurt nobody. So I made these mini cake versions of a classic Semla. They have a base of tender, juicy and light cardamom cake baked with applesauce and yogurt. A lovely almond paste swirl in the middle that add crunch and a nutty flavor, but also make the cake more tender. Then topped with more home made almond paste, whipped cream, grind cardamom seeds and chopped almonds just before serving. These Mini Semla Cakes are great to make for dessert or to have as an afternoon snack. The amount of whipped cream can be adjusted according to taste and preferences.
A few tips:
- Start by making the almond paste since it will be used both in the cake and later when assembling the mini cakes.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar for the cake batter and liquid sweetener for the almond paste depending on how sweet you prefer it.
- The cake can be baked in advance and assembled later on when ready to serve. Make sure you have enough time for the mini cakes to cool completely before assembling them, to avoid the almond paste and cream from melting.
- You can whip the cream just as it is or add powdered sugar according to taste.
- I use I piping bag to pip the almond paste and cream on top of the cakes. You can also just spread the almond paste and whipped cream using a spoon.
- Something that makes these mini cakes extra tasty and delicious is the grind cardamom seeds and chopped almonds on top. It adds some extra crunch and texture to it. I also like to sprinkle some powdered sugar on top.
- I think these Mini Semla Cakes taste best then they’re freshly assembled, hence I only assembly as many as I need at that time.
- You can use full fat cream or reduced fat, depending on what you prefer. Just make sure you use a cream that is whippable.
- Store these Semla Mini Cakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.
Ingredients for these Swedish Mini Semla Cakes:
- Eggs
- Sugar free granulated sweetener
- Yogurt
- Applesauce
- Oat flour
- Almond flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cardamom seeds
- Almonds
- Almond flour
- Fiber syrup, honey or agave
- Water
- Cream
- Sugar free powdered sugar
Other recipes you might like:
- Swedish Semla Muffins (Vegan, Gluten & Sugar Free)
- Swedish Tosca Muffins – Swedish Caramel Nut Muffins (Gluten, Oil & Sugar Free)
- Healthier Swedish Cinnamon Buns/Kanelbullar (Gluten & Sugar Free)
- Lussebullar/Saffron Buns (Gluten & Sugar Free, Lower in Fat)
- Pear Pudding Cakes (Gluten, Nut & Sugar Free)
- Lingonberry Cardamom Cake with Sour Cream (Gluten, Nut & Sugar Free)
- Mini Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes (Gluten, Nut & Sugar Free)
- Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Cale (Gluten, Nut & Sugar Free)
- Swedish Semla Porridge (Vegan, Gluten & Sugar Free)
- Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins with Oat Crumble (Gluten & Sugar Free)
- Pear & Pecan Muffins (Vegan, Gluten, Sugar Free, Naturally Sweetened with Fruits)
- Mini Strawberry Cake (Vegan, Gluten & Dairy & Sugar Free)
- Carrot Cake Muffin Cups (Vegan, Gluten & Sugar Free)
Swedish Mini Semla Cakes (Gluten, Oil & Sugar Free)
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 2 Egg
- 1/2-3/4 dl Sugar free granulated sweetener
- 1/2 dl Yogurt
- 1/2 dl Apple sauce
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 dl Oat flour
- 1/3 dl Almond flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/3 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds
Almond paste
- 2 1/2 dl Almonds (I used dry roasted and salted, you can use any you like)
- 1 dl Almond flour (you can also use oat flour)
- 5 tbsp Fiber syrup, honey or agave
- 3-5 tbsp Water (depending on how thick you prefer your almond paste)
For the cream
- 3 dl Cream
- 1/4-1/2 dl Sugar free powdered sugar (depending on how sweet you like your cream, optional)
To top
- 2-3 Cardamom seeds
- 5-6 Almonds chopped
- Sugar free powdered sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
- Grease four muffins pans (or one larger loaf pan, or muffin tins).
- Add the ingredients for the almonds paste to a high speed blender and mix until smooth.
- In a bowl whisk together eggs and sugar until they start to look fluffy and pale.
- Add yogurt, apple sauce, vanilla extract and whisk just until combined.
- Grind the cardamom seeds in a coffee grinder or mortal.
- Combine oat flour, almond flour, cardamom, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl.
- Pour dry ingredients into the wet, whisk gently just until combined.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared molds.
- Add about 1/4-1/3 of the almond paste in the middle lengthwise, top with the rest of the batter. (Save the rest of the almond paste for later).
- Place in the oven, bake for 16-20 min. Remove from the oven, let them cool completely.
- Whisk cream together with powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
- Spread or pip the remaining almond paste over the top of the muffin loafs.
- Next spread or pip the whipped cream over the almond paste.
- Top with ground cardamom, chopped almonds and powdered sugar.