Fabrique stenugnsbageri

Rating: 3 out of /5

It's instantly quite a visually striking semla. A reasonably modest 7.5cm tall, but a whopping 10cm wide. It's built like a rugby player.

At that width and 180g. It's large, despite the medium-classed height. It was nicely packaged in a brown cardboard box and neatly tied with string.

There's a mound of cream as pioneered by, for example, both Sébastien Boudet and Svedjan.

The dainty triangular lid has been pressed slightly into the smooth cushion of cream. I can see the cardamom, and I can see some almond paste at one side and a little more at the other side where it's run down the side of the bun.

In the first two bites there were lots of bun and cream, but a little too little paste.

The cream is very nice and smooth, it really is a cushion and I can imagine falling backwards eyes closed into its softness.

The paste is good. There's a nice balance between sugar and nuts. It contains roughly chopped nuts and a little bit of extra cardamom.

It's a good semla, but those extra couple of centimetres in width mean that it's only really good once you've eaten your way through the outer rim. The bun itself isn't as "morning soft" as I'd hoped, with the small triangular lid being particularly crispy.

I rated this semla marginally higher at this year's Thatsup semla test, so it is a good semla for one from a bakery chain - but there is a risk that your semla will be inconsistent.