IKEA

Rating: 2/5

A pack of two semlor for 35kr. That's an incredibly cheap at just 17.5kr each! The in-store signage bears quite an alarming resemblance to the Semlor.Info semla. I may have to talk to my legal department.

It's not the most stunning looking of semla. The cream looks white and frothy and resembles spray cream from a can but firmer. The icing sugar on the lid has dissolved a bit during its time in the box.

The box had a plastic window. This is something I don't like when purchasing from genuine artisan and independent bakeries, but in this context I'm actually pleased I could see the product before buying it.

Straight away, you notice it's sweet. The long list of ingredients shows that they use sugar, glucose syrup and inverted sugar plus icing sugar. The bun is tall and accounts for more than half the semla. The cream tastes slightly of cream, but lacks the intensity of the real whipped variety.

The bun is quite dry, but tastes better than I expected. There is a detectable taste of cardamom, which is also more than I expected!

The biggest disappointment is actually the amount of almond paste. It's a thin layer spread on the bun - a little bit like how you'd spread jam on a slice of toast.

It's at this point I realise that the IKEA semla graphic, which lacks any visible paste, is actually quite a realistic representation of the product!

The paste is very white and sweet but does have the feel of almonds as well as tasting of almonds. It's very much at the marzipan end of the scale. There are no chunks of nuts present, but they are using rape seed oil rather than palm oil (as a butter substitute in the bun).

Better than expected, 2/5.