Markus Ekelund of Thimons bakery in Nässjö combined two classic Swedish treats: the marzipan heavy princess cake (prinsesstårta) and the cream filled semla. The sugary monster of a result is the PrinsessSemla.
“I had the idea last year then worked on it. The idea was to combine the two most popular baked goods and make one thing from them,” Ekelund told The Local.
The hybrid has provoked strong emotions since the bakery unveiled it on their Facebook page earlier this week, receiving thousands of comments in response.
Some felt their wildest dreams had been fulfilled, like the commenter who wrote “Oh my, must taste!”. Others, such as a more conservative commenter who insisted “Against: Semlor are and shall always be semlor!”, were not so impressed.
Something tells us the bakery won’t be too bothered by the odd Facebook critic though. “We’re selling a lot of them. They’ve been really popular,” Ekelund revealed.
For any international readers visiting Sweden in the future, here’s why you should try one of the amalgamations according to the creator himself:
“It’s a little bit of both. So if you haven’t tried a princess cake, and you haven’t tried a semla, you get both in one thing.”
The cake definitely sounds more appealing than Ekelund’s previous attempt at a fresh take on the semla, which was 2016’s semoothie – a smoothie made out of semla cakes.
Swedes seem to have a particular thing for baking hybrid goods, beyond the standard cronut or doughssant. In 2015 The Local spoke to a Swedish cafe which made the equally controversial move of combining the semla with the saffron-filled lussebulle. Tempers flared.