Semla is a traditional Swedish pastry. The name derives from the Latin semilia, which was the name used for the finest quality wheat flour. There are several different ways to eat a Semla and several different names for it, but the most common way today is to have the bun filled with marzipan and whipped cream and a lid of the bun covered with icing sugar.

It is traditional that the pastry is consumed on Shrove Tuesday, which in Sweden is known as Fettisdagen or "Fat Tuesday", but it is seasonally available from New Years until the start of Lent. Each Swede consumes on average five pieces of the pastry each year, not including the ones that are home made.

King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771 after consuming a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sour cabbage, smoked herring and champagne that was topped off by his favourite dessert Hetvägg, which is a Semla served in a bowl of milk.

See also: Swedish cuisine