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    Treat to Try: Celebrate Fat Tuesday with Semlor from Kittie’s

    Semla semla semla! It’s fun to say and funner to eat. Now, thanks to Kittie’s Cakes, we can experience this Lenten treat from Sweden. Well wait, Lent is the season when you’re supposed to abstain from the good stuff. So semla is a pre-Lent treat, actually: It’s more like a Fat Tuesday thing that the sweet shop is making available through February 21. 

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    A semla (or semlor in plural form) looks like a cream puff, right? That’s an exciting start, but looks can be deceiving. True, there is an ample amount of sweet, fluffy cream piped in the well beneath the powder-sugared pastry lid, but beneath that dreamy poof is a good-sized dose of something like marzipan: sweet, dense, a little almondy. And the pastry base itself is infused with cardamom to give it a hint of herby, fragrant goodness. A semla is entertaining to dissect in order to appreciate each element, but truly, we’re supposed to dive in and enjoy the transcendent composite experience. Dreamy. 

    Now, how have we lived so long without semlor here in Columbus? More importantly, how will we survive after it goes away? These are important questions, because a semla is to die for, literally. Legend has it that Sweden’s King Adolf Frederick is reported to have eaten himself to death in 1771 by finishing a meal with no less than 14 semlor. Of course, the meal beforehand was pretty epic (lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, champagne), but the pastry gets the blame. Perhaps that’s why the semlor are Fat Tuesday specials. They are part of a tradition of excess. No better way to go. 

    Kittie’s Cakes original location can be found in German Village at 495 S. Third St. It’s also got locations in Bexley (2424 E. Main St.) and Worthington (693 High St. via Highline Coffee), and the semlor make an appearance at all three establishments. 

    For more information, visit kittiescakes.com.

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    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
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