A Swedish Fat Tuesday - Semlor

What is Fat Tuesday?

Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fettisdagen - they are all the same day recognizing the 40 days of fasting preceding Easter known as Lent. (Easter is 47 days after Shrove Tuesday; Lent lasts the first 40 leading to Palm Sunday.)
During Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday following Shrove Tuesday, many Christian denominations sacrifice foods that give pleasure and take time to reflect on the absolution and confession of sins. Rich or luxurious foods such as meats, sugar, dairy, and eggs are frequently the foods abstained from during Lent, so the day(s) before the Lenten fast are used as a way to consume those foods hanging around the pantry - basically fattening up before the fast and eating as many 'forbidden' foods as possible.

The Foods of Fat Tuesday

On Shrove Tuesday, Christian denominations all over the world (and even some of us without any religious loyalties), celebrate with ritualistic and ceremonial foods and events. Dancing, parades, music, costumes, and culinary excesses bring the flashy sights, sounds, and flavours of Mardi Gras to both streets and homes with regional and cultural variations.

In Canada, Pancake Day is exactly that, pancakes served everywhere for dinner, preferably with real maple syrup. In Brazil or other Portuguese or Italian speaking countries the day is celebrated with Carnival, which derives from the words, carne and levare, meaning "to take away meat" where malasadas, lard-fried pastries,  are often served. In New Orleans, a celebration and carnival beginning on Epiphany Day ends with Mardi Gras, where lavish, colourful pastries called King Cakes are served. Typically a coin or baby Jesus doll is hidden inside the ring-shaped cake and whomever is served the trinket is responsible for making the cake for the next years festivities. 

In Sweden, Fattisdagen is celebrated with another rich pastry, the semla. Semlor (plural of semla) are baked cardamom sweet buns filled with almond paste and whipped cream. Although the pastries were at one time only served on Fattisdagen, they now appear on bakery shelves as early as Christmas until as late as Easter. During Lent the buns are sometimes consumed for dessert each and every Tuesday in a bowl of warm milk, making every Tuesday Fattisdagen.

Rich? Check. Luxurious? Check. Sinful? Check check.

Semlor - Recipe

Makes approx. 25 small semlor

Sweet Buns:
450 g all-purpose flour
44 g sugar
7 g instant yeast
44 g milk powder
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup warm water (approx.)

Almond Paste:
1 cup ground almonds
1/8 tsp almond extract
4 Tbsp honey
1 cup sweet bun crumbs
2-3 Tbsp milk or cream, as needed

Whipped Cream & Garnish:
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp powdered sugar

• To make sweet buns: combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with your hands, kneading lightly, to make a smooth dough. Alternately, use a dough hook with a stand-mixer to combine. Shape dough into a large ball, cover and let rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

• Divide dough into walnut-sized pieces, about 25 grams in weight, and shape into tight round balls. Place on parchment lined baking trays, cover with a dry cloth and let rise until doubled again in size, about 45 mins.

• Bake buns in a preheated 450°F oven for about 5-7 minutes until just baked and tops are golden brown. Remove from trays and allow to cool completely on cooling racks.

• Once the buns are cool, slice the top third from each bun and using a spoon or your fingers, remove the interior crumbs and reserve for the almond paste filling. Reserve the tops for capping the filled buns.

• To make almond paste: place ground almonds, extract, and honey in a food processor. Pulse until a smooth texture has formed. Add reserved bun crumbs and add a few tablespoons of milk or cream to the mixture. Pulse again until a smooth paste has reformed, using as much liquid to thin as necessary.

• Prepare the whipped cream by combining the cream and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar together until stiff peaks form. Keep cold until needed.

• To assemble the semlor: spoon the almond paste into the hollowed-out sweet buns. Top with piped or spooned whipped cream and place reserved bun tops on the pastries. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with coffee for fica or dessert.
  

Semlor are best served the day of but can be stored in the refrigerator overnight.