Shrove Tuesday, or ‘Fettisdagen’ (Fat Tuesday) as the Swedes call it, is a day that we look forward to every year! Instead of indulging in pancakes at the beginning of Lent, the Scandinavians like to treat themselves to the delicious Semla. Semla is a cardamom bun that is cut, scooped and filled with almond paste and whipped cream.
Ahead of Fettisdagen on Tuesday 5th March we wanted to share an easy traditional recipe so all our Newbie lovers can create their very own. P.S. We will be having these yummy treats in store for you to enjoy 4th - 10th March! Mark your diaries.
Recipe:
Makes 16-18 buns
Ingredients:
Starter:
50 g of fresh yeast
1 cup of room temperature whole milk
100 g granulated sugar
350 g of all-purpose flour
Finish:
2.5 dl of room temperature whole milk
150 g of granulated sugar
200 g butter cut into pieces
10 g of salt
750 g of all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 tbs freshly ground cardamom
Almond paste:
100 sweet almonds
100 g of granulated sugar
Filling:
200 g almond paste
100 g toasted almonds with peel, coarsely chopped
50 g of granulated sugar
10 g vanilla powder
50-100 g of whole milk (start with the smaller amount and add more if you need)
For Decorating:
Whipped Cream
Icing sugar
Method:
Begin with the starter. Dissolve the yeast in the milk, either by hand or in a stand mixer. Add the sugar and flour and work everything to an elastic dough. About 5 minutes in the stand mixer or 10 minutes by hand. Cover the dough and leave to rise to double size in room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Add the ingredients of the finish to the starter and work until the dough is shiny and elastic. About 15 minutes by hand or 10 minutes in stand mixer. Don't cheat with this, you want a lot of gluten in the dough and a really elastic dough. On a floured surface, divide the dough into small pieces, all weighing about 70 grams each. Round-roll (roll) to smooth round buns and gently transfer them to a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Make sure to leave some space between the buns as they will grow to about double the size) Leave the buns covered to rise to about double the size.
While your buns rise, make the almond paste. Toast the almonds gently, let them cool and then mix almonds and sugar into a smooth almond paste. If it's too dry, try adding just a little bit of water. With this almond paste as base, make the filling. Mix (not in machine) together all ingredients for the filling until it has come together to a nice smooth paste with some chunky almond bits in it.
Bake the buns in the middle of the oven at about 225 °C (430 F) for about 10-13 minutes until they are golden. Let cool on a wire rack.
Cut the lids of the bun with a pair of scissors (or use a knife). Make a small well in the middle by taking some of the inside out with a fork. Fill this hole with the filling, the larger the hole the more filling (and you want a lot of filling!) Top with as much whipped cream as desired. Put the lid on gently and sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve your delicious Fat-Tuesday buns immediately.