Semlor - 8th of March Fettisdagen - A warm Swedish tradition

In the beginning, we only ate this marzipan paste and creamed filled sweet bun on "fettisdagen" (translated the fat day). Later, when the swedish people started to loose an interest in fasting, did it become a tradition to eat this gorgeous fatty bun every tuesday on during the 7 weeks of fasting.

Today, you can buy a Semla just after Christmas all the was up to Easter.

Accordingly to tradition, this desert started as a flat bun which was the only thing accepted to eat during fasting. To make this food last, people started to make holes in the bun and fill it will other treats, and with time it became marzipan paste and wiped cream which is now seen as the true Semla ingredients in Sweden.

This would be the background to why the semla is eaten on "fettisdagen and all the way up to easter.

I love this creamy bun, reminds me of my childhood and i remember thinking it was a sign of spring and that the long Scandinavian winter might soon be over. :)

Ingredients:

50 g yeast

3 dl milk

75 g butter

1 egg

0,5 dl caster sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ammonium bicarbonate

1 liter  all purpose flour

For the egg wash: 1 egg

Filling:

200 g marzipan (almond paste) 

If you want to make this yourself, please see below.

6 tbs whipped cream

4 dl cream

icing sugar

Makes 40 mini Semlor

1. Melt the butter and add the milk, warm this to finger temperature, 37 degree's.

Add the yeast to the mix and stir till it's dissolve. Add the egg and sugar.

2. Seperate, take 1 dl of the flour and mix with the salt and the bicarbonate.

Add this to the liquid mix and then the rest of the flour. Save 1 dl of the flour to roll out the doug.

3. Let the doug rest under a clean kitchen cloth for 40 mins.

4. Flour the table and work the doug quickly.

5. Split it in to 2 big bites. Make 20 small balls of each side. Let these rest again for 30 minutes on a baking tray under a cloth.

6. Pencil each bun with the egg wash (beaten egg).

7. Bake in the middle of the oven at 175 degrees for approx 8 minutes.

8. Mix the Marzipan with a little cream to make it in to a smooth paste.

Cut of the top of the bun ( the hat for the cream ) and make a hole in the bun so you can fill it with the paste.

9. Whip the cream ( not to hard, you want it nice and smooth) and some icing sugar to sweeten if needed and sprits over the bun.

Add the "hat" and sprinkle over some icing sugar.

ENJOY