Delicacy of the Day

This is what millions of Swedes have been eating today. Well, actually some untraditional bakers started making them right after Christmas and some likewise untraditional consumers have been stuffing themselves with them since that time too...

We call them "fastlagsbullar" or "semlor" (further north). They were traditionally eaten before the forty days of fasting prior to Easter started.

I only eat one of them a year and only on this day!

The recipe below for the delicacy comes from this website Hovkonditorn. Passion for food and baking. This is the traditional version of the buns.

Dough
5 dl milk
50 g yeast / 2 bags dried yeast
2 dl sugar
½ tbsp ground cardamom
2 tsp salt
1 ägg
200 g butter, melted
15 dl flour

Filling
almond paste / jam
whipped cream

Heat milk to 37C. Stir in yeast, melted butter, sugar, salt, and ground cardamom. Add flour into mixture until dough is firm and pulls away from the side of your bowl. Cover the dough in the mixing bowl with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Punch down the dough, then remove from bowl. On a floured base, knead dough lightly until smooth and shiny. Shape into round balls and let rise another 20 min. Brush with egg and bake in 225 degree oven about 10 minutes. Fill buns with almond paste or jam and whipped cream.

You can easily make your own almond paste; equal parts almond flour and powdered sugar whipped with an electric mixer, add a splash of water at a time to a good consistency.