What is Fat Tuesday?
Fettisdagen simply means Fat Tuesday in English and is one of our most celebrated food days when whipped cream and almond rolls (Semlor) are eaten in almost every Swedish home and
cabin. During the entire season, we eat approximately 50 million Semlor in
Sweden!
Why do we celebrate Fat Tuesday?
The celebration of Fat Tuesday comes from the Christian holiday established when one eats properly (read, stuff yourself full) before the 40 days of fasting before Easter. In order to cope with this in
Sweden, you had three days to party and feast properly by eating a lot - often fatty food - and drinking a lot. They simply tried to build up a layer of extra fat in the body for the next forty days of fasting.
The names of the three days say a lot about what they were actually doing in their
cabins around
Sweden during this time. We have Pork Sunday, Blue Monday or Bun Monday, Pancake Day or Stone Cake Day, what later became Fat Tuesday, and it is only Fat Tuesday that we honor now in modern day.
During Lent, you were supposed to live spartanly, not eat meat or feast in any other way, so it was important to feast properly on Fat Tuesday. Semlor has been eaten on Fat Tuesday in every
Swedish house and
cabin before Lent since the Middle Ages, and it is said that King Adolf Fredrik died due to having greedily stuffed himself with 14 Semlor dipped in warm milk in the year 1771.
During your holiday in your rented
cabin, you too should try out some
Swedish Semlor. I have included a typical recipe for Semlor here underneath.
If you don’t feel for baking, you can simply purchase Semlor at any grocery store, bakery, or gas station, where you most often will find an abundance of different flavors of them.
Ingredients
The recipe is good for 12 buns/Semlor
Dough:
Milk 2 dl
Yeast 25 g
Wheat flour, about 4 dl (240 g) to use first
Wheat flour, about 3 dl (180 g) save this flour to use second
Egg 1
Salt ½ tsp
Crushed cardamom 1 tablespoon
Powdered sugar 1 dl
Butter, room temperature 100 g
Beaten egg for brushing 1
Filling:
Milk ½ dl
Almond paste of good quality 75 g
Almonds, coarsely chopped ½ dl
Whipped cream 2 dl
Powdered sugar
Directions
Heat the milk to a maximum of 37°. Crumble the yeast in a bowl, (If you’re using dry yeast, use accordingly to the instructions of dry yeast) Pour over the milk and stir until the yeast dissolves. Add 240 g of the wheat flour (4 dl). Mix and then let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Add 180 g wheat flour (3 dl), eggs, salt, ground cardamom and sugar. Work the butter into the dough in batches. Let the dough mix for 7-10 minutes in a food processor until a smooth dough that can easily let go around the edges of the bowl. Leave to rise under a towel for about 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and form into smooth round buns. Leave to rise on a baking sheet lined with baking paper for 1½-2 hours.
Set the oven to 210°. Brush the buns with a beaten egg and bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 min. Let cool.
Cut a lid off each bun. Scoop out some of the insides from the buns and mix it with milk, grated almond paste and chopped almonds. Fill the buns with the mixture.
Whip the heavy cream and place a dollop on each bun. Put the lids back on and dust the lid with powdered sugar.
All done!
We hope you enjoy your time in your rented
cabin, and that you give this Swedish delicate pastry a try, that has become one of
Sweden’s most loved staple pastries.
