Helena’s Lent “Buns” or Fat Tuesday “Rolls” a.k.a.: The Swedish “Semla”

Lent is here!!! It began on Ash Wednesday which fell on February 17^th this year. Sooo, it’s time to start fasting my friends, and give up certain luxuries in order to replicate the account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days.

As a typical non-religious Swede, I never really paid attention to this event, although I had heard it referenced in traditional Swedish Christmas songs since I was a kid. But I never understood what it actually meant or entailed. However, now that I live in Portugal, which is a very Catholic country, I always hear about “Quaresma”. I also hear my husband Bernardo’s grandma, mother, aunts, sisters and cousins every year talk about how they’re giving up chocolate or some other “sin” until Holy Week.

Then, a few winters ago when I one day started desperately longing for a Swedish “semla” (and decided to make them myself since you can’t get them in Lisbon), it suddenly occurred to me that this yummy dessert is Sweden’s contribution to the Christian Lent! To be more precise, you’re supposed to eat “semla” on the day BEFORE the Lent fasting begins, which is on Fat Tuesday (or Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday). Which is, what the Portuguese and Brazilians call Terça-Feira de Carnaval (Carnival Tuesday)!

Fat Tuesday reflects the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual Lenten sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season. What better way to welcome this fasting season by feasting on this heavenly divine, tasty AND CALORIC cardamom bun filled with a creamy almond paste, whipped cream and powdered sugar?!

Now, I have to make a confession... Most Swedes, including myself, do not just eat “semla” on Fat Tuesday. We actually keep eating it THROUGH Lent. That is how delicious it is! What can I say? The temptation just overpowers us! And even though we’re culturally Christian, don’t forget that we are also, after all, part Pagan. So, keep baking and devouring them for the next few weeks. The Viking gods in Valhalla will forgive you, I promise!

Before I share this recipe, I must also inform you that there are two official ways to eat this dessert: Either as a stand-alone dessert or in a bowl with hot milk, which in Swedish is called “hetvägg” (i.e., hot wall). Also, as I Googled “semla”, I saw that neighboring countries, such as Denmark, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Faroe Islands, also eat “semla”. But let’s be honest here. This is a Swedish dessert! OK? As Caroline and Pia are well aware of, ALL great inventions come from Sweden: Absolut Vodka, the zipper, the pace maker, Celsius, ball bearings, the Coca Cola bottle, dynamite, Ikea, Volvo, Skype, Spotify, … and “semla”. ;)

Ingredients:

Dough (22 buns):

· 500 ml fresh, whole milk (should be 30ºC so that the dough rises slowly and more flavor develops)

· 50 g fresh yeast

· Approx. 850 g all-purpose wheat flour (stop adding flour and kneading when dough is stable, shiny and most of it comes off the bowl, but still a tiny bit sticky)

· 150 g soft unsalted butter (make sure it’s soft due to room temperature, NOT melted)

· 1 dl white, granulated sugar

· 2 teaspoons ground cardamom seeds (preferably freshly peeled seeds without the shell ground in a mortar)

· ½ teaspoon of salt (normal fine table salt)

Egg Wash (optional):

Whisk together:

· 1 egg

· 1 pinch of salt

· 1 teaspoon or less of water

Filling Ingredients for the Buns:

Filling 1:

Mix following ingredients in a food processor:

· 200 g skinned/blanched then ground almonds

· 200 g powdered sugar

· 2 egg whites

Then mix this paste with 150ml fresh, whole milk to obtain a final, creamy almond paste filling.

Filling 2:

· 6 dl whipped cream

Garnish:

· Powdered sugar

Method:

1. Heat the milk in a pan to 30ºC.

2. Crumble the yeast into a bowl or into your mixer.

3. Dissolve the yeast with the milk. Once completely dissolved, add sugar, salt and cardamom.

4. Add the flour slowly and knead the dough smoothly (don’t use too much flour, then the dough becomes “flour heavy” and hard).

5. Add the soft butter and continue to knead until it’s smooth, shiny and not too sticky.

6. Cover the dough in the bowl with plastic film and kitchen towel and let it rise to twice its size for about an hour (the time depends on the room’s temperature).

7. Take out the dough, knead for 2-3 minutes, and divide into 22 pieces (about 75 g each).

8. Roll the pieces into round balls and put them on a baking tray with parchment paper.

9. Cover the balls on the baking tray with a clean kitchen towel and allow them to rise until almost double in size for approx. 30 minutes (depending on the room’s temperature).

10. Optional: Before putting the tray in the oven, brush the buns with the beaten egg mix (see egg wash ingredients above).

11. Bake in a preheated oven of 225ºC for about 10 min (or until golden brown on top as well as underneath). Then let them cool on the baking tray.

12. Cut off the lid of each bun. The lid should be round or triangular. Cut in a downward angle so that you have a nice hole to fill with the almond paste.