Fastelavn, this sort of strange day which is said to have been a heathen spring celebration (in February?), but later became a Christian celebration marking the beginning of the fast.
Norwegians in general have only a vague idea about why we celebrate Fastelavn, but for most it’s just a good opportunity to feast on some fastelavnsboller. In this article you’ll find a recipe and how to make them.
What is a Fastelavnsbolle?
Bolle = bun. When you talk about boller in Norwegian (we are obsessed with them), then we refer to a sweet wheat bun. You find them in any grocery store, bakery, gas station, café etc.
A fastelavnsbolle however, is kind of an upgraded version of the bolle. It comes with a generous portion of whipped cream, jam and a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. YUM! I think a good translation to English would be Norwegian Luxury Buns.
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Recipe Fastelavnsboller
So how to make these delicacies? Well, the good news is that its fairly easy, and here is the recipe that I used:
12 buns
- 100 gram or 1/4 lb smør (butter)
- 1 liter or 4 cups of hvetemel (all purpose flour)
- 1 dl or 1/2 cup sukker (sugar)
- 0,5 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon malt kardemomme (cardamom powder)
- 3,5 dl or 1 ½ cup melk (milk)
- 1 teaspoon bakepulver (baking soda)
- 50 gram or 1,7 ounces gjær (yeast)
- 1 egg for brush on
Cream filling:
- 3 dl or 1 ½ cup kremfløte (cream)
- 12 tablespoons syltetøy (jam, some red fruit jam but not lingonberry)
- 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
I found this recipe at Matprat (only Norwegian).
Step by Step Guide
- Dice up the butter well in advance so it becomes room temperature.
- Add all purpose flour, sugar, salt, cardamom, milk and baking soda in a bowl. Break up the yeast into small pieces and add it as well.
- NOTE! The milk should be a bit heated/warm to activate the yeast. No more than 30 celsius (86 F).
- Knead the dough by hand or with a kitchen machine for 15 minutes.
- Add the diced butter and keep on kneading for another 10 minutes until the dough feels smooth, elastic and flexible.
- Cover up the dough and let it elevate for about 45 minutes until it doubles in size.
- Sprinkle some flour onto a surface and put the dough there. Split it up into 12 equally sized pieces. Now start rolling them into boller (buns). Let them elevate further in a warm place. In Norwegian we say “lun”, its basically a place with a stable temperature and no winds.
- Brush the buns with the whipped egg, og bake them in the middle of the oven at 200C (395F) for 10-15 minutes. Let them cool off on a grate.
- Make the whipped cream. It should be a bit firm.
- Cut the top of the buns and add jam and whipped cream. Sprinkle over a layer of powdered suger.
Vel bekomme! Enjoy!
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Thank you, tusen takk!
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