Shrovetide buns - Fastelavnsboller
Shrovetide is the name for the 3 days preceding Ash Wednesday.
Lent is not observed in Norway any longer
but the tradition of Shrovetide survives from pre-reformation times.
Enough history - now to the important bit ...
Shrovetide Buns
(Fastelavnsboller)
Makes 24 buns
Ingredients:
60 g fresh yeast
300 ml milk and cream (any proportion – the more cream, the richer the buns)
500 g plain flour
100 g butter, cold
85 g sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
2 eggs, medium size
Almond filling:
50 g ground almonds
100 g sugar
1/3 eggwhite or a little water
Method:
1.Start by warming the milk/cream to lukewarm. Crumble the yeast into a cup and stir in a few tablespoonsful of the warmed liquid.
2.Cut the cold butter into 2-3 cm cubes. In a baking bowl, mix the flour and butter cubes and crumble with your fingers or a fork until resembling breadcrumbs. Add the salt, sugar and cardamom.
3.Make a well in the mixture and pour in the lukewarm milk/cream, dissolved yeast and one whole egg. Work into a smooth dough and knead lightly.
4.Sprinkle the dough with a little flour, cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size (20-30 minutes).
5.Put the dough on a floured baking surface and knead until smooth. Form 24 buns, rolling them to an even size with your hands.
6.Poke a dent in each bun and fill with a teaspoon of the filling. Pull together the edges and place seam down on a greased baking sheet. Cover lightly with a cloth and leave to rise again for 10 mins.
(Alternatively, instead of the almond filling and egg glaze, halve the buns when cool, fill with whipped cream and sprinkle with icing sugar.)
7.Stir together the remaining egg, brush the buns gently and bake in a very hot oven (250oC) for 10 mins.
Vel bekomme!
Note: Above borrowed from this Link following for www.Norway.org :
Shrovetide buns - Fastelavnsboller
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Another popular custom (especially among the children) is the "fastelavnsris",
with which children ritually flog their parents to wake them up on the morning of Fastelavns Sunday (Quinquagesima).
Fastelavnsris have many shapes and forms and differ from area to area.
In some areas they are bunches of twigs, usually from fruit trees and preferably with buds. Those are often decorated with feathers, egg-shells, storks and little figures of babies.
In other areas, they are a bent willow-branch, shaped like an ankh and wound with crepe paper that has frizzles cut with scissors.
Both varieties may be decorated with candy as well.
...It became the children's special right to flog their parents on this day.
In any case, the reward given for the flogging would be a fastelavnsbolle.
Note: above text & buns photo borrowed from Wikipedia
