Fastelavn is almost here!
This weekend is Shrove Sunday, and in Denmark (and some other Nordic countries), that means it’s Fastelavn! Don’t ask us about the religious significance/background of this holiday, because we have literally NO idea. We just like the baked goods and the fun traditions! Fastelavn takes place on a Sunday in February or March, seven weeks before Easter, so it changes every year. In the lead-up to the holiday, people celebrate with a variety of traditions that you can read more about below. We also have a post specifically detailing several of the traditions here, as well as a post all about the history of fastelavnsboller.
What is Fastelavn?
Fastelavn means “Carnival,” and it’s a holiday that somewhat resembles Halloween, as kids dress up in costumes. But, there are some unique traditions as well! In Denmark, kids play a game where they take turns hitting a barrel full of candy with a bat (like a piñata). In Danish, we call the game “to hit the cat out of the barrel.” A bit of a strange name, but it’s because people used to play it with a real cat in the barrel. The kid who hits out a specific part of the barrel (sometimes the bottom, sometimes the last piece) is crowned the “kattekonge,” or “cat king.” Another kid is crowned the “kattedronning,” or “cat queen.” The rules on crowning these two titles vary from place to place, but it’s such a fun and exciting tradition that we loved as kids!
Fastelavnsboller
Another great Fastelavn tradition is eating lots and lots of fastelavnsboller, or “carnival buns.” You can find an insane variety of fastelavnsboller in Denmark alone. They range from simple pastry cream-filled buns to buns cut in half and topped with almond paste and whipped cream, to traditional buns that have raisins and orange peel in them. You may be most familiar with the Swedish semlor buns, which are also known as fastelavnsboller in some places. These buns are all delicious in their own way! But we all have our favorites 😉
So, for today’s recipe, we wanted to share how to make traditional, homemade fastelavnsboller. They are made of a sweet, cardamom-flavored, yeasted dough, filled with vanilla pastry cream, and topped with chocolate icing and sprinkles. Simple, yet absolutely incredible! And so festive to look at!
Other types of fastelavnsboller
If you’re looking to try out other types of fastelavnsboller, and you unfortunately aren’t near any Danish bakeries selling them, we have a few options for you. The below recipes range from recipes suitable for beginners to more complicated ones, so choose wisely!
- Swedish Semlor: Soft cardamom buns, an almond filling, and whipped cream on top. What else could you need? These are a classic, and they are pretty simple to make. They’re also very fun to decorate and turn out like cute buns with a little hat. A crowd-pleaser for sure!
- Double Chocolate Fastelavnsboller: These are a double chocolate version of the traditional fastelavnsboller, so think of a fluffy chocolate dough with creamy chocolate pastry cream inside. The chocolate icing on top is the kicker and really turns it into a decadent dessert! This is not a very complicated recipe and if you have tried out the traditional one first, it’s very much the same.
- Choux Pastry Fastelavnsboller with Raspberry: Our choux version is simple enough if you have made choux pastry before because you just fill the buns with a delicious raspberry cream cheese filling and decorate with a fresh raspberry on top. If you haven’t, you may find it a little tricky, but our recipe details how to end up with the perfect fluffy choux!
- Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Fastelavnsboller: If you’re looking for a challenge, this is the recipe for you. The dough is probably the hardest part, as it’s Danish pastry dough, so you’ll need to spend time laminating the dough to create those lovely layers of butter in the final pastry. There’s then the fillings, which are notably easier to make: a hazelnut remonce, salted caramel, and whipped cream. If you can pull this one off, you’ll end up with a really impressive bun. And honestly, probably one of the best we’ve ever tried (humble brag, sorry).
Ingredients
For the dough, you’ll need milk, yeast, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom, salt, all-purpose or plain flour (you can also use bread flour), and softened butter. The filling is vanilla pastry cream, which we have a separate recipe for, and you’ll only need half a portion, although we typically make the full amount and just eat the rest of the pastry cream with some fruit (yum!). Finally, for the icing, you’ll just need powdered sugar, cocoa powder, water, and sprinkles.
How to make fastelavnsboller
The recipe itself is not too difficult, but you may run into some unexpected trouble with the buns. Since the filling is an egg-based custard, it will expand when baking and may cause the buns to explode. This has happened to us before, so don’t worry too much if it happens to you. We promise that they will still taste absolutely delicious!
But, to avoid this, make sure you shape the buns correctly. After the dough’s first rise, shape the buns without any filling, as if you were just making regular bread rolls. Then, let them rest for about 20 minutes. Then, simply flatten each bun, add the filling and pinch the ends together. You do not need to shape the buns again! This will only create weak spots where the filling can run out during baking. We hope you try making these buns, as they are so yummy and fun to decorate. Leave any questions or comments down below. Enjoy!
Watch Our Video
Fastelavnsboller (Danish Carnival Buns)
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 150 ml milk
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5 fresh yeast)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 grams sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 375 grams all-purpose or bread flour
- 57 grams unsalted butter, softened
FILLING AND DECORATION
- 1/2 portion kagecreme (for these fastelavnsboller, you will likely only need half of the kagecreme recipe – we usually just make a whole portion anyway and then eat the leftover pastry cream or use it for something else!)
- 1 egg for egg wash
- Powdered sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Water
- Colorful sprinkles
Instructions
- We would recommend making your kagecreme ahead of time so that it has sufficient time to cool in the fridge.
- If using active dry yeast – Heat up the milk, either in the microwave or in a saucepan, until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. If using instant yeast – just add the yeast and milk to a bowl.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom, and salt (and milk and instant yeast if using it) to a large bowl. Mix well.
- If you’re using active dry yeast, once the yeast has bubbled up, add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
- Slowly add the flour and the softened butter, stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, probably around 10-15 minutes. Add a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface. If you prefer not to get your hands messy, feel free to use a stand mixer for this step. The texture of your dough before its first rise should be soft and smooth, not sticky and not too dry.
- Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, dump it out on a flat surface. Divide into 12 equal pieces, and shape into buns. How to: take a piece, pinch together into a ball shape, then cup it in your hand with the top of the roll touching your palm. Place your hand on an unfloured surface with the seam touching the table. Move your cupped hand in quick, tight circles – this will cause the seam to come together and create tension on the surface of the dough.
- Let the buns rest for about 20 minutes on the table, covered with plastic wrap or a damp dishtowel. I also like to spray or brush the tops of the dough with a bit of vegetable oil, just to make sure they don’t form any skin or dry spots.
- Next, you are going to fill the buns with kagecreme. To do this, take a bun, place it on your table or surface dome side down (seam side up) and flatten it, just by hitting it with the heel or palm of your hand. You may need to pick up the circle of dough and use your hands to enlarge the circle a bit, that's totally fine. Either pipe or spoon a dollop of filling (a dollop on the smaller side; we can usually get a few teaspoons of filling in each – just be careful not to overfill, or else your buns will explode) into the center of the dough circle. Pull up the sides and pinch them together. You do not need to do anything else to shape the buns at this point! This will only create weak spots where the filling can run out during baking. Place your filled bun on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Let the filled buns rise another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Once your buns are about doubled in size, egg wash the buns. Then bake them in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown and hollow sounding.
- Let the buns cool on a wire rack. Once cool, prepare your decoration. Mix together about a cup of powdered sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa powder (to start), and a tiny bit of water. Keep adding water, or sugar, or cocoa powder until the icing reaches the consistency and taste that you like.
- Spoon the icing onto each bun, letting it drip down the sides. Add colorful sprinkles on top, let the icing harden a bit, and enjoy!
Ahhhhhmazing! They are even delicious after 24 hours – the cardamom flavor of the buns is better. I followed the recipe (active yeast) as directed. I had a few leaks but they didn’t change the taste. I will make these again. I used the recommended pastry cream recipe. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment and for using our recipe! Glad you enjoyed them, even the next day! We also sometimes freeze our buns if we have leftovers (without the icing) and then you can defrost and heat them up in the microwave for warm buns!
thank you for this recipe! i have a question, how exactly would you store them?
We store these in the fridge because of the pastry cream – you can store them iced or not iced, but the icing will run a little in the fridge and may make it a bit soggy! Otherwise, we also freeze the non iced buns and then defrost in the microwave (you can ice them after this, or just eat it without!). Hope that helps!