Recipe: Fastelavnsboller – Danish Shrovetide Buns

Shrovetide, also known as “Fastelavn” in Denmark, is a traditional celebration that takes place in the days leading up to Lent. While Fastelavn was originally a religious holiday, it has now become a secular celebration in Denmark, mainly celebrated among kids, who will go to costume parties and Fastelavns-raslen (a kind of trick-or-treat).

One of the most popular traditions associated with Fastelavn is the Fastelavnsboller, which are sweet buns filled with cream, remonce or custard. Fastelavns buns have evolved quite a bit during the years, and nowadays, they come in all sorts and shapes.

This recipe is for old-fashioned, traditional fastelavnsboller. The buns are made with a rich, yeasty dough, and filled with vanilla custard cream. My mom got the recipe from a friend almost 50 years ago, and this is the only recipe, she has been using ever since.

Recipe and notes by my mom, aka Mummi P:)

The recipe is supposed to yield 30 Fastelavnsboller, but if you make 30 buns, they would be very small, so I suggest that you make 14-18 buns. I usually also add a teaspoon of cardamom when I make fastelavnsboller, so if you like the taste of cardamom, you can add it too, along with the flour.

Danish Margarine: Nowadays in Denmark, many people use liquid margarine for baking, but I’m not sure how widely available it is abroad. The original recipe is with solid margarine but you can also use butter.

Vanilla: You can either use the seeds from a whole vanilla bean, or use vanilla essence or vanilla sugar.

Yeast: In Denmark we use a lot of fresh yeast for baking, but if you don’t have fresh yeast at home, you can also use dry yeast. However, please not that dry yeast is activated at a higher temperature, compared to fresh yeast, so follow the instructions on the packaging.

Icing: Let the buns cool off, so they warm, but not very hot, when you apply the icing. If the buns are very hot, the icing will melt and thin out.

Recipe: Fastelavnsboller – Danish Shrovetide Buns

Recipe by My mom, aka Mummi P

Course: Baked goods, buns

Portion

14-18

buns

This recipe is for old-fashioned, traditional fastelavnsboller. The buns are made with a rich, yeasty dough, and filled with vanilla custard cream. My mom got the recipe from a friend almost 50 years ago, and this is the only recipe, she has been using ever since.

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Ingredients

• Buns

• 2.6 oz (75 g) fresh yeast

• 0.8 cup (2dl) milk

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1.8 oz (50 g) sugar

• 7 oz (200 g) butter or margarine, or 0.85 oz liquid margarine

• 17.6 oz (500 g) flour

• Vanilla Custard Cream

• 2 eggs

• 4 tablespoons sugar

• 4 tablespoon flour (or 3 tablespoons corn starch)

• 2.1 cups (5 dl) milk

• 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tea spoon vanilla essence or 2 tea spoons vanilla sugar)

• Icing

• 1 cup (2 dl) powdered sugar

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

• 2-3 tablespoons boiling water

Directions

• Buns
• Melt the butter at low heat. Add the milk and heat until lukewarm. If you are using Danish liquid margarine, you only heat the milk, and add the margarine later.
• Crumble the yeast into a large mixing bowl and pour in the lukewarm milk and butter. Stir until the yeast is completely dissolved.
• Add sugar, salt and eggs and stir well. If you are using liquid margarine, you can add that now.
• Add flour and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Vanilla Custard Filling
• Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod.
• Mix in a little sugar so the vanilla seeds do not clump together.
• Whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan. Add flour, using a strainer, and whisk until smooth.
• Pour in the milk and add the empty vanilla bean. Heat the custard while whisking constantly. When the custard thickens, remove it from the heat and set aside to cool.
• Icing
• Mix powdered sugar and cocoa powder i a big glass or cup.
• Add hot water and stir until smooth and glossy. You’d want the icing to be really thick so it sticks to the buns. If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar.
• The final steps
• Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  
• Knead the dough briefly and then divide it into 14-18 pieces. Flatten each piece and spoon 1-2 tablespoons of custard filling onto each piece of dough. Fold the dough over to enclose the custard filling. Pinch the edges together to seal.
• Place the buns on the prepared baking sheet with the sealed edges down so the custard doesn’t run out. Leave plenty of space between each bun.
• Bake the buns in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown. Let the buns cool on a wire rack before you put 2-3 teaspoons of icing on each bun. Now your Fastelavnsboller are ready.

Recipe Video