On Sunday 14 February, the Danes celebrate 'Fastelavn', a Danish children's festival that has its origins in the Christian faith and stands for the 40-day Lent before Easter. Children can dress up, knock candy out of a wooden barrel and eat plenty of 'fastelavnboller'. The latter tradition in particular has grown into a national activity for young and old.
“Boller op, boller ned, boller i min mave, hvis jeg ingen boller får laver jeg ballade…”
“Bubbles high, bulbs low, bulbs in my stomach, if I don't get one, you'll regret it...” sounds at the door when children sing the well-known song in the hope of getting something tasty.
Where the Netherlands traditionally runs the polonaise until the late hours, the Danish carnival called 'Fastelavn' (Shrove Tuesday) is mainly celebrated as a party for the little ones. It is a party full of traditions with dressing up, singing songs and especially eating lots of sweets. The best-known tradition that has survived the test of time is “beating the cat out of the barrel” (slå kat af tønden ). A wooden barrel with an image of a black cat on it is filled with candies and then knocked out with a wooden stick. The black cat, which symbolizes evil, dates from a time when witches were still believed. Whoever knocks out the bottom first is crowned as Kattedronning (Cat Queen) and whoever manages to destroy the last bit is the Kattekonge (Cat King).
Hmmm… 'fastelavnsboller'
Fastelavnboller comes in all shapes and sizes. The basic recipe is a ball filled with cream and icing sugar on top. These cream balls are often eaten in the week before 'Fastelavn' and there are long lines at the bakers to stock these delicious pastries. Of course they are also baked at home on Sundays. Would you like to try this yourself? We have a recipe that is almost impossible to fail.
Recipe for a classic 'fastelavnsboller' with pastry dough, pastry cream and whipped cream
Ingredients for 8 large bulbs
Pastry cream:
1 egg
25 g sugar
15 g flour
½ vanilla pod
1.25 dl milk
Banquet dough (all ingredients should be as cold as possible):
25 g yeast
2 dl milk, lukewarm
approx. 400 gr wheat flour
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
200 gr butter
1 egg for greasing
Chocolate icing
0.5 dl whole milk
25 g sugar
30 g butter
1 tbsp cocoa powder
50 g dark chocolate, chopped
Topping
5 dl whipped cream
raspberry powder
Method:
Pastry cream:
Beat the egg together with the sugar until fluffy. Add the flour and beat it further. Boil the milk with the vanilla pod. Meanwhile, keep stirring the milk so that it does not burn. Add the milk to the beaten egg while stirring and pour it back into the pan. Halve the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the vanilla and add it to the egg. Heat it while stirring until it almost boils. Then pour it into a bowl and let it cool.
Chocolate icing:
Place the whole milk, sugar and butter in a saucepan and melt the sugar and butter, stirring over medium heat. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and whisk. Finally, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Set the pan aside.
Banquet dough:
Place half the milk in a bowl and stir in the yeast. Add the rest of the milk and make sure the yeast is well incorporated. Sprinkle 300 g flour into the milk together with the sugar and salt and knead the mixture with your fingers into a dough. Sprinkle the rest of the flour on your work surface and roll out the dough into a rectangle of approx. 36 x 26 cm. Use a cheese grater to slice the butter (which is cold, but not hard). Place the butter in the center of the dough and fold one side over the butter first, then the other. Then roll out the dough until it doubles in length. Fold the two halves over each other again and roll out the dough again. Fold the two halves over each other for the last time and finally roll out the dough to approx. 32 x 22 cm. Place the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 8 equal squares. Place a spoonful of custard cream in the center of each square, bringing all the corners together to form a ball. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the buns seam side down on the baking sheet. Let the balls travel for 1 hour under a tea towel. Set the hot air oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Once the balls have risen, brush them with 1 beaten egg and bake them for about 16-18 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown. Remove the balls and let them cool on a wire rack.
Make up and eat:
The 'fastelavnsboller' should be finished just before they are eaten. Beat the whipped cream only at the very end and put it in a piping bag. Cut the balls horizontally in the middle and pipe the whipped cream over one half. Place the other half on top. Finish the ball with chocolate glaze and sprinkle a little with raspberry powder. Serve the 'fastelavnsboller' immediately after preparation, then they are the tastiest.
Enjoy your meal!
