Pancake Day, Swedish Style

Stuck on what to do with the kids this half term? Whether you’re looking for free activities for children during the school break or you’re hoping to teach them a new skill, cooking with the kids on Pancake Day is the perfect way to keep the whole family happy. 

In Sweden, Pancake Day (or Shrove Tuesday) is called fettisdagen, which translated means The Fat Tuesday and the traditional food isn't pancakes, but a bun called Semla – a delicious cardamom bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream.

You can head over to London based ScandiKitchen to try one for yourself or carry on reading for their recipe. 

What you’ll need:

13 g dried yeast or 25 g fresh yeast *(see below)

250 ml whole milk, heated to 36–37°C (97–98°F)

80 g butter, melted and cooled slightly

40 g caster sugar

300–400 g white strong flour

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 egg, lightly beaten

100 g marzipan paste

good dollop of custard or Crème Pâtissière 

500 ml whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

icing sugar, to dust

piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle 

How to make it:

*If using fresh yeast, add it to the finger-warm milk and mix until dissolved. Then pour it into the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.

If using dried yeast, sprinkle the yeast granules into the finger-warm milk and whisk together. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to activate and become frothy and bubbly. Pour into the bowl of a food mixer with a dough hook and stir in the melted butter. Add the sugar and stir again. Add half of the flour as well as the salt, baking powder and ground cardamom. Add half the beaten egg (reserve the other half for brushing before baking).

Mix well until all the ingredients are incorporated and then start to add more of the flour, bit by bit, until you have a dough that is only a little bit sticky. Take care not to add too much flour. Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes in the mixer. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm (not hot) place until it has doubled in size – about 30–40 minutes.

Turn the dough out to a floured surface. Knead again for a few minutes, adding more flour if needed. You want a firmer but not dry dough. Cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Place, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet. Leave to rise for 25–30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.

Brush each bun with the beaten egg and bake for 8–10 minutes or until baked through – keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Remove from oven and cover the buns with a lightly damp dish towel immediately – this will prevent them from forming a crust.

When they have cooled completely, cut a ‘lid’ off the buns – about 1.5 cm/1⁄2 in. from the top. Scoop out about one-third of the inside of the bun and place this in a separate bowl. Mix it with the marzipan paste until it forms a very sticky mass – add a dollop of custard or Crème Pâtissière at this point to help it along. You want a spoonable, even mixture. Spoon the filling back into the buns, equally divided.

Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar until stiff, then use a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle to pipe cream on all the buns. Put the ‘lids’ back on and dust lightly with icing sugar

Click here for more information.