Fastelavnsris - twigs decorated with pink feathers

Traditional Danish "Fastelavn" buns with vanilla custard

The Danish version of "Fastelavn" (Shrove Sunday) is a wonderful and popular family tradition, where children dress up for a carnival and play games. While the highlight for most adults is to set their teeth in a delicious filled bun. There is a recipe for every taste, but we bring you a traditional tasty danish "Fastelavnsbolle"

Recipe for "Fastelavnsboller" with vanilla custard

12 - 16 buns 

Ingrediants for danish Fastelavn buns with vanilla custard

Dough:
 

200 g butter
1 ½ dl milk
1 packet of yeast
1 egg (whipped)
25 g sugar
ca. 350 g wheat flour

Ingredients for vanilla custard

Cream:

2 ½ dl cream
½ stick/pod of vanilla 
25 g sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cornstarch

 

Icing:

Powdered sugar
Water

We made our recipie non-dairy and exchanged regular milk with oat milk, and butter with a vegan variant.

How to make the dough for wheat buns

  1. Melt butter and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Stir the yeast into some of the milk in a spacious bowl.
    Pour the rest of the milk over, and add eggs, the cooled butter, sugar and flour.
  3. Stir the dough well or knead it in a mixer.
    The dough should be sticky but a little soft. Place a tea towel over the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place to double in size.

Making the vanilla custard

Boil the cream with the split vanilla pod and sugar. Stir the egg yolks together with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour some of the boiling cream into the egg mixture while stirring and pour the mixture back into the pan. Boil the custardfor 3 min. under stirring.

How to roll and bake the buns

  1. Roll out the dough on a floured table with a rolling pin.
  2. Cut it into 12-16 squares and place a spoonful of  custard on each square.
  3. Fold the dough around the cream, and close tightly by squeezing with your fingers. Place the buns on a baking sheet with parchment paper with the «seams» facing down.
  4. Let the buns rise for approx. 30 min. in a warm place.
  5. Bake them in the middle of the oven at 225 degrees C for approx. 15 min.
  6. Let the buns cool.
  7. Stir the icing together and decorate the buns.

Why do we celebrate fastelavn?

Fastelavn is the prelude to Easter, and in the old days, people fasted from the first Tuesday after Shrove Sunday (Fastelavnssøndag) until Easter. Shrove Tuesday always falls seven weeks before Easter, and the date changes from year to year. Therefore, the last night before Lent was celebrated with lots of the food and drink that would soon be banned. After the Reformation, Lent lost much of its importance in Denmark. Instead, Sunday has now become a family gathering and children's feast.