Swedish shrove tuesday pastries

The 8th of March this year was the date of Shrove tuesday. More known as pancake tuesday this is the day people indulge in pancakes. For me it was once again a day of making pancakes all day long in work since people, religious or not, really do want their pancakes on this very day. So working in a restaurant or cafe this day can be pretty busy.
In Sweden however this day is called "fat tuesday", but we dont eat pancakes. We eat a pastry called "Semla" or "Fastlagsbulle" (lent/fast-bun). A cardamom flavoured bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream, dusted with icing sugar. It is a real treat and should traditionally only be sold and eaten on this very day, nowadays most cafes and bakeries sell the pastries for weeks before the actual day to eat them though.

Buns

50 grams fresh yeast/ 14 grams dried yeast
500ml milk
150grams butter
85 grams caster sugar
1tsp salt
900 grams plain flour
1tsp cardamom, ground
1 egg+egg yolk for brushing the buns

Melt butter in a pan and add milk, let it be luke warm. Add the butter and milk to the yeast in a large bowl and mix until the yeast has dissolved. Add egg, sugar, salt and cardamom. Add 2/3 of the flour, mix into a paste. Gradually add more flour while working the paste into a dough, you might not need all flour, the dough is good when it is elastic and easy to work. Let prove under a cloth until it has doubled in size.

Divide into 20 pieces and shape little round balls. Let prove under a cloth on a baking tray lined with baking paper for 30-40min. Brush with a lighlt beaten egg yolk and bake for 8-10min on 220C. Let cool down.

Almond paste

100 grams ground almonds
100 grams caster sugar
water

Combine almond and sugar and and add just enough water to bind it togehter to a firm paste.

Cut the top of the buns and put a small bit of almond paste on each bun. Whisk 300ml of cream, not too firm but firm enough to pipe on top of the almond paste. Place the lid of the buns on top of the cream. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

If you have some unfilled buns left you can cut them into quarters and dry out on a low heat in to oven for a couple of hours and you have lovely, crisp cardamom biscotti.