Tag Archives: almond paste

A Semla for Fat Tuesday

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It’s Fat Tuesday (12 February 2013) and Scandinavians celebrating this day by eating Semlor (Fastlagsbullar or Fettisbullar). This semi-sweet cardamom rich bun is filled with almond paste and heavy whipped cream. My Finish grandfather used to eat this bun soaked in hot milk, which is still a common way to enjoy this bun. However my absolute favorite way, is to use the hat of the bun to scoop a mixture of cream and almond paste into my mouth, before biting into the rest of it’s loveliness. Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!

Recipe by Anna Brones
Recipe by Ibán Yarza
Article about Semlor at Foodie Underground.

Almond Paste

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I could not find any almond paste in our local store so I did my own… I used some of it in whipped cream that I served together with a banana cake. Lovely!

almonds

450 ml (1 lb) blanched almonds
250 ml (1 cup) water
500 ml (2 cup) sucanat

Mill the almonds in a blender or a coffee grinder.
Heat up water and add the sucanat. Let it cook, while stirring, until the temperature has reach 390°C (240F). If you don’t have a thermometer, just look at it and it will be done when the sucanat get thicker and you can form soft balls. Add the almonds and stir it well. Let the paste get cool and knead until it is smooth.