A , , Swedish eclair, /, , or is a traditional

sweet roll A sweet bread roll, roll or sweet bun refers to any of a number of sweet, baked, Baker's yeast, yeast-Leavening agent, leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spiced bun, spices, nut roll, nuts, fruit bun, candied fruits, etc., and ...

made in various forms in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

,ERR News. ''Vastlakuklid: The history of Estonia's traditional Shrove Tuesday treat.''
Retrieved 21 February 2023. and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, associated with

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

and especially

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

in most countries,

Shrove Monday Shrove Monday (also known as Collopy Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday) is part of the Shrovetide or Carnival observances and celebrations of the week before Lent, following Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday and preceding Shrove Tuesd ...

in Denmark, parts of southern Sweden, Iceland and Faroe Islands or Sunday of

Fastelavn Fastelavn is a Carnival tradition in the Northern European, and historically Lutheran, nations of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, Faroe Islands, as well as Greenland. The traditions of Fastelavn vary somewhat by country and by ...

in Norway. In Sweden it is most commonly known as just (plural: ), but is also known as , . In the southern parts of Sweden, as well as in Swedish-speaking Finland, it is known as (plural: ; on the other hand means a plain wheat bun with butter, called in Swedish). In Poland it is known as . In Estonia it is called . In Norway and Denmark it is called . In Iceland, it is known as a and served on '' Bolludagur''. In

it is called , and is served on . In Latvia, it is called . served in a bowl of hot milk is '.

Etymology

The name (plural: ) is a loan word from Middle Low German ''semmel'', originally deriving from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, meaning '

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

', itself a borrowing from Greek (), which was the name used for the finest quality

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

flour. In the southernmost part of Sweden (

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

) and by the Swedish-speaking population in Finland, they are known as . In Denmark and Norway they are known as ( and ''

fastelavn Fastelavn is a Carnival tradition in the Northern European, and historically Lutheran, nations of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, Faroe Islands, as well as Greenland. The traditions of Fastelavn vary somewhat by country and by ...

'' being the equivalent of

). In Scanian, the feast is also called . In Finnish they are known as (which refers to the Finnish ), in Latvian as , and in Estonian as .

Sweden/Finland/Estonia

Today, the Swedish-Finnish consists of a

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

-spiced

bun which has its top cut off, and is then filled with a mix of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

and

almond paste Almond paste is made from ground almonds or almond meal and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, eggs, heavy cream or corn syrup added as a binder. It is similar to marzipan, with a coarser texture. Almond paste is used a ...

, topped with

whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar and icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent—such as corn starch, potato ...

. Today it is often eaten on its own, with coffee or tea. Some prefer to eat it in a bowl of hot milk. In Finland, the bun is often filled with strawberry or raspberry jam instead of almond paste, and bakeries in Finland usually offer both versions. (Many bakeries distinguish between the two by decorating the traditional bun with almonds on top, whereas the jam-filled version has powdered sugar on top). Opinions on which of the two is the "correct" filling are divided, and it is a common topic of contention (similar to e.g. the matter of pineapple on pizza, i.e. usually not taken too seriously). In

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

, ' means a plain wheat bun, used for bread and butter, and not a sweet bun. At some point Swedes grew tired of the strict observance of Lent, added cream and almond paste to the mix and started eating every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter. Every year, at around the same time that the Swedish bakeries fill with , local newspapers start to fill with taste tests. Panels of 'experts' dissect and inspect tables full of to find the best in town. Some bakeries have created alternative forms of the pastry, such as the " semmelwrap" formed as a wrap rather than the traditional bun, while others have added e.g. chocolate,

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

, or pistachios to the recipe. In Finland and

the traditional dessert predates Christian influences. and , both days included in ''

laskiainen () is the Finnish celebration of what is known in the English-speaking world as Shrove Tuesday. It is often described as a "mid-winter sledding festival". Ecclesiastically, is a part of Shrovetide and is a Lutheran celebration just prior t ...

'', were festivals when children and youth would go sledding or downhill sliding on a hill or a slope to determine how the crop would yield in the coming year. Those who slid the farthest were going to get the best crop. Hence the festival is named after the act of sliding or sledding downhill, . Nowadays has been integrated into Christian customs as the beginning of lent before Easter. In Estonia, is often a cardamom-spiced wheat bun with whipped cream only or with jam or marzipan filling added. Similarly to Finland, or (Shrove Tuesday) involves sledding. Estonians believed that the one with the longest slide would have the best

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

crop yield – specifically the longer the crop, the longer fiber which would mean a higher quality

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

textile could be produced. File:Hetvägg.JPG, served with warm milk File:Fastelavnsboller 4 (ubt).jpeg, Two Danish File:Semla.jpg, A Swedish File:Laskiaispulla in Vantaa.jpg, A Finnish

Norway

consists of a

-spiced

bun which has its top cut off, and is then filled with

, topped with jam. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar. The buns are served at Sunday of

( Shrove Sunday), but were previously associated with

Denmark/Iceland/Faroe Islands

The version sold in Danish bakeries on or around

is rather different, made from

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...

and filled with

, a bit of jam and often with icing on top. At home people may bake a version more similar to a usual wheat roll, mixing plain yeast dough with

raisins A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, the word ''raisin'' is reserv ...

, succade and sometimes candied

bitter orange The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'', and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of th ...

peel. In Iceland it is done in a similar way but in place of puff pastry more common is the

choux pastry Choux pastry, or (), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. The essential ingredients are butter, water, flour and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employs its high moisture content to create steam, as the water in ...

version. In Icelandic, Shrove Monday is called '' bolludagur'' (bun day), named after the pastry. In the Faroe Islands, it is done with choux pastry, and filled with vanilla cream, whipped cream and jam, and topped with chocolate icing.

History

The oldest version of the ' was a plain bread bun, eaten in a bowl of warm milk. In Swedish this is known as , from Middle Low German ('hot wedges') or German ('hot buns') and falsely interpreted as "hotwall". The was originally eaten only on

, or all of the three days before Lent, as the last festive food before Lent. However, with the arrival of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, the Swedes stopped observing a strict fast for Lent. The in its bowl of warm milk became a traditional dessert every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter. Today, are available in shops and bakeries every day from shortly after Christmas until Easter. Each Swede consumes on average four to five bakery-produced each year, in addition to any that are homemade. According to a popular myth, King

Adolf Frederick of Sweden Adolf (or Adolph) Frederick (; ; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1751 until his death in 1771. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina Frederica of B ...

died of digestion problems on February 12, 1771, after consuming a ' (), the king's favorite dessert, after a meal consisting of

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

, turnips, caviar, smoked herring, and champagne. In recent versions of the legend, the has turned into 14, and sometimes into cinnamon buns. This was the sweet chosen to represent Finland in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, on

Europe Day Europe Day is a day celebrating "peace and unity in Europe" celebrated on 5 May by the Council of Europe and on 9 May by the European Union. The first recognition of Europe Day was by the Council of Europe, introduced in 1964. The European Uni ...

2006.

References