A semla, vastlakukkel, laskiaispulla, fastlagsbulle/fastelavnsbolle or vēja kūkas is a traditional

sweet roll A sweet roll or sweet bun refers to any of a number of sweet, baked, yeast- leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spices, nuts, candied fruits, etc., and are often glazed or topped with icing. Compared to regular bread dou ...

made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Latvia, associated with

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and L ...

and especially

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lent ...

in most countries,

Shrove Monday Shrove Monday, sometimes known as Collopy Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, is a Christian observance falling on the Monday before Ash Wednesday every year. A part of the English traditional Shrovetide celebrations of the week be ...

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, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Fastelavn is also traditionally celebrated in Greenland. The related word Fastelovend is u ...

in Norway. In Sweden it is most commonly known as just (plural: ), but is also known as (lit. "fat Tuesday roll"). In the southern parts of Sweden, as well as in

Swedish-speaking Finland There are 53 municipalities of Finland in which Finnish is not the sole official language. In Finland, as of December 31, 2013, 89.3% of the population speak Finnish, 5.3% Swedish and 0.04% Sami languages.Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, meaning '

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many c ...

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

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...

flour or semolina. In the southernmost part of Sweden (

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

) and by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-speaking population in Finland, they are known as ''fastlagsbulle''. In Denmark and Norway they are known as (''fastlagen'' and ''

fastelavn ''Fastelavn'' is a Carnival tradition in the Northern European, and historically Lutheran, nations of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Fastelavn is also traditionally celebrated in Greenland. The related word Fastelovend is u ...

'' being the equivalent of

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

Sweden/Finland

Today, the Swedish-Finnish semla consists of a

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

-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 mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

and almond paste, topped with

whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, and ...

. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar. 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). In

Finland-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish ( sv, finlandssvenska; fi, suomenruotsi) is a general term for the variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population, commonly ...

, ''semla'' 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 semla every Tuesday between Shrove Tuesday and Easter. Every year, at around the same time that the bakeries fill with semlor, the Swedish newspapers start to fill with semla taste tests. Panels of 'experts' dissect and inspect tables full of semlor to find the best in town. Some bakeries have created alternative forms of the pastry, such as the "

semmelwrap A semmelwrap is a Swedish pastry. A semmelwrap is a variation of the Swedish semla, a cardamom-flavoured bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. The semla is traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday. The ingredients of the semmelwrap are si ...

" formed as a

wrap Wrap, WRAP or Wrapped may refer to: Storage and preservation * Gift wrap or wrap paper, used to enclose a present * Overwrap, a wrapping of items in a package or a wrapping over packages * Plastic wrap, a thin, clear, flexible plastic used to ...

rather than the traditional bun, while others have added e.g. chocolate, marzipan, or pistachios to the recipe. In Finland and Estonia the traditional dessert predates Christian influences. Laskiaissunnuntai and laskiaistiistai, both days included in '' laskiainen'', 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, ''laskea''. Nowadays ''laskiainen'' has been integrated into Christian customs as the beginning of lent before Easter.

Norway

Fastelavnsbolle 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 flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a ' that is repeatedly folded and rolled out bef ...

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, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the da ...

, succade and sometimes

candied Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type o ...

bitter orange Bitter orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the citrus tree ''Citrus'' × ''aurantium'' and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is probably a cross be ...

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. Basic ingredients usually only include butter, water, flour and eggs (auxiliary ingredients and flavorings are also added). Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employ ...

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 ''semla'' was a plain bread bun, eaten in a bowl of warm milk. In Swedish this is known as , from Middle Low German ''hete Weggen'' (hot

wedges A wedge is a triangular shaped tool, and is a portable inclined plane, and one of the six simple machines. It can be used to separate two objects or portions of an object, lift up an object, or hold an object in place. It functions by conv ...

) or German (hot buns) and falsely interpreted