Happy Mardi Gras!

Here in Norway, we don't really celebrate Carnivale or Mardi Gras, but there are some pre-fasting traditions. In the last entry, I talked about those sticks with feathers - still haven't figured out if they are for pre-lent or during lent. BUT, I do now know about fastelavens boller, because I made some! Wow, I am become a great Norwegian homemaker here!

Sunday after worship instead of the traditional waffles (also norwegian), we had fastelavens boller. Various people made them at home and then brought them in to share, including myself. When Pastor first asked if I wanted to make some, I agreed. But, as I am more of a cook than a baker, I was not all that excited about baking. But, after he sent me some recipes and then researching a couple more, I became a bit more excited. These filled buns are not part of any tradition that has continued in norwegian culture in the States, so this was something completely new for me.

Allikevel (norwegian for anyway), I documented most of my cooking process so you could join in the fun. Unfortunately (I also learned that word in Norwegian, but can't remember it right now), I forgot to take pics at the very beginning. Oh well. You'll get the idea.

First, my recipe.
Magically, I made the dough and let it rise once.
Then I punched it down - this dough is softer and wetter than bread dough, so the punching was not as therapeutic as with bread dough.
Then I let it rise again, in a warm spot mind you. In my apt, this is in front of my desk - there's a heater on the other side. My kitchen window provides a bit of a draft, so the kitchen was no good for dough rising.
Next, you form the dough into little balls and let them rise again, for a little bit. By the way, the recipe I used had me letting the dough rise a total of 3 times, but most of the other recipes only lets the dough rise once. So, if you want to make these yourself, don't fear. You don't have to spend so much time letting the dough rise.
Then we bake for about 30 mns. I do have a pic of this if you really want to see. But, after baking, out comes some scrumptious buns! These were really good fresh out the oven. I was naughty and ate a couple myself. Yummy!
Wait! We're not quite finished. Sunday morning, I toted my buns, cream, and sugar to church to whip up the whip creme filling to make the finished fastelavnboller! Here is the scrumptious finished product.
They must have been yummy because they were all gone by the time I arrived at the Fellowship Hour. All that were left were some that were made from store bought buns with whip creme filling. I'm told that they were good though. I may have to make some for myself at some point so I can try the whole creation together. But not during lent, that would be naughty! Guess today is my last day, better hurry up or just wait.