In the Danish bakeries, you can get the biggest and most amazing fastelavnsboller or shrovetide buns, starting after new years and until fastelavn which is usually mid or late February. They are quite expensive, and if you don’t live in Denmark, you probably can’t get them. But luckily you can make them yourself. Read along here and get the best recipe for danish fastelavnsboller with cream.
Fastelavnsboller from scratch
These Danish fastelavnsboller or Shrovetide buns are made from scratch. With homemade Danish pastry, homemade pastry cream, and everything. But of course, there are several places you can cut corners if you do not have the time or patience to make the whole project. It’s a project that takes a couple of hours to get through. But it’s fun to try and they taste heavenly too!
If you do not have the courage to throw yourself into homemade Danish pastry, then you can buy frozen Shrovetide buns in Denmark, which just need to be baked, and then they are ready to be filled. You can do this if you want to save some time.
There is also the option of taking an easier solution with regards to the pastry cream. Here you can of course use a powder solution, but honestly, it is quite easy to prepare your own cream. The only thing you save here is the cooling time.
If you do not want to make the pastry, you can also choose to use choux pastry instead of Danish for your Shrovetide buns. It is somewhat easier and also faster to make.
Ingredient notes
Butter – You need a lot of butter to make Danish pastry yourself. It has to be cold and cut into thin slices because it should be layered between the dough to make the flaky pastry in the end.
Vanilla – Vanilla is important to make the best pastry cream for these buns. Use a vanilla bean or vanilla paste if you prefer.
Yeast – I recommend using fresh yeast for making Danish pastry. That works best for me.
Jam – Here I use black currant jam, but you can also use strawberry, raspberry, or any other kind of jam to your liking.
How to make Danish fastelavnsboller with cream?
There are several elements to this recipe, but you can prepare them well in advance. For example, it is a good idea to make the pastry cream well in advance so that it can cool down. Make it the day before. It is not difficult to make your own pastry cream, so do not be nervous about it. Read more about homemade danish pastry cream here
The pastry cream must both be filled inside the buns, and then it must be used to make the diplomat cream, which is this delicious soft airy cream that is in Danish fastelavnsboller. It is not just pure whipped cream, but a cream that consists of whipped cream mixed with pastry cream.
When you have the filling under control, we only need the pastry buns. It takes a little practice to make Danish pastry, but with patience, you will get there. It is important that you are careful with the dough when making it. You have to make sure that there are no holes and that the butter does not get too hot and melts along the way. Therefore, it is very important to put the dough in the fridge between each rolling and folding.
Find the full recipe further down this page.
Frequently asked questions
After filling the buns, they have to be stored in the fridge.
Definetly! You can use the filling you like. Any cream, mousse, and curd can be used as filling.
Other danish recipes you might like
- Danish pastry cream (kagecreme)
- Danish choux buns (vandbakkelser)
- Profiteroles with pastry cream
- Aebleskiver
- Danish banana cake with chocolate
Recipe for the best fastelavnsboller from Denmark
We love Shrovetide buns at home, and these are of the best kind. These are like the delicious Shrovetide buns that you can buy at the Danish bakery. You can of course change the filling of your choice, and they are also great with chocolate cream or berry mousse.
We hope you will try out the recipe and make traditional Danish fastelavnsboller for your family.
Danish fastelavnsboller with cream (shrovetide buns)
Ingredients
Pastry cream:
- 75 g sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 5 dl whole milk
Danish pastry:
- 200 g butter cold
- 25 g fresh yeast
- 1.5 dl whole milk
- 30 g sugar
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 1 egg for brushing
Remonce:
- 50 g butter
- 50 g sugar
- 50 g marzipan
Diplomat cream:
- The excess pastry cream
- 2 dl whipping cream
Other stuff:
- 1.5 dl blackcurrant jam or other taste
- Freeze-dried raspberries or other decorations
Instructions
Pastry cream:
- If possible, make the pastry cream the day before or a few hours before it is to be filled in the buns, so that it can cool down completely. It should preferably have 3 hours in the refrigerator before it is to be used.
- Combine sugar, seeds from the vanilla bean, and the empty vanilla bean in a saucepan with the eggs, corn starch, and milk, and whisk well while bringing the cream to a boil.
- Let the cream boil for 2-3 minutes until it becomes even and thickens, and then take it off the heat. Transfer to another container and allow the cream to cool. Put it in the fridge until it needs to be used. Before filling the buns, remove the empty vanilla bean and whisk the cold cream well until it is even and smooth.
Danish pastry:
- Cut the butter into thin slices and put it in the fridge. I use a cheese slicer.
- Warm the milk to finger warm, and stir the yeast into the warm milk. Add sugar and mix it. Then add flour and knead the dough until it is smooth and even. I use the mixer to knead the dough.
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Bring flour to the table and roll out the dough into a rectangle of approximately 25 × 35 cm.
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Spread the cold slices of butter on 2/3 of the dough.
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Fold the 1/3 part of the dough without butter over half of the butter. Brush off excess flour well, we do not want flour inside the pastry dough. Press the dough together a little at the edges so that the butter is completely closed inside the dough.
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Then fold the last 1/3 part with butter over the second folding, so you now have 3 layers of dough with butter in between. Press the dough together at the edge so that the butter is closed inside. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to keep the butter cold and prevent it from melting.
- 2nd Folding – After 30 minutes, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out again on a floured table. Fold the dough again in 1/3 parts as before, but this time you don't put butter in, it is already in between the layers. Once you have folded the first 1/3 part in over the middle and then the other 1/3 part in over the first, you will have 9 layers of dough. Now put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes again.
- 3rd Folding – After 30 minutes, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out again on a floured table. Fold the dough again as during the 2nd fold. When you have folded the dough this time, you have 27 layers with butter in between, and we are ready to make buns from the dough. Put the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes while you make the remonce that needs to be inside the buns.
Remonce:
- Mix butter, sugar and marzipan well. It is easiest to do with your hands.
Making the buns:
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Roll out your pastry dough on a floured table to about 20 × 50 cm. The dough should be about 1/2 cm thick.
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Cut the dough into squares of about 10 × 10 cm.
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Put a tablespoon of remonce on each square.
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Close the Shrovetide buns by pulling the corners together in the middle and squeezing them gently together.
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Turn the buns over, place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and let them rise for 30-45 minutes.
- Brush the buns with beaten egg, and bake them at 200 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes. Then let them cool on a rack.
Filling the buns:
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When the buns have cooled down, cut them in half and add a tablespoon of jam to the bottom, and on top a tablespoon of pastry cream.
- Now make the diplomat cream from the rest of the pastry cream. First, whip the cream to whipped cream, and gently mix it with the remaining pastry cream.
- Put the pastry cream in a piping bag with a star tip, and pipe it around the jam and cream in your Shrovetide buns. Put the lid on the buns, garnish with diplomat cream, and, freeze-dried raspberries or just with sugar icing and sprinkles.
Nutrition
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Note: This recipe is a translation of our danish recipe “Fastelavnsboller med fløde” which can be found on our danish food blog.
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