Officially, Shrovetide is the three days before Ash Wednesday, with Shrove Tuesday being the last of these days. (You may also have heard this day referred to as Fat Tuesday). Ash Wednesday signals the beginning of Lent, traditionally a time of fasting. Shrovetide, therefore, is NOT for fasting: decidedly the opposite- Mardi Gras is a Shrovetide celebration! Across the world, different cultures have their own favorite ways to acknowledge this season. Paczki are one popular option, but I have become very, very partial to Finnish Shrovetide Buns!
Fun fact: Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday treats probably stemmed from a need to use up rich foods like butter and cream before Lent, instead of letting them go bad. I cannot imagine a better way to use up heavy cream than a big batch of Finnish Shrovetide Buns. These buns begin with rich, fragrant pulla dough, which is then thoroughly embellished with a filling of jam and piles of sweet whipped cream.
You’ll soon see why these are intended as a rare treat, but don’t worry, you can definitely put them on repeat in your home if you wish.
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Tools & Equipment for Finnish Shrovetide Buns
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Baking sheets
- Pastry brush
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Handheld mixer
- Liquid measuring cup
- Knife
- Small strainer for dusting powdered sugar (optional)
Ingredients for Finnish Shrovetide Buns
- 1/3 recipe pulla dough
- 1 egg, for egg wash
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream, also for egg wash
- Raspberry jam (or use another favorite!)
- 2 cups heavy cream, cold
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- Extra powdered sugar for dusting
The Process: How To Make Finnish Shrovetide Buns
Make Pulla Dough & Shape Buns
Follow the recipe for pulla until after the first rise, when it is divided into 3 parts. The rest of this recipe will use one part of this dough, making one dozen buns. If you want to use the entire recipe, repeat for the other three parts- or use those two parts for other delicious treats, like Butter-Eye Buns or Cinnamon Buns!
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Divide your dough into 12 buns of equal size. They should be about 55-60 grams each. Pinch each piece into a ball shape (and/or shape gently with a bench knife) and place on your prepared baking sheet.
Lightly cover the buns and set in a warm place on your counter to rise until puffy, about 30 minutes or so. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Lightly beat the egg and 1 Tbsp milk or cream in a small bowl, and use a pastry brush to lightly brush egg mixture onto each bun.
Bake Buns
Bake buns in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant. Let buns cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
While buns are cooling, prep your whipped cream: add cold heavy cream, powdered sugar (sift for best results!) and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Use a handheld mixer to beat until stiff peaks form. Due to all the powdered sugar, this will be a fairly stiff & sweet whipped cream. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
Before filling the buns, transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag- either just the bag, or fitted with a piping tip, if you prefer!
Fill The Buns
When the buns are cool, slice the tops off on a cutting board- you can just slice a little sliver off to make a hat, or you can slice in half. Set the tops aside and cut some bread out of the bottom half of the bun to make a little well in the middle-or in other words, remove the guts!
Scoop jam into the wells in the middle of the buns. I usually do a fairly generous scoop, around 1/2 Tbsp per bun. If not already done, you can cut the tip off of the piping bag- or fit it with a star tip if you’d rather! Pipe a rather generous amount of whipped cream on the bottom half of the bun, covering up the jam. These are supposed to be quite creamy, load it on there. You’ll be really happy you did.
When the buns all have cream piped on, replace the hats on top. Dust some powdered sugar on top of each bun. Enjoy your exquisite buns with coffee or tea!
Frequently Asked Questions
Substitutions & Alternatives
I love the tartness of raspberry jam alongside the sweet cream, but you can definitely use another favorite berry or fruit jam instead. Another alternative is to replace the jam with almond paste.
If you prefer, sprinkle some pearl sugar on top of the buns after the egg wash, before baking.
How Should I Serve and Store Finnish Shrovetide Buns?
These are definitely best eaten within a couple hours of being filled. I recommend only filling what you plan to demolish, and freezing any extra buns for a future occasion!
My favorite way to eat these buns is as a mid-morning treat with a cup of coffee.
Finnish Shrovetide Buns (Laskiaispulla)
Ingredients
- 1/3 recipe pulla dough
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream
- Raspberry jam or use another favorite!
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract optional
- Extra powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Follow the recipe for pulla until after the first rise, when it is divided into 3 parts. The rest of this recipe will use one part of this dough, making one dozen buns. If you want to use the entire recipe, repeat for the other three parts- or use those two parts for other delicious treats!
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Divide your dough into 12 buns of equal size. They should be about 55-60 grams each. Pinch each piece into a ball shape and place on your prepared baking sheet.
- Lightly cover the buns and set in a warm place on your counter to rise until puffy, about 30 minutes or so.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
- Lightly beat the egg and 1 Tbsp milk or cream in a small bowl, and use a pastry brush to lightly brush egg mixture onto each bun.
- Bake buns in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant.
- Let buns cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling.
- While buns are cooling, prep your whipped cream: add cold heavy cream, powdered sugar (sift for best results!) and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Use a handheld mixer to beat until stiff peaks form. Due to all the powdered sugar, this will be a fairly stiff & sweet whipped cream. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Before filling the buns, transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag.
- When the buns are cool, slice the tops off on a cutting board- you can just slice a little sliver off to make a hat, or you can slice in half. Set the tops aside and cut some bread out of the bottom half of the bun to make a little well in the middle.
- Scoop jam into the wells in the middle of the buns. I usually do a fairly generous scoop, around 1/2 Tbsp per bun.
- If not already done, you can cut the tip off of the piping bag- or fit it with a star tip if you'd rather!
- Pipe a rather generous amount of whipped cream on the bottom half of the bun, covering up the jam. These are supposed to be quite creamy!
- When the buns all have cream piped on, replace the hats on top. Dust some powdered sugar on top of each bun.
- Enjoy your exquisite buns with coffee or tea!
Notes
Pin For Later
What Should I Make Next?
If I’ve whetted your appetite for Finnish baked goods, try Finnish Cinnamon Buns or Blueberry Buns!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!
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