Why do we eat buns on Fat Tuesday?
Shrove Tuesday has its roots in Christian tradition, and is the third day before Lent, approximately 47 days before Easter. The date varies each year, and this year Fat Tuesday falls on 21 February. The name comes from the words 'fat' and 'Tuesday' and refers to all the fatty foods that used to be eaten on that day. Over the years, the semla has changed, but the version we know today - a wheat bun filled with almond paste and topped with cream - began to spread in the 1930s.
As we approach Father's Day, or Christmas Day, baking biscuits with children is a fun and delicious activity. Children often love to get involved in baking, and this can be the perfect opportunity to let them help throughout the process - from picking up ingredients to cleaning up afterwards. Some steps children can do on their own, such as mixing the batter, while others may need support.
Whoopie pies are a simpler version of the traditional recipe, especially adapted for baking with children. For extra fun, you can colour the cream with caramel colouring, swap the almond paste for nutella or custard, or decorate the buns with sprinkles and sweets.
Easy recipe for Whoopie pies (about 20 pies)
Ingredients:
- 100 grams of butter (room temperature)
- 1 egg
- 0.5 dl milk
- 1.25 dl sugar
- 2.75 dl flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp salt
This is how you do it:
- Set the oven to 175 degrees.
- Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, then add the egg.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar, cardamom and salt. Stir this into the butter mixture.
- Add the milk and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Fill a piping bag and pipe small balls onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Leave space between the cookies as they will float out in the oven.
- Bake in the lower part of the oven for 7-8 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking tray.
- Spread almond paste, nutella or custard on half of the cookies and pipe whipped cream on top. Top with another cookie and sift icing sugar on top.
- Decorate the buns as you like!
Looking for more prescription?
Take a look at our nanny blog or contact your nanny for more fun baking ideas and inspiration.
