Classic Scandinavia: Celebrate Fat Tuesday With Swedish Semlor


For coffee lovers, Scandinavia is a bit of a mecca. In the heart of winter, there’s nothing better than stepping into a warm cafe, brimming with people and their stacks of winter layers next to them, the windows steaming up as friends meet over coffee. In fact, in Sweden, coffee is such an important part of local culture, that there’s even a specific word for coffee break: fika. A verb and a noun, it indicates that time of day that you take a break from everything else to enjoy a strong cup of coffee accompanied by a delicious baked good. If there ever was a reason to travel to Sweden, this is it.

If there’s one thing that distinguishes fika in Sweden in the first months of the year it’s semlor. Cafes and bakeries are filled with the classic baked good, a flour bun filled with almond paste and topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar.

Historically, the fettisbulle, or semla, was made for fettisdagen, Fat Tuesday, a rich treat before taking on the fasting that comes with Lent. In the modern day world, however, it’s perfectly acceptable to eat a semla anytime between the New Year and Easter.

Want to know where the best places in Sweden are to score a semla? Start by consulting semlamannen, a food blogger who eats one semla a day between the first of the year and Fat Tuesday. For those with a Stockholm visit in the near future, score one of the classic pastries at Vetekatten.

If you are up for it, you can also make your own. Here’s my personal recipe, adapted from an old Swedish classic.

Classic Swedish Semlor
Ingredients

  • 100 grams butter (7 tablespoons)
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons powdered cardamom (the best is to get whole cardamom and grind it – that way you have small cardamom chunks)

Filling

  • 2 cups blanched almonds + ¼ cup sugar blended in food processor
  • Inside of buns
  • ½ – 1 cup milk

Topping

  • Whipped cream
  • Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Melt butter in a saucepan and add the milk. Heat until the liquid is warm to the touch.

2. In a bowl beat the egg and add in yeast, salt, sugar and milk mixture. Mix until yeast is well dissolved. Combine baking powder, cardamom and flour and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl and let rise for 30 minutes.

3. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Form into round balls and place on greased pan. Cover with tea towel and let rise until double the size.

4. Brush the balls with a beaten egg. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 450F. Let the buns cool.

5. Cut off a circular “lid” off of each bun and set aside. Scoop out inside of bun with a spoon or fork. Mix in a bowl with almond paste and add enough milk to make a smooth mixture. Fill buns with mixture and top with whipping cream. Place lid on top of whipping cream and garnish with powdered sugar.

[Photo Credit: Anna Brones]

Video of the Day: Adorable little girls dancing samba at Rio Carnival

The scene outside the Sambodrome stadium on the first night of Rio Carnival‘s famed samba school parades was madness. Hordes of people moved in all directions while scalpers hawked tickets, street vendors fried food, and costumed paraders maneuvered in huge feathered costumes. As far as Fat Tuesday celebrations go, this was tops.

In the middle of the chaos, these two talented little girls attracted a crowd with their quick samba moves, coy winks, and adorable smiles. What showboats! If Rio’s samba schools are recruiting for future parades, they need look no further. These girls provided as much entertainment as the show inside the stadium.

Check out Gadling’s full range of Rio Carnival 2012 coverage here.

Rio Carnival 2012: 10 best bloco street parties

If you want to feel the real essence of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, look no further than the city streets. In the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday, lively street parties and parades, called blocos, wind throughout Rio’s various neighborhoods, led by floats blaring live samba music. Crowds can swell to upwards of 200,000 people, many dressed in outrageous costumes and more than a little intoxicated.

This year, Rio’s tourism board approved 424 different blocos of all sizes and themes. With so many to choose from, where do you begin? This list includes some of the most popular.

Banda de Ipanema
Where: Rua Gomes Carneiro to Praça General Osório.
When: Feb. 18 and Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.
Why go: One of Rio Carnival’s longest-running blocos, Banda da Ipanema runs along the beachfront at sunset, providing stunning views to those who break away long enough from the party to enjoy them. Flamboyant drag queens come out in droves, so feel free to go crazier than usual with your costumes.Bangalafumenga
Where: Av. Infante Dom Henrique
When: Feb. 19 at 10 a.m.
Why go: The core band members are popular local musicians, performing year-round in venues across Rio. Expect the traditional Carnival marchinhas, along with some funk, pop, and rock thrown in.

Carmelitas
Where: Rua Almirante Alexandrino, winding through Santa Teresa.
When: Feb. 21 at 10 a.m.
Why go: This bloco is inspired by a local legend about a Carmelite nun who jumped the walls of her convent in Santa Teresa to join Carnival. Most revelers sport a colorful veil.

Cordão do Boitatá
Where: Rua do Mercado and Rua do Ouvidor, ending with a street party at Praça XV.
When: Feb. 19 at 8 a.m.
Why go: Inspired by Brazilian folk traditions, Cordão do Boitatá is slightly more peaceful and family-oriented than many of the other blocos.

Cordão da Bola Preta
Where: Largo da Candelária in Centro, going down Avenida Rio Branco to Cinelândia.
When: Feb. 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Why go: Reportedly Rio’s largest bloco, Cordão da Bola Preta is popular across demographics. Wear an outfit with the signature black polka dots on white to blend in.

Escravos da Mauá
Where: Largo de Santa Rita, going through Centro and finishing in Rua do Acre
When: Feb. 12 at 12 p.m.
Why go: This bloco‘s path takes you through the historical Saúde district, Praça Mauá and Morro da Conceição — the birthplace of Carnival street parties.

Que Merda é Essa?!
Where: Rua Garcia D’ávila and Rua Nascimento Silva, going along Vieira Souto in Ipanema.
When: Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
Why go: Translated, the name of this bloco is “What the S- is This?” Enough said.

Monobloco
Where: Av. Rio Branco and Av. Presidente Vargas, ending at Cinelândia.
When: Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.
Why go: The Monobloco parade is so popular, it was recently moved to Centro so it could accommodate everyone who wanted to participate. Music is led by the popular percussion-based Pedro Luís e a Parede.

Simpatia é Quase Amor
Where: Praça General Osório, going down the Ipanema shoreline to Leblon.
When: Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
Why go: The crowd at this bloco veers toward young and flirty, making it a great place to meet people.

Suvaco do Cristo
Where: Rua Jardim Botânico, going through the Jardim Botânico.
When: Feb. 12 at 9 a.m.
Why go: This low-key bloco goes through Rio’s botanical gardens, which should already be on your list of places to visit. Why not hit two birds with one stone?

Check out Gadling’s full range of Rio Carnival 2012 coverage here.

Video: Rio Carnival’s biggest street party, Cordão do Bola Preta

Despite a nearly unbearable early morning start time, the Cordão do Bola Preta bloco on Saturday attracted more than 2.2 million people — the most any of Rio de Janeiro‘s popular Carnival street parties has ever seen.

The party got started at 8:30 a.m. in Largo da Candelária and traveled down Avenida Rio Branco before finishing in a huge dance party in Cinelândia plaza. Most revelers were decked in outlandish costumes or outfits with the bloco‘s signature black polka dots, and more than a few were enjoying the beers, cocktails, and shots being sold and served by street vendors. From my perch in the press box, the flow of happy Brazilians from all walks of life, singing and dancing and bonding in the festivities, was awe-inspiring.

Despite the record crowds, the bloco passed nearly without incident, with police officers reporting only a handful of public urination arrests. What do you expect with all those caipirinhas?

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Check out Gadling’s full range of Rio Carnival 2012 coverage here.

The ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: parties and parades

What’s Carnival in Rio de Janeiro without its lively parties and parades? Now that planning, packing, and logistics are taken care of, it’s time to think about the important stuff: your social calendar. In this second installment of the ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio, we’ll walk you through some of the main events.

Blocos and bandas

The essence of street Carnival in Brazil can be found in the festive parties that wind their way through the roads of Rio in the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. These blocos (street parties) and bandas (Carnival bands) consist of drummers, dancers, and hordes of drunken participants, with a background of samba music. Meanwhile, an entourage of drink sellers purvey cerveja (beer) and caipirinhas (cocktail made of cachaça, lime, and sugar) to keep the crowd appropriately inebriated.

Perhaps the most legendary bloco is the Banda de Ipanema, which this year takes place on February 4th and 18th at 5:30pm. The gathering point is at the Praça General Osorio, and the parade generally goes on for several hours. Expect old-time marchinhas (traditional Carnival songs), flamboyant drag queens, and a particularly touching tribute to the late composer Pixinguinha in front of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Paz.

Cordão da Bola Preta is another popular bloco, drawing up to two million revelers dressed in signature black polka dots on white. This year, the event will take place on February 10th at 8pm and 18th at 9:30am, with a meeting point at Cinelândia.

A searchable list of blocos can be found on the website of Riotur, the city’s official tourism bureau. For the full experience, throw on a crazy costume, hide your valuables, stay hydrated (with both caipirinhas and lots of water), and hit the streets. You never know where you’ll end up!

Balls

Another way to experience Rio Carnival is at the city’s costume and black tie balls. The fanciest is the annual Magic Ball, held at the opulent Copacabana Palace Hotel. The ball attracts its fair share of Brazilian celebrities, but it’s also open to the public for the just-above-budget ticket price of $1300. This year, the event will be held on February 18th.

A more reasonable option are the balls held at Rio Scala, one of the city’s most popular nightclubs. With themes like Black Balls (featuring music from Cordão da Bola Preta) and Long Live the Beer! (self-explanatory), these balls are a bit more casual, a bit more rambunctious, and also a bit more accessible, with ticket prices ranging from $70-150.


Samba Parades

Last, but certainly not least, there’s the highlight of Carnival: the samba parades. Thousands upon thousands of spectators gather at the world-famous Sambódromo stadium to cheer on Rio’s samba schools as they put on performances with choreographed dances, elaborate costumes, decked-out floats, and of course, the rich sounds of samba music.

The best schools perform at the main parades on the Sunday and Monday of Carnival (February 19th and 20th this year). Unsurprisingly, these are the costliest parades to attend. If you live in Rio, you can purchase tickets relatively cheaply on the ground starting in January. Otherwise, you have a few options. If it’s not imperative that you get a good seat at one of the main parades, you can take your chances and wait until you arrive in Rio to purchase a ticket from a travel agent. Be mindful that this path becomes more difficult if you don’t speak Portuguese, and there are a significant number of counterfeit tickets floating around. Your other option is to purchase a ticket online through a registered travel agent like Rio-Carnival.net. While the tickets are sold at a significant mark-up (think $200-300 for a good seat) this option was recommended to me as the safest bet.

If you’re not content to sit and watch, you also have the option of joining the parade by purchasing a special costume package through a registered travel agent. Your costume then becomes your “ticket” into the parade, and you get the chance to march with one of the participating samba schools. Bragging rights don’t come cheap, though; costumes can cost upwards of $500.

For more information on planning a trip to Rio Carnival, check out the first installment in this series: The ultimate guide to Carnival in Rio: planning, packing, and logistics. And stay tuned for on-the-ground coverage of Rio Carnival 2012 starting on February 17th!

[Flickr images via Sarah Ahearn, Rodrigo Soldon, Patricia Figuera, sfmission.com]