Semlor

While many places celebrate the day before Lent with carnivals and debauchery, Fat Tuesday is a special day in Sweden as well.

This is the day when people in most Scandinavian countries devour a semla or two. (Singular: semla. Plural: semlor.)

A semla is a “cardamom-spiced wheat bun which has its top cut off and insides scooped out, and is then filled with a mix of the scooped-out bread crumbs, milk and almond paste, topped with whipped cream. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar.”

They are every bit as sugar-coma-inducing as they look, and every bakery has them on display to bombard you.