What is "semla"

n. A traditional pastry with a cream and almond paste filling found in Sweden, Finland and Estonia.

A semla (most common name in Sweden) or fastlagsbulle (Southern Sweden and Swedish speaking Finland), laskiaispulla (Finnish), vastlakukkel (Estonian) or fastelavnsbolle (Danish and Norwegian) is a traditional sweet roll made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Latvia, and Lithuania associated with Lent and especially Shrove Tuesday in most countries, or Shrove Monday in Denmark, parts of southern Sweden and Iceland.

Semla is the Etruscan equivalent for the Greek goddess Semele, daughter of the Boeotian hero Cadmus and mother of the Greek god of wine Dionysus by Zeus. Her name also is sometimes spelled Semia.