Yokohama World Porters: Norwegian Skolebolle in Cafe Be LL Be

As a Norwegian living abroad I tend to get slightly patriotic about finding Norwegian stuff in the stores here in Japan, simply because Norway is a country most people here only associate with salmon and cold weather. It also seems that Norway doesn't do that much to increase its "brand awareness" in comparison to the other Nordic countries (who hasn't heard about Moomin, Ikea or Marimekko?), which means that once you're lucky enough to stumble upon a product that has any relation at all to your home country you kinda just have to proclaim it for the rest of the world.

So.. Anyway.. I discovered that they sell a type of Norwegian bun known as skolebolle (lit. school bun) or skolebrød (lit. school bread) at the bakery on the first floor of Yokohama World Porters called Be LL Be. That is to say, after another Norwegian friend had posted about this finding on FB and of course I just had to go there to get my hands on one of those delicious skolebolle myself.

Skolebolle is basically made in the same way as an ordinary bun except it is filled with custard cream in the middle and has a layer of icing/frosting on top along with grated coconut. Apparently this type of bun was first made in Norway in the 1950s. Whether you call it skolebolle or skolebrød depends on where in the country you're from. The bun originally comes from the west part of Norway where it is called skolebolle, but in the capital most people call it skolebrød (as used in the bakery in Yokohama: スコーレブロー).

I asked one of the girls working in the store about why they were selling the Norwegian buns in their store. She went to check with one of her sempais, and he apparently said it was a decision taken on chain-level to see how well this Norwegian pastries could sell.

One of my friends told me he once came across skolebolle for the neat price of 400 yen (!) at an event in Tokyo, so with only 180 yen/bun the Be LL Be sure will be getting my support!

The Be LL Be bakery is a Kanagawa-based chain that has a number of small and cute bakeries spread out through the prefecture. If you're in Japan and want to try out this delicious piece of Norwegian pastry I would strongly recommend visiting their store! You can find their stores and menu here.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
Anette

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