I’ve always wanted to make some St Lucia saffron buns, partly because I always have this desire to make friendly versions of any recipe I come across (if it’s possible), and also because St Lucia is my name Saint and I felt I should!
St Lucia buns, or Lussekatter are Swedish buns eaten for breakfast with coffee or as an afternoon treat on the 13th December, or St Lucia Day. The saffron gives a lovely cheerful appearance to the buns, which is just perfect in the depths of the dark winter (and especially so in Sweden!).
In essence a St Lucia bun is a yeasted sweet bun, flavoured with saffron and shaped into a decorative S, dotted with a couple of raisins. Apparently the curvy S shape is a religious symbolism but I’ve also read that it is to represent the tail of a cat – if you know the true origin, please let me know!
Saffron seems to be a funny thing – I’m particularly sensitive to the flavour and easily find it overpowering, but some others I’ve served these too could hardly notice! I’ve added a pinch but do feel free to add a little more if you want a bigger dose of saffron flavour. I’ve also added a little turmeric to ramp up the colour without adding any extra flavour – I think the subtle yellow is particularly appealing.
It’s quite simple to make the S shape – it’s shown in the photo’s below, but in essence you roll up each end in a different direction, stud the swirl with a raisin and then leave to prove. Make sure to add the glaze for that wonderful shiny finish!
St Lucia Saffron Buns (Lussekatter)
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the margarine into the milk (don’t make it more than tepid though), stir in the saffron and leave to infuse
- Place the flour, salt, yeast, turmeric, and caster sugar in a bowl and pour in the warmed milk and margarine mixture.
- Bring to a dough and knead until smooth and bounces back when you press a finger onto the surface.
- Place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave to double in size in a warm place.
- Knock back and roll out the dough to approx. 20cm x 12cm..
- Cut into 6 2 cm strips. Roll up from each end so you have an S shape. Press a raisin into the middle of each swirl and place on a lined baking tray. Cover and leave to prove for at least 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
- Bake for 15 minutes until golden, risen and they sound hollow when tapped.
- melt together the brown sugar and water and brush over the hot buns. Sprinkle with the pearl sugar (or other granular sugar)
- Cool on a wire rack. These are best eaten (or frozen) on the day they’re made
