These saffron buns shaped like the number 8 are traditional Swedish buns. You may know them as St. Lucia buns, or you may have heard the word Lusskatter. What is certain is that they are extremely fragrant buns, and I would love it if you try making them.
Since today, December 13, is St. Lucia’s Day, we wanted to pay this little tribute and bring you the recipe, as they are delicious sweets, perfect all year round but which I think go very well with Sunday breakfasts and, without a doubt, with coffee and tea after the Christmas meal. In fact, the most popular and traditional time to eat them is during this time of year.
As I mentioned, they are known by many names, also lussekatt, lussebulle, saffranskruse, dyvelkatter, etc., and in all cases the names refer to their shape, similar to a cat’s tail.
Aside from their shape and aroma, they are characterized by having a raisin in each hollow at the ends, which gives them the final touch.
For the recipe you will need an oven tray that heats up and bakes them quickly. For this you can choose a perforated tray or the nonstick cookie and tart tray Le Creuset, which offers an ideal size and qualities.
Le Creuset square flat nonstick tray and Le Creuset mug-style cup
Ingredients
- 125 ml whole milk
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 7 g fast-acting yeast
- 0.5 g saffron
- 60 g quark cheese
- 90 g cane sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 24 raisins
Preparation
- In a saucepan, heat some of the milk and add the butter so it melts.
- Let it cool down slightly and then add the yeast. Stir until it dissolves.
- Grind the saffron with a mortar and pestle so it releases its aroma and add it to the liquid until it dissolves (if you don't have a mortar, do it with a chopper).
- Once dissolved, add the quark cheese, the sugar and the salt, and mix well.
- Add the flour and knead everything until it no longer sticks to the bowl or the table, depending on whether you are kneading by hand or with a machine.
- Knead for about ten minutes until you obtain a soft, smooth dough (make sure not to add too much flour or the buns will be very dry).
- Let the dough rest in a bowl, covered with a damp cloth, for about 45 minutes.
- Once it has rested, tip it out onto a floured surface and work it a little before dividing it into twelve pieces. Roll each piece into a kind of 30-centimeter sausage and shape the buns into an “S”, turning one end toward the center and then repeating the operation in the opposite direction with the other half of the strip.
- Place them on the greased nonstick baking tray and let the dough rest again for another 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 225ºC.
- Carefully brush the buns with the lightly beaten egg. You can use the Le Creuset mini pastry brush and place a raisin in the center of each end of the buns.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 7–10 minutes, until golden.
Happy St. Lucia’s Day!
