These saffron buns in the shape of the number 8 are traditional buns from Sweden. You may know them as St. Lucia buns , or you may have heard the word Lusskatter before. What is certain is that they are the most aromatic buns, and I would love it if you dare to make them.
As today, December 13th, is Saint Lucia's day, we wanted to pay this little tribute to them and bring you the recipe, as they are delicious sweets, perfect all year round but which I think can accompany Sunday breakfasts very well and, without a doubt, coffee and tea time after Christmas lunch. In fact, the most popular and traditional way to eat them is at this time of year.
As I was saying, they are known by many names, including lussekatt, lussebulle, saffranskruse, dyvelkatter, etc., and in all cases they refer to their shape, similar to a cat's tail .
Apart from their shape and aroma, they are characterized by being accompanied, in each gap at the ends, by a raisin that gives them the finishing touch.
For this recipe, you will need a baking tray that can heat up quickly and cook the cakes. For this, you can choose a perforated tray or the Le Creuset non-stick cookie and tart tray , which offers an ideal size and quality.
Le Creuset Non-Stick Flat Square Tray and Le Creuset Mug
Ingredients
- 125 ml whole milk
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 7 g fast-acting yeast
- 0.5 g saffron
- 60 g quark cheese
- 90 g of cane sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 250 g self-rising flour
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 24 raisins
Preparation
- In a saucepan, heat the milk a little and add the butter to melt it.
- Allow to cool, then add the yeast. Stir until dissolved.
- Crush the saffron with a mortar to release its aroma and add it to the liquid until it dissolves (if you don't have a mortar, use a chopper ).
- Once dissolved, add the quark, sugar and salt and mix well.
- Add the flour and knead until it no longer sticks to the bowl or the table, depending on whether you are kneading by hand or in a machine.
- Knead for about ten minutes until you have a soft, smooth dough (make sure not to add too much flour or else 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, turn it out onto a floured board and knead it a little before dividing it into twelve pieces . Roll each piece into a 30cm sausage-like shape and form the “S” shaped buns by twisting one end towards the centre and then repeating the operation in the opposite direction with the other half of the strip.
- Place them on the greased non-stick baking tray and let the dough rest again for another 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 225ºC.
- Carefully brush the buns with lightly beaten egg. You can use the Le Creuset mini pastry brush to place a raisin in the centre of each end of the buns.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 7-10 minutes, until golden.
Happy St. Lucia Day!
