Lussekatter – St Lucia Saffron and Cardamom Sweet Buns for St Lucy’s Day

Lussekatter – St Lucia Saffron and Cardamom Sweet Buns

for

St Lucy’s Day

Tomorrow, December the 13th, is St Lucy’s Day as well as my daughter Hannah’s birthday…….so a double celebration. And in readiness for these double celebrations, today’s recipe has been especially posted a day early so that any aspiring bakers can make my recipe for “Lussekatter”, or St Lucia Saffron and Cardamom Sweet Buns. I have made these before, but a long time ago and before I owned a digital camera and way before I started to take photos of my food! They are a little tricky to make, insofar as they take time to knead, prove, rest and shape, BUT, if you are not a stranger to yeast baking, then you will find these a doddle to make as well as being very therapeutic too. Beginner bakers will hopefully find my step-by-step photos in the recipe card helpful and the two or three hours it takes to make these delightful buns is more than compensated for when you taste them and view your baking booty.

My daughter, Hannah

Although Santa Lucia day is celebrated in most Catholic countries, it’s the celebrations in Sweden (and Scandinavia) that fascinates and interests me the most; celebrated to honour and in remembrance of St Lucy, the 13th December was the winter solstice and therefore the shortest day on the old Julian calendar which led to St Lucy’s feast day being known as the “Festival of Light”. Light and in particular candles play a big part on this special day with a “Santa Lucia Queen of Lights” (also called the Lucia Bride) wearing a long white robe, a red sash for martyrdom and a wreath of lingonberry twigs, leaves and candles in her hair being the highlight of a dawn procession; other girls (and sometimes boys) are all dressed like “Lucy” in white robes, sing songs whilst carrying cookies and these Lussekatter buns as they walk in the special procession.

But back to my recipe for today; these little buns are made with saffron, but I also like to add another classic and traditional spice of Scandinavia, that of cardamom, which imparts a lovely aromatic and warm flavour. These sweet buns are very similar to Brioche, as they are an egg and butter enriched sweet dough, but it’s the saffron that imparts such a special and very celebratory taste to them, whilst also adding a fabulous golden glow and hue. They truly represent Sweden, and Scandinavia as a whole, and once made, any that are not eaten on the day can be popped into the freezer for more festive feasting later. Whereas I am not suggesting that you wear candles or a wreath in your hair, I think it would be lovely if after baking these, you dress the table with crisp linen, invite your friends (and family) over and light some candles……to create that special Santa Lucia atmosphere.

So, the end, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Hannah for tomorrow, and, if you fancy a trip, or should I say a cruise, to see the Northern Lights and Scandinavia this winter, then Travelbag Cruise have some great offers with numerous cruise companies over on their site. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend (and St Lucy’s Day tomorrow), I’ll be back with more traveller’s tales, some new recipes as well as a couple of new giveaways and my usual “kitchen chat”, see you later, Karen

St Lucia Saffron Buns on The Caravan Trail Penzance Plates

This is part of my Churchill China UK Blogger and Ambassador series of posts, and I am using The Caravan Trail Penzance patterned plates and salad bowl in my images.

For more of my Churchill China Posts, please visit the link here:

Lavender and Lovage Churchill China Recipes and Posts

Lussekatter – Santa Lucia Saffron Buns (St Lucia Bread Rolls)

Print recipe

Serves 12 buns
Prep time 1 hour, 40 minutes
Cook time 15 minutes
Total time 1 hour, 55 minutes
Allergy Egg, Milk, Wheat
Dietary Vegetarian
Meal type Bread, Breakfast, Snack
Misc Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion Christmas
Region Swedish
By author Karen S Burns-Booth
These fragrant, saffron buns are made especially for Saint Lucy's Day (Santa Lucia, St Lucia) on the 13th December and are delicious when served warm with coffee. Mine also have another typical Scandinavian ingredient, cardamom, which adds a warmth to these sweet egg and butter enriched bread buns.

Ingredients

300mls milk, tepid
1 teaspoon saffron threads
500g strong white bread flour
7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g golden caster sugar
10 cardamom pods, split and seeds removed
75g butter, melted
1 large free-range egg
1 small free-range egg, beaten for glazing
24 raisins

Note

These fragrant, saffron buns are made especially for Saint Lucy's Day (Santa Lucia, St Lucia) on the 13th December and are delicious when served warm with coffee. Mine also have another typical Scandinavian ingredient, cardamom, which adds a warmth to these sweet egg and butter enriched bread buns.

Directions

Step 1 Butter a large baking sheet, you may need two and soak the saffron threads in the milk.
Step 2 Combine the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and cardamom seeds in a large bowl and then make a well in the centre and add the saffron milk and melted butter.
Step 3

Stir and then start to bring it all together like bread dough before turning it out onto a floured board and kneading for 10 to 15 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Step 4 Put the dough back into a bowl, cover with a clean tea cloth and allow it to prove in warm place until it has doubled in size, for about 1 hour.
Step 5 Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 7.
Step 6

Placed the dough on a floured board, knock it back and divide it into 12 equal size pieces. Take each piece in turn and roll it out into a long strip, before twisting it into an "S" shape very tightly. Place the shaped buns onto the prepared baking sheet/s and cover them with a clean teacloth - allow them to rise for between 30 and 45 minutes in a warm place.
Step 7

Once they have risen, brush the tops with a beaten egg and then push a raisin into the centre of each scroll - 2 raisins per bun - see photos.
Step 8

Bake them for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven until they are dark golden brown and sound hollow when tapped underneath.
Step 9 Allow them to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Step 10 Best eaten on the same day, but they can be frozen.
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Disclaimer: I was paid for my time and for my ingredients by Travelbag Cruise. This recipe is being entered into a contest hosted by Travelbag Cruise to win £500 of travel vouchers.

As I am using candles as props in these recipe photos, I am adding these to December’s Tea Time Treats, hosted on alternate moths by me and Janie, where the theme is:

Glitter, Sprinkles, Candles and Shiny Stuff!