Lussekatter are eaten in Sweden to celebrate the winter solstice, which they call St Lucia’s day. These Swedish sweet treats are saffron-flavoured buns shaped into an S, to resemble a curled up cat, with two raisins added to represent the eyes.
The rolls are only lightly sweet but the raisins in the “eyes” add a touch of extra sweetness when you bite into them. The end result looks a bit more like an impression by Picasso than a regular cat, but this is a really fun recipe to make and results in pretty yellow buns with a lovely buttery bake.
Makes 10 12 lussekatter buns
Ingredients:
- 175ml milk
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads
- 100g white, granulated sugar
- 7g active dry yeast
- 500g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 56g unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup of sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- raisins
Instructions:
- In a small pot, heat the milk, saffron and 1 teaspoon of sugar together until the milk starts to steam.
- Remove from heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Leave the mixture to cool down until warm to the touch, but not hot.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the warm saffron-infused milk and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets foamy.
- In the bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt and cardamom together.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the milky saffron mixture, eggs, softened butter and sour cream. Mix together until well incorporated.
- Start to knead the dough. Slowly add additional flour one tablespoon at a time, kneading the flour into the dough after each tablespoon. Do this until the dough is still a little bit sticky to the touch, but does not completely stick to your hands.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the bowl sit in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
- When the dough has doubled in size, gently press it down and knead it a couple of times. Break off a piece and form it into a ball and then roll the ball out into a snake.
- Curl the ends in opposite directions, forming an “S” with spirals at each end. Place on a lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough shapes double in size, which should take 30 minutes to an hour.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 200°C.
- Brush some beaten egg over the tops and sides of the uncooked buns. Place raisins in the centre of the “S” spirals.
- Place buns in the oven and bake 10 to 11 minutes until the buns are golden brown.
- Allow to cool and enjoy.
