St. Lucia Saffron Buns Recipe, Swedish Lussekatter Rolls (2024)

FAQs

What is traditionally used to make the Scandinavian lussekatter yellow? ›

The rolls are lightly sweet, buttery, and vibrant yellow from the saffron-infused dough. The raisins in the "eyes" of the rolls give them just a little extra sweetness when you bite into them. Through my research I've seen many complaints that lussekatter can be dry or dense.

Why is it called Lussekatter? It is thought that the buns were originally modeled after a sleeping cat (the S-shape being the curled up tail), believed to ward off the devil.

Originally, the buns were called djävulskatter (“devil cats”), but later the name changed to the more polite lussekatter (“Lucia cats”). The dough is sweet and soft, but spiced with a generous amount of saffron to make it bright yellow.

According to Ahnlund, Kammecker introduced the saffron buns to Sweden. A woman in Uppsala bakes different types of saffron buns or lussekatter in 1939. Photo: Gunnar Sundgren, Upplandsmuseet. Nowadays, the saffron buns is connected to the Lucia-day on the 13th of December and the time around Christmas.

When to eat it? The 13th of December is the day to eat a lussekatt but they are available in Sweden during most of December. The most common way to eat it is during the Swedish fika, you simply replace your normal cinnamon bun or cookie with a lussekatt instead.

Despite being the world's most expensive spice, saffron is widely used in Swedish food. It features heavily around Christmas time in saffransbullar (saffron buns), but it is also used in a number of other sweet and savoury dishes. It is used both because of its bright yellow colour and its distinctive flavour.

St. Lucia is celebrated throughout the world, and honored by many cultures. In Sweden, Lucia symbolizes the coming end of the long winter nights and the return of light to the world.

Lucia meaning light, Santa Lucia is also the patron saint of the blind, the eyes, the electricians, the oculists and the stonemasons, and is often invoked for eye diseases. As the patron saint of sight, she is also sollicited for sight problems, such as myopia, astigmatism, presbyopia or blindness.

The nation's best-known species is the gorgeous but endangered Saint Lucia amazon parrot. Other species of conservation concern include the pencil cedar, staghorn coral and Saint Lucia racer. The racer, confined to the nine-hectare island of Maria Major, is thought to be the world's most threatened snake.

Cuccìa, the dessert of Saint Lucia

One of the most famous desserts, whose paternity has always been disputed between Palermo and Syracuse, cuccìa is a spoon dessert made with ricotta cheese, boiled wheat, candied fruit and chocolate drops.

What do they eat on St Lucia Day? ›

Families observe St. Lucia's Day in their homes by having one of their daughters (traditionally the eldest) dress in white and serve coffee and baked goods, such as saffron bread (lussekatter) and ginger biscuits, to the other members of the family. These traditional foods are also given to visitors during the day.

There are numerous types of buns, but some popular ones include: Hamburger buns. Hot dog buns. Brioche buns.

As the procession carries forward, the children hand out saffron buns to symbolize the light of Christianity throughout the darkness of the world. These saffron buns are a Swedish custom that have become a permanent baked-good tradition during the holiday season and lead up to Christmas.

Remove the buns from the oven and put on a wire rack. Brush the tops with the syrup and leave to cool a little. Serve warm with butter or clotted cream, or allow to cool and serve halved and toasted with butter.

The Swedish cinnamon bun is much less sticky than, for example, the American cinnamon roll. Swedish cinnamon buns also have the very specific addition of a bit of cardamom spice in the dough which adds another delicious dimension of flavouring.

The Christmas Tree

In Denmark, there's a tradition of holding hands in a long line, as a family, singing traditional songs and dancing around the tree. All over Scandinavia, it's also normal to see Christmas trees decorated with real candles.

Families observe St. Lucia's Day in their homes by having one of their daughters (traditionally the eldest) dress in white and serve coffee and baked goods, such as saffron bread (lussekatter) and ginger biscuits, to the other members of the family. These traditional foods are also given to visitors during the day.

This sweet, saffron-flavoured bun, known as 'lussekatt' (directly translated as 'Lucia cat'), is typically shaped into the letter 'S' to look like a curled-up cat, with raisins for decoration to resemble the cat's eyes.