13 December 2024

Today is Saint Lucy's Day, which is a Christian feast day celebrated by many in Scandinavia, Italy and Saint Lucia. has shared her recipe for delicious Gatti di Santa Lucia / Lussenkatter / St Lucy's cats, which is a sweet saffron bread associated with the day.

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Gatti di Santa Lucia / Lussenkatter / St Lucy's cats

Waking up with warm sunshine in the dark-cold of December: that’s what it feels like to prepare these.

The 13th December is the feast of Santa Lucia, whose name comes from the Latin for ‘light’. In Italy, children are given oranges and sweet cakes learn “Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia, il giorno più corto che ci sia” (St Lucy, St Lucy, the shortest day of all) (yes, it isn’t actually the shortest day, but the rhyme is good and, well, any excuse for cake). In Sweden, young girls wear crowns of candles and bring sweet cakes to their family. So, brightness and sweetness! Plenty of both in this recipe:

Photo of gatti di Santa Lucia - small twisted rolls with two raisins on each one

Makes 12

Ingredients: 
  • 300ml milk 
  • 75g unsalted butter 
  • 0.5g saffron threads, or cumin also works 
  • 500g strong white bread flour 
  • 100g caster sugar 
  • 7g yeast 
  • 1tsp salt 
  • Egg for glazing
  • Raisins for decoration
Method: 
  1. Heat the butter and milk gently until the butter melts (do not let it boil), then add the saffron (or cumin) and mix until it is all dissolved and golden. Leave to cool a bit – you want it lukewarm, not hot, or it will zap the yeast.
  2. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
  3. Make a well in the middle and add the milk. Stir it all in so it makes a sticky dough.
  4. Knead for about 10 minutes.
  5. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about an hour).
  6. Knock back the dough gently and divide into 12 equal portion. Roll each portion into a thin sausage shape and then make them into an “S”, curling up the ends into spirals (see photo).
  7. Cover the wee golden spirals and leave to prove, until doubled in size. Or you could make these in the evening and leave overnight in the fridge – then you can have them warm for an amazing breakfast.
  8. When ready to bake, put a raisin in each spiral and brush with beaten egg. You could add some sugar or crushed cardamom or cinnamon to the glaze. 
  9. Bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Best eaten on the day they are made!