Lucia buns with vanilla filling are soft, fluffy and buttery saffron buns with a sweet vanilla filling and a crunchy sugar coating. These Lucia buns with vanilla filling, orange butter and sugar are honestly some of the best things I have ever baked. The soft and airy saffron dough, the sweet vanilla filling and the melted butter with orange zest and sugar is simply a brilliant combination.
You can also try my recipe for swirls inspired by Swedish St. Lucia buns, they are really good.
Lucia buns with vanilla filling
Ingredients
Instructions
Dough
Stir or crush the saffron into 100 ml of the milk, preferably using a mortar. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the saffron can release as much colour and flavour as possible.
Add the rest of the milk to a mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast in it. Add the sugar, salt and about half of the flour and knead the dough with the dough hook. Add the butter. Add more flour and knead until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and glossy. This takes about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how powerful your stand mixer is. Leave the dough to rise in the bowl for 1 hour, covered with a damp tea towel at room temperature.
Vanilla filling
Mix all the ingredients well with an electric whisk or in a stand mixer until you have a soft filling. Leave it on the kitchen counter until you need it.
How to make the Lucia buns
Dust the counter with flour and roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Carefully spread the vanilla filling over it in a thin layer and fold the dough over itself. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut 20 to 22 thin strips, about 2 cm wide. Roll each strip from one end, turn it over and roll it from the other end (see the video). Place the Lucia buns on 2 baking trays lined with baking paper. Cover them with a damp tea towel and let them rise for another hour.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan).
Brush the Lucia buns with beaten egg and bake them for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the orange zest. Pour the sugar into a bowl. Brush the warm Lucia buns with the orange butter and then toss them in the sugar. Enjoy them warm or let them cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
Nutritional content
-
Energy
33 kcal / 33 kj
-
Fat
33,3 gram
-
Protein
33,3 gram
-
Carbohydrates
33,3 gram
Delicious recipes from the same category
Can you freeze the Lucia buns with vanilla filling?
Yes! These Lucia buns freeze really well, even with the sugar on. Put them in a freezer bag and freeze them. Take them out the evening before you want to serve them and leave them on the kitchen counter until the next day. You can serve them as they are or warm them up briefly in the oven.
There are no eggs in the dough itself, so you can easily make these Lucia buns plant-based. Brush them with plant milk instead of egg and use plant-based butter in the dough, the filling and for brushing the baked buns.
There are many ways to make Lucia buns, and I have also made them as swirls with vanilla filling and raisins. And of course you can also find my recipe for the classic Swedish Lucia buns. Enjoy!
I got the inspiration for this recipe from the lovely Frida. Many Swedish bakeries also make this version, and I can see that there are lots of different ways to roll and shape them. So feel free to experiment a little.
Please write a comment