Gatti di Santa Lucia

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recipe by Kenwood https://kenwoodworld.com/

  • Time icon
    Total Time
    2hrs 55mins
  • Serves icon
    Serves
    20
  • Calories icon
    Calories
    243

Gatti di Santa Lucia are based on the Swedish lussekatter, which are both eaten on 13th December to celebrate Saint Lucia on the darkest day of the year. Prepared using an enriched brioche-style dough, the gatti di Santa Lucia are flavoured with saffron, which is thought to brighten up the darkness of December, and rolled into the shape of cats' tails, decorated with two plump raisins to represent the eyes. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

recipe updated May 6, 2025

Ingredients

  • Water icon
    Water
    as needed
  • Whole milk icon
    Whole milk
    420 g
  • Unsalted butter icon
    Unsalted butter
    150 g
  • Egg icon
    Egg
    1
  • Raisins icon
    Raisins
    30 g
  • Dried yeast icon
    Dried yeast
    7 g
  • Saffron icon
    Saffron
    1 pinch
  • Italian 00 flour icon
    Italian 00 flour
    800 g
  • Sugar icon
    Sugar
    150 g
  • Salt icon
    Salt
    ¼ teaspoon

Tools

  • kCook icon Oven
  • kCook icon Cooking Chef XL
  • kCook icon Small bowl
  • kCook icon Sieve
  • kCook icon Baking tray - large

Step preview

  1. Add the ingredients into a small bowl until covered
  2. Leave to soak - 15 minutes
  3. Then drain the raisins into a sieve and set aside
  4. Add the ingredients into the appliance bowl and stir until dissolved
  5. Fit the Dough Tool
  6. Add the ingredients into the appliance bowl and fit the splashguard
  7. Mix - 10 minutes, speed 1
  8. Remove the Dough Tool
  9. Prove until doubled in size – 1 hour, 30ºC, speed off
  10. Line two baking trays with parchment paper
  11. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into 20 equal balls
  12. Take one ball and cover the rest with a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out
  13. Roll the ball into a log, about 30cm long
  14. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough to a width of 4cm, starting and ending 2cm in from the ends of the log, so they remain thicker
  15. Starting with the end, roll the dough into a spiral until you reach the middle of the flattened strip
  16. Then flip it over and repeat with the other end until the dough forms an ‘S’ shape
  17. Place two raisins in the centre of each spiral
  18. Repeat the same with the remaining dough balls, cover the rest with a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out
  19. Place the dough spirals on the prepared baking trays and cover them with plastic wrap
  20. Prove in a warm place – 30 minutes
  21. Preheat the oven to 180ºC
  22. Uncover the risen dough and brush with beaten egg
  23. Bake – 25 minutes, 180ºC
  24. Remove from the oven and let cool
  25. Serve
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