Saffron Cake in a Baking Pan

Here's how:

• 1

  Saffron Stew

  Heat the saffron, water, and syrup to about 60 °C, stir, and remove from the heat. Feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of cognac or liquor to the saffron mixture to bring out even more color and flavor. The saffron mixture can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for about a week; cover it tightly with plastic wrap.

• 2

  Dough

  Heat the milk and water to 25 °C, crumble in the yeast, and dissolve it. Add the remaining ingredients and the saffron infusion. Knead in a mixer for 3 minutes on low and 8 minutes on high, until the dough is elastic and smooth. Double the time if kneading by hand.

• 3

  Place the dough on a floured work surface and knead it into a round shape. Then cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

• 4

  Make the filling while the dough is rising.
  Mix the cornstarch into the powdered sugar, then add the butter and flavoring. Mix until you have a smooth, light batter. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and let it sit at room temperature.

• 5

  Set aside 500 g of dough, or ¼ of the total, divide it into 10 pieces, and roll them into lussekatter.

• 6

  Roll out the rest of the dough and place it on a sheet of parchment paper in the baking pan; prick it thoroughly.

• 7

  Place the buns and the sheet cake in a turned-off oven with only the light on, and let them rise for 50–60 minutes, or let them rise at room temperature, covered with a baking cloth, for 90–120 minutes.

• 8

  Now pipe the filling into the cake.
  Use a piping bag—or a freezer bag with a corner cut off—and pipe the filling evenly over the entire cake.

• 9

  Brush the sheet cake with beaten egg and sprinkle granulated sugar on top.

• 10

  First, bake the lussekatter for about 7 minutes at about 240 °C.

• 11

  Reduce the heat and bake the sheet cake for about 25–28 minutes at about 190 °C.

• 12

  The sheet cake needs to sit for about an hour before serving so the filling has time to set.