The main ingredients are plain flour, butter, yeast, caster sugar, currants and sultanas.

In parts of Britain, the buns were traditionally baked on sycamore leaves and dusted with powdered sugar.

[citation needed] In Sweden and Norway, no cinnamon or nutmeg is used in the bun, and raisins are used instead of currants.

They have traditional religious symbolism and are eaten during Advent, and especially on Saint Lucy's Day, 13 December.

The addition of food colouring in Cornish saffron buns was already common by the end of the First World War when the scarcity of saffron tempted bakers to find other ways to colour their products.