Cranachan is a typical Scottish sweet treat, formerly eaten as a dessert at Harvest time when the raspberries were plentiful. It is also a popular dessert at Scottish weddings and Burns Night (25th Jan).
Cranachan is sometimes called Crowdie Cream, because it was originally made with a soft Scottish cheese known as Crowdie. If you would prefer to make it that way, replace the cream in this recipe with any light cream cheese, mixed with a little milk.
You can use any kind of whisky in the recipe, but for the really authentic touch, Drambuie would be the best choice. This is a malt whisky, flavoured with honey and herbs, produced on the Isle of Skye. If you prefer an alcohol-free Cranachan, use a few drops of vanilla essence instead or scrape a vanilla pod into your cream!
Ingredients
2/3 cup (2 oz, 50 g) medium oatmeal
1½ cups (12 fl oz, 360 ml) heavy (double) cream
2 tbsp honey
A good glug of whisky
2½ cups (10 oz, 300 g) fresh raspberries
Method
Start by placing the oatmeal in a dry pan or skillet
Toast the oats on a medium heat, turning often until it’s a golden brown, do NOT burn, it will taste disgusting!
Whisk the cream until it is firm (my mum always tells me to not over whip the cream)
Add the honey and whisky to the cream and fold together gently
Cranachan is best served in a tall dessert glass. The traditional way to serve Cranachan is to take all the ingredients to the table and let each guest assemble their own desserts. Cranachan is just a Scottish Eton mess! Yum!
