With Scotland's soft fruit season in full flow and raspberries in particular in season, it's never a better time to create one of the country's most popular desserts.
Cranachan has been a favourite of Scots for generations and combines those wonderful raspberries with other Scottish ingredients in whisky and oats.
Simple and easy to make, it's traditionally made to celebrate the raspberry harvest in June, and is a delicious, light dessert that's ideal for serving after a BBQ or meal outdoors.
This recipe has been perfected by head chef at the Cook School Scotland, Stuart Leslie, who regularly features traditional Scottish recipes as part of his cooking classes.
The recipe list is fairly simple and it doesn't take long to make, feel free to experiment with the ingredients or scale up for more people where needed.
Stuart said: “Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert, it originates from crowdie cheese being mixed with oats & honey for a traditional Scottish breakfast.
"It was then adapted by adding raspberries in June to celebrate the berry harvest. A traditional way of serving cranachan is to make your own at the table depending on the flavours each person likes more.”
Cranachan
What you'll need:
20g Oats
150g Scottish Raspberries
10g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar in the US)
150ml (2/3 cup) Double Cream (Heavy Cream in the US)
As much honey as you can get in there
Some nice Scotch whisky - this can be a blend or single malt - so long as it is sweeter in flavour and not peated.
How to make it:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C. To toast the oatmeal, spread it out on a baking tray and put it in the oven for approx. 8 mins or until it smells rich and nutty. Allow to cool.
TIP: It will not darken quickly, so use your sense of smell to tell you when it is nutty enough.
2. Make a raspberry purée by crushing half the fruit. Sweeten this to taste with the caster sugar. Using an electric whisk (or regular hand whisk if you don’t have one), whisk the double cream until just starting to set. Stir in the honey and whisky, taking care not to over whip the cream.
TIP: Taste the mix and add more honey or whisky to suit.
3. Stir in the oatmeal and whisk lightly until the mixture is just firm. Allow to chill slightly before serving.
TIP: I like to serve in a retro style martini glass with some nice plump raspberries and a sprig of mint.
The Cook School Scotland is a family-run attraction in Kilmarnock that offers hands on cooking experiences. The Cook School set to reopen its doors on 1st of September with a host of new menus and cooking experiences led by Head Chef Stuart for customers old and new.
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