Ingredients
Cranachan
- 75 gpinhead or medium oatmeal
- 500 mldouble cream
- 4 tbspheather honey
- 4 tbspScotch whisky
- 400 graspberries
To serve
- extra honey
- extra whisky
Directions
- Toast the oatmeal in a dry heavy pan over a medium heat, shaking constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes until it smells nutty and turns golden.
- Watch it the entire time. Oatmeal goes from toasted to burnt in seconds and there is no rescuing it once it has.
- Cool the oatmeal completely on a plate. Added warm to cream it both melts it and goes soft immediately.
- Crush half the raspberries roughly with a fork and leave the rest whole.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold in the honey and the whisky.
- Stop whipping while it still folds easily. It stiffens further as you fold the whisky in, and over-whipped cream turns grainy and buttery.
- Fold in most of the toasted oatmeal, keeping some back for the top.
- Layer into glasses: cream, crushed raspberries, whole raspberries, cream, and so on up.
- Assemble it within about half an hour of eating. The oatmeal is meant to be crunchy against the cream and it softens steadily once it is folded in.
- Top with the reserved oatmeal, a few whole raspberries and a thread of honey.
- Serve with the whisky bottle and the honey pot on the table, which is the traditional way: everyone dresses their own.
Technique
- Pinhead oatmeal, not rolled oats. The point is a distinct nutty crunch, and rolled oats simply go soggy.
- It is a harvest and Burns Night dessert, developed from older cream and crowdie dishes eaten at midsummer.
- Scottish raspberries in July are what it was built around, and frozen ones work perfectly well the rest of the year.
Substitutions
- Crowdie or a soft fresh cheese folded into the cream, which is the older version.
- Drambuie or Atholl Brose in place of plain whisky.
Variations
- With blackberries or brambles in autumn.
- Made without alcohol, with extra honey and a squeeze of lemon.
- Layered into a large bowl as a trifle rather than into glasses.
History
A Scottish harvest and Burns Night dessert, developed from older cream and crowdie dishes eaten at midsummer.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cranachan?
Cranachan is a dessert from United Kingdom: whipped cream with toasted oatmeal, raspberries, honey and whisky. A Scottish harvest and Burns Night dessert, developed from older cream and crowdie dishes eaten at midsummer.
How long does Cranachan take to make?
Cranachan takes 20 min of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cranachan?
Yes, within limits. Crowdie or a soft fresh cheese folded into the cream, which is the older version. Drambuie or Atholl Brose in place of plain whisky.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cranachan?
Watch it the entire time. Oatmeal goes from toasted to burnt in seconds and there is no rescuing it once it has.
