Burns Night Recipes: Cranachan

Burns Night is perfectly placed to perk up what can be a dull month. It is a night for rich food, great poetry and best of all, a nice wee dram of whiskey. For dessert it is hard to beat Cranachan, Scotland’s answer to Eton Mess and the perfect dish to round off the night. The ingredients showcase the very best of Scottish produce and the quick assembly time is a godsend, particularly when Burns Night falls on a Monday this year. Virtually any fruit can be used for the compote, but as rhubarb is in season in January, I prefer to use this as the base. 

Oats, a staple of the Scottish diet are an important component  in this dessert. Pinhead oats are best to use here as their coarse texture gives the dish more bite. Gently toasting the oats until they are golden in colour greatly improves their flavour and adds a nutty note. 

To be truly traditional, you’ll want to use heather honey. It is a widely available product, but if you don’t have it to hand, any honey will make a fine substitute. The whisky should of course be Scotch, and if you have bought a bottle for the evening it is not too much of a hardship to devote of couple of drams to the dessert. 

Ingredients - Serves 4

300 ml Double Cream

2 medium rhubarb sticks

100g strawberries

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp heather honey

2/3 tbsp whisky, preferably Scotch

50g pinhead oats

First, make the compote by chopping the rhubarb into inch sized chunks and the strawberries in half. Place these in a saucepan with the tablespoon of sugar and a scant amount of water. Simmer until the fruit has softened completely. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until assembling the dessert.

Place the oats on a baking tray and place into a medium oven for a few minutes until golden. Keep a close eye on the oats, as they can go from attractively golden to burnt in a matter of seconds. Allow to cool completely.

Just before serving whisk the double cream into stiff peaks with an electric hand mixer. Add the whisky and honey and combine the mixture with a spatula. Stir through the compote and three quarters of the toasted oats. Divide the cream into four dessert dishes and sprinkle the remaining oats on top. Serve immediately.

Is Cranachan a superior dish to Eton Mess? What is your favourite dessert to have on Burns Night? What will you be using to stave off the whisky hangover the next day? 

Coconut Macaroons

Not to be confused with the pretty but (kind of) pointless French Macaron, these macaroons are like little moist clouds of deliciousness.

They take mere minutes to whip up and due to their snowball appearance are very apt for this time of year. A welcome respite from mince pies, make these your new Winter treat! 

Ingredients (makes around 8)

2 large egg whites

One drop of vinegar

Pinch of salt

50g ground almonds

80g sugar (granulated is fine) 

250g desiccated coconut

1 tsp vanilla essence

To decorate 

100g milk or dark chocolate 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan) and grease a baking tray. 

In a large mixing bowl and using an electric hand whisk, whisk the egg whites until frothy.

Add the drop of vinegar and then start to whisk in the sugar (around 20g at a time) until it is all combined and the meringue can form stiff peaks.

Add the vanilla essence, salt, almonds and combine until the mixture is sticky. 

Using slightly damp hands, roll the mixture into around 8 golf ball sized portions.

Place on the greased oven tray and bake for around 18-20 minutes, until the tops of the balls are golden. Allow to cool.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate over the macaroons and allow harden.

 

Seasonal Cooking- Plum Cobbler

Last weekend I was seduced by a stunning display of plums at Borough Market. British plums are currently in season, and are delicious when used in baking. The flavours in this cobbler are kept very simple to allow the natural flavours of the fruit to be the star of the dish. The "cobbles" are a bit like a sweet dumpling and absorb the yummy plum juices that are omitted whilst cooking. Seeing the filling peeking through makes this dessert all the more appetising. I served mine with custard, but some double cream drizzled over would work well too.

Ingredients

For the fruit filling 

1kg British plums

2 heaped teaspoons plain flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

40g Demerara sugar

Zest and juice of one orange

For the Cobbles

150g self raising flour

50g caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp baking powder

50 ml milk

30g flaked almonds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree. Cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Place on a baking tray and sprinkle over the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Grate the orange zest over the top and squeeze over the juice. Bake the fruit for around 30 minutes or until soft.

2. To make the cobbles, place the flour and baking powder into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until it resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and add the milk and egg. Mix thoroughly- the mixture should be stiff but spoonable. 

3. When the fruit is cooked, transfer into an ovenproof serving dish. Seperate the cobble mix into about six pieces and roll up into dumpling like balls. Place these over the fruit, leaving gaps so that the fruit can be seen. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the cobbles are golden brown

Serve immediately with cream or custard.