When Ryan and I were in Edinburgh we bought a bottle of whisky. Because, you know, that’s one of the things you do (according to the guide books) when you go to Scotland. We picked out a cute shop along the Royal Mile and browsed around. I asked a woman who worked there what she recommended for people who wanted to have some whisky but aren’t regular whisky drinkers. After giving us some helpful advice she showed us a few bottles. We chose the one that she said was light, had a nice flavor, had no burn, and wasn’t too expensive. It was exactly what I wanted. 

Since then, we’ve had some – but not much because in general we aren’t big drinkers. At least, we’re not at the level of having Scotch on the rocks to unwind after a long day at the office (à la Mad Men). So we have this beautiful bottle and I wanted you use it. Mainly, I wanted to see if I could cook with it. I looked up some recipes, found some things, but everyone said don’t cook with single malt whisky because you’re just wasting it. Ugh, fine. 

Finally I stumbled onto a Scottish recipe called cranachan, which is a dessert that uses whisky but doesn’t cook it. Ideal, right? Even better, it’s so easy to make. It’s cream, oats, raspberries, whisky and just a few other ingredients. Blended all together the whisky flavor is smooth and harmonious alongside some honey and vanilla. It was so good that from now on the only way I want to have whisky is with whipped cream and sugar.

In the photos I assembled the cranachan in these cute glass espresso cups – but I also made some in regular disposable clear plastic cups. And if you did that, I think this dessert would be perfect for a barbecue. Simply assemble the cranachan ahead of time, pop them in the fridge, and then whip them out when it’s time have dessert. A sweet boozy treat for your guests, it’s simple and cooling for eating outside, and it looks cute and fun too.

This recipe is adapted from Harper’s Bazaar. The only adaptation is this: they said whip the cream until it comes to soft peaks and I didn’t do that. I totally intended to do that, but I walked away from the mixer for a minute and when I returned it was proper thick whipped cream. I didn’t have another pot of cream, so I went with it. And actually, I’m glad I did. Because after you beat the cream you’ll need to add liquid ingredients to it, which will soften the cream up a bit anyway. If the cream had been soft already, I think adding the liquid would have made everything too drippy. Making the cream thick also means that you can be a little less careful when folding in the other ingredients. All in all, I was pretty pleased that my inattention led to such great results.

Messy level: Pleasingly quick and mess free. Very few dishes are needed, nothing is sticky, and that’s just wonderful.

Cranachan

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Serves: about 6 depending on size of cup

Ingredients

• 60g/3/4 cup of oatmeal
• 200g/about 1½ cups of raspberries, divided (can be more than this amount)
• 1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
• ground black pepper, to taste
• 600ml/ 2½ cups of double cream
• 4 tablespoons of clear runny honey
• 3 tablespoons of malt whisky
• ½ vanilla pod

Instructions

1. Heat a medium sized skilled over medium heat. Toast the oats for about 5 minutes, or until they start to smell toasty and are a little bit brownish.
2. Measure out 2 tablespoons of oats to use for garnish. Set all the oats to the side to cool while you prepare everything else.
3. Put the raspberries, confectioner's sugar, and a little bit of pepper together in a small bowl. Using a fork, or a potato masher, mash up the fruit until you have a fairly smooth puree. Taste and add a little more sugar or pepper depending on your preferences. Once to your liking, set aside.
4. Put the cream in a large bowl and using a mixer (or your arm!) mix over medium speed until the cream is thick, set, and looks like whipped cream.
5. Cut open the vanilla pod. [Need help? See how to do it here} Using your knife scrape out the insides and dump them into the cream. Gently fold the vanilla into the cream.
6. Add the honey and whisky and gently fold them into the cream.
7. Add the oats to the cream and gently mix them throughout.
8. Finally, add the reserved raspberry puree. Mix it into the cream so you can a gorgeous pink ripple. Don't mix it all the way otherwise the whole thing will be pink.
9. Line the bottom of a clear cup or ramekin with the whole raspberries you set aside at the beginning. Top with your cream mixture. Alternate layers of cream and raspberries until you cup is full. Make sure the top layer has at least 1 or 2 raspberries.
10. Using the 2 tablespoons of oats you set aside at the beginning, sprinkle the oats on top of your cranachan for garnish.
11. Serve and be delighted.

3.3.3077

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The one ingredient I was unfamiliar with was the honeycomb. Is this something that exists in the US? What I found is that honeycomb is a toffee-like with a rigid but also a little bit light and airy. It was actually really yummy. The flavor reminded me of a Werther’s Original and the texture was a little like a graham cracker. The honeycomb adds a really nice crunch to the pie. Here the honeycomb is made from golden syrup, which I is another thing I hadn’t heard of before. If you’re going to make this at home, substitute corn syrup for the golden syrup.

There are two great things about this recipe. One it’s delicious. Two, it’s so easy! There is so little work and if you really don’t like cooking you can use store bought ingredients. Instead of making your own crust, buy graham cracker crust. Instead of making honeycomb, you can buy it at the store in the baking aisle (at least you can here in London). Or if you can crush up graham crackers or Werther’s Originals to get something sort of similar.

This recipe is beautiful and delicious treat. And if anyone deserves dessert, it’s me and Ryan. This weekend we went to Odiham in Hampshire. We went to see Odiham Castle, we walked along a canal, we saw baby ducks, we saw horses, and gorgeous old brick homes. We walked through lush grassy woods, we got caught in the rain, and we strolled along the high street. We walked at least seven miles. It was gorgeous, wonderful, and exhausting. We earned dessert.

Adapted from BBC Good Food.

Ingredients:

Honeycomb-

1 cup/200g of sugar

5 tbsp golden syrup

2 tsp baking soda

Everything else-

1 1/4 cup/250g graham crackers or caramel flavored cookies

3 oz butter

6 tbsp butter, melted (might not need all of it)

1 3/4 cup raspberries

500g/18 oz vanilla ice cream (you might not need it all)

Directions:

1. Start by making the honeycomb. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix the sugar and golden syrup in wide saucepan. It won’t mix neatly, it will be a little chunky in places. Place over medium heat and leave until dissolved and bubbling. The magazine says don’t be tempted to stir because otherwise the sugar will crystallize.  As the mixture heats, the liquid will start to thin, spread, and become homogeneous.

2. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat and let it bubble for 1 minute.

3. Add the baking soda and stir. It will bubble up quickly so be careful!

4. Pour on the prepared baking sheet and leave for 20 minutes until cool and firm.

5. Now for the pie! In a food processor (or with ziplock bag and a rolling pin) smash up the cookies until they are crumbs. Add in the melted butter and mix until well combined. You want a wet sandy mix.

6. Pour the crumbs into a pie plate. Press them crumbs into the plate with a spoon. Press until really firm! Chill for 30 minutes.

7. Remove the ice cream from the freezer. Let it sit out for 10-15 minutes. You want it to be soft enough you can stir it around, but not so soft it is soupy.

8. Once the ice cream is ready, get a large bowl. Mix together the ice cream and most of raspberries. Leave a handful of raspberries on the side. While you’re stirring, try to smash up some of the raspberries. It will make a beautiful juicy swirl.

9. Smash up half the honeycomb into little pieces. Add it to the ice cream. Mix until you have a beautiful ripply ice cream swirl.

10. Remove the crust from the fridge. Add in the ice cream mixture and smooth the edges.

11. Top the ice cream with the reserved raspberries and some shards for honeycomb. You won’t use all the honeycomb, leave the rest for a snack later!

12. Freeze for 4 hours or until frozen solid.

13. When you’re ready to eat it, let it soften just a tiny beat so it is easier to cut. Serve and enjoy!

Messy level: This is a two spoon recipe. Putting together the pie is really easy and barely messy. It is just making the crust that is messy. The honeycomb is the messy part because it is sticky, bubbles up, and then cools quickly. If you make the honeycomb yourself put the saucepan in the sink to soak IMMEDIATELY. It will be so much harder to clean if you don’t do that!

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