Cranachan is also known as Edinburgh Mist. According to Scottish food historian Catherine Brown, the traditional way of eating this dish is to sit down at a table spread with bowls of the various ingredients and each person would mix their own cranachan in their own dish, according to taste, (less whisky and more honey for the children). The traditional ingredients are simply cream, crowdie (a traditional hand-skimmed cottage cheese), toasted oatmeal, fresh soft fruit such as raspberries, blueberries or brambles and heather honey.
Materials needed
A tall glass
A mixing bowl
A (non-stick) frying pan
A traditional Scottish recipe (serves 4)
Ingredients
4oz coarse oatmeal (rolled porridge oats)
Half pint double (thick) cream
2 meringue nests
4 teaspoons of toasted almond flakes
1 tablespoon Scotch Whisky (alternatively, use a few of drops vanilla essence or other flavouring of your choice)
Method
- Toast the oatmeal in a frying pan on a high heat until lightly brown.
- Whisk the cream into a stiff consistency.
- Gently fold the cream into the oatmeal and whisky.
- Crush the meringues into the bottom of the tall glasses (½ meringue nest per glass).
- Spoon the cream mixture into the glasses.
- Top each glass with the toasted almond flakes and serve chilled.
Popular variations are to mix in honey or fresh raspberries.
Definitions
To crush: To break into uneven pieces.
To fold: Usually egg whites or whipped cream are folded into a heavier mixture, for a souffle, cake, or pie filling. The lighter mixture is placed on top of the heavier mixture, then the two are combined by passing a spatula down through the mixture, across the bottom, and up over the top. This process continues until the mixtures are combined. This traps air into bubbles in the product, allowing baked goods to rise.
To toast: In this case you place the oatmeal in a hot frying pan (no oil or fat) and stir until they are a nutty brown.
To whisk: To beat a mixture vigorously with a whisk.