Cranachan

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Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert. Nowadays it is usually made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey, and fresh raspberries topped with toasted oatmeal. Earlier recipes for cranachan or cream-crowdie are more austere, omitting the whisky and treating the fruit as an optional extra. Modern recipes have a high double cream content, while originally this was replaced wholly or in part by crowdie cheese.

A traditional way to serve cranachan is to bring dishes of each ingredient to the table, so that each person can assemble their dessert to taste. Tall glasses are also a typical presentation.

It was originally a summer dish and often consumed around harvest time, but is now more likely to be served all year round at weddings and on special occasions. A variant dish was ale-crowdie, consisting of ale, treacle and whisky with the oatmeal - served at a wedding with a ring in the mixture: whoever got the ring would be the next to marry.

One recipe for cranachan is 3oz oatmeal, 1/2 pint double cream, and 1 tablespoon of whisky. The oatmeal should be toasted in a pan over a high heat then dust should be sifted out. Then the oatmeal and the whisky should be added to the cream that has been whisked.