Cranachan with Fresh Raspberries

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. What I mean is the golfing year. I love to play and watch golf, but especially like to watch the Majors. Well this week is The Open or otherwise known to us Americans as The British Open, but the true name is “The Open” and this year is special because The Open is being played at the birth place of golf, The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland.

The Old Course at St Andrews is one of the oldest golf courses in the world,  a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It is held in trust by The St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews club house sits adjacent to the first tee, although it is but one of many clubs that have playing privileges on the course, along with the general public.

The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the “home of golf” because the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 1400s.

The Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews for a record 29^th time.

 I always the love The Open for lots of reasons. First, it starts very early in the morning here in the eastern time zone. So when I get up at six, and start working, live tv coverage is already on. Second, the links style of the course is completely different from in the US. Third, I love watching the play in heavy wind, 50 degrees and rainy in mid July. Fourth, I love the BBC broadcasters and how they talk about the game.

My neighbor brought me a gift of 2 gallons of fresh raspberries. So when I was looking for a new recipe to make with this gift, I decided to search for Scottish desserts with raspberries. Not an easy task, but what I found was very interesting and could not wait to make it. The dessert is called a Cranachan.

Cranachan (Scottish Gaelic: Crannachan pronounced [ˈkʰɾan̪ˠəxan]) is a traditional Scottish dessert. In modern times it is usually made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey and fresh raspberries, with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight in a little bit of whisky.

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 dessert glasses are also of 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 and on special occasions.  Courtesy Wikipedia

What a great looking dish inspired by The Open and thanks to my wonderful neighbor Lindsey dropping off the gift of fresh picked raspberries. When someone gives me fresh fruits and vegetables I always give back by making them a dish using what they gave me. This dish did not use many of her raspberries so I will be making another dish to share with her family.

This dish reminds me of a parfait. It is very filling, wonderful taste and easy to make. So if your are up early this weekend make sure you catch a little of The Open and have this great dessert for breakfast. No need to worry its afternoon in Scotland.

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Servings: 4

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Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream (the original recipe calls for double cream, hard to find in the US)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp whisky, to taste, divided
• 2 tbsp Rodelle vanilla extract, divided

Directions:

1. Toast oatmeal in pan over medium heat stirring often until it smells rich and nutty. It will not darken quickly, so use your sense of smell to tell you when it is nutty enough. Cool the oatmeal. When cool stir in 1 tablespoon whisky and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Cover and chill for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.
2. Using 1/2 cup raspberries make a purée by crushing half the fruit and sieving. Sweeten this to taste with a little sugar.
3. Whisk the heavy cream until just set. Stir in the honey, whisky and vanilla, trying not to over-whip the cream. Taste the mix and add more of either if you feel the need.
4. Stir in the oatmeal and whisk lightly until the mixture is just firm. Alternate layers of the cream with the remaining whole raspberries and purée in 4 serving dishes.
5. Allow to chill slightly before eating.

Enjoy!

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Notes:

1. Original recipe calls for medium or steel-cut oats. I used regular oats.
2. Original recipe does not tell you to soak the oats but I my research says they need to be soaked
3. Original recipe call for Double Cream. I used heavy cream (easier to find in the US) Double cream has a slighlty higher milk fat content.
4. I added vanilla to the whiskey to tone down the strong flavor. Turned out great.

Original recipe from Good Food magazine, July 2010