5 Ingredients or Fewer

Raspberry and Honey Cranachan

August 18, 2011
4
4 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Just when you thought you’d mastered the oeuvre of berries and cream -- berries and whipped cream, Eton Mess, strawberry shortcake – along comes Scottish Cranachan. With a name like Cranachan, it wisely promises nothing. But then you notice that in among the thicket of ingredients lurks whiskey, and even stranger, rolled oats. Before you know it, you’re toasting your oats and whipping cream with whiskey, and violently mashing raspberries, all in the name of curiosity – of expanding your horizons. And soon enough, you end up with a berries and cream that’s rough around the edges, unapologetic for it, and even a little willful. A queen would kick it out of her palace, but you can savor it spoonful by spoonful from your very own kitchen. This recipe was adapted from River Cottage Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall. —Amanda Hesser

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Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 tablespoons whiskey (preferably scotch but whatever whiskey you have on hand)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries
  • 2 tablespoons heather honey (or other favorite honey)
Directions
  1. Warm a small frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the rolled oats and stir until they are golden and toasted – keep a close eye on them, as they can burn easily. Transfer to a plate to cool.
  2. Stir the whiskey and cream together in a bowl and then whisk (by hand or with a hand blender) until the cream holds soft peaks. Lightly crush a few of the raspberries, so the juices run. Loosely fold the honey, oats, and raspberries into the cream, spoon into glasses, and serve right away.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Recipe by: Amanda Hesser

Before starting Food52 with Merrill, I was a food writer and editor at the New York Times. I've written several books, including "Cooking for Mr. Latte" and "The Essential New York Times Cookbook." I played myself in "Julie & Julia" -- hope you didn't blink, or you may have missed the scene! I live in Brooklyn with my husband, Tad, and twins, Walker and Addison.

8 Reviews

beejay45 March 6, 2017
I love it when old recipes are bumped to the front of the site again. This sounds positively orgasmic. I might try Drambuie instead of Scotch for its sweetness and to eliminate the honey. Also, I bet this would be great churned like ice cream. I imagine it wouldn't really harden because of the booze, but this might be a nice breakfast dish for a very late weekend morning. Who needs to go out for brunch???
Droplet July 29, 2012
I love the last caption from the slideshow :)
Amanda H. July 30, 2012
Forgot about that one -- always looking for an excuse to use the word chillax....
Droplet August 1, 2012
"like your spoon" :) :) :)
Sagegreen August 19, 2011
Great recipe. Hmmm, this inspires new direction for the "lassi," drink, too.
raspberryeggplant August 19, 2011
Oh, Amanda, why would you recommend bourbon in a classic Scottish dish?!?! That's like making a mint julep with Glenlivet!

Scotch whiskey is the only way to go with this one, preferably something peaty like Talisker, which is what was used in the cranachans I had in Scotland a few years ago.
Amanda H. August 19, 2011
I'll add the scotch back in. I used scotch when I made it, but I actually thought bourbon would be good, too.
arrabiata June 24, 2017
*whisky