Cranachan

I can remember looking through a puddings, mousses and custards section of a cookbook a few years back and coming across an unusual dessert called "Cranachan".  It was a traditional Scottish dessert of oats, cream, whisky and berries.  The cream being whipped to fluffiness with the whisky and a little honey, the oats toasted and folded in along with the berries to create a heavenly special mousse like dessert.  I told myself I was going to make it at some point, but never gotten around to it and had since forgotten about it until this week. 

I was thinking about how good the whisky was in Irish coffee with the whipped cream and got to thinking about how good it would be in plain whipped cream with fruit and the Cranachan came to mind!  The only problem is that these days eating a big pile of whipped cream doesn't go so well with my stomach...so I decided that it needed to be veganized! 

Whipped coconut milk is more heavenly than real whipped cream so it was the perfect solution!  I looked at quite a few recipes for the dessert, and decided that I was going to do my own thing as far as proportions and oat preparations went.  I tossed the oats with a little coconut oil and maple sugar before toasting to make them slightly sweet and golden brown. 

For the coconut milk, I added a little vanilla extract, along with maple syrup in place of the honey to sweeten along with a good amount of whisky...which was a must!  Once it was all folded together into a cloud of deliciousness along with the raspberries I couldn't wait to dive in! 

It was heavenly, silky light coconut cream with the kick of whisky, sweetness of maple and vanilla and crunchy nutty oats along with the slightly tart berries!  So...it may be slightly non-traditional being veganized and maple and vanilla added but I loved it!  Best of all, it was easy to prepare and something new to me!  If you would like to experience it for yourself, here is the recipe!

Cranachan

Serves 4

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 Tbsp coconut oil

2 Tbsp maple sugar

2 cups chilled full fat coconut milk from the top of the can

6 Tbsp whisky

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract
16 oz raspberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Toss oats with coconut oil and maple sugar and spread out on foil.  Toast until browned and fragrant, about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Meanwhile, place a medium glass bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill until very cold.  Once chilled, place coconut milk in chilled bowl and whip until stiff peaks, about 3 minutes.  Add whisky and maple syrup and vanilla and beat until combined.  Fold in toasted oats and raspberries (reserving a few of each for garnish).  Spoon into 4 serving dishes and top with reserved oats and berries.  Serve!