I visited the Loch Lomond Food Festival recently and purchased this amazing flavour pot from SA Sauces , not sure what to do with it, I visited their website and found this amazing idea. It was absolutely delicious and an excellent twist to the traditional victoria sponge.
Makes 1 cake
200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
200g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
about 6 tbsp raspberry jam
250ml double cream, whipped
icing sugar, for dusting
One pot of maple syrup and honeyed whiskey
Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Grease and flour 2 x 20cm sandwich tins. Place the butter, sugar and half the pot of maple syrup and honeyed whiskey into a bowl and beat well to a creamy consistency. Slowly beat in the eggs, one by one, then fold in the flour and mix well.
Divide the mix between the cake tins, place into the oven and bake for about 20 mins until risen and golden brown. The cakes should spring back when gently pushed in the middle. When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 mins in the tin, before turning out onto a wire rack and cooling completely.
Mix the reminder of the pot of maple syrup with the cream. Whisk until you get a matt finish.
Spread the jam (optional) onto one cake and top with the mixed cream. Sandwich the cakes together and dust with icing sugar.
Classed as the Best Scottish Supper of the year, with amazing local produce such a haggis, neeps and tatties to our Famous Scotch Whisky and our sensational Scottish tablet along with the bagpipes it is one amazing night celebrating the amazing poet Rabbie Burns.
I have a love of bananas right now so I think I’ll be having my Whisky banana tomorrow.
100ml Scotch Whisky
100g soft brown sugar
100g butter
4 large bananas
Ice cream of your choice.
Melt the butter in a deep-sided frying pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and whisky. Bring to the boil and cook, stirring, until sugar has dissolved.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Add bananas and simmer gently until bananas are warmed through and glazed with the syrup. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.
Who is Burns and what is Burns Night I hear you ask?
It’s a night that features Whisky, Haggis and Poetry in honour of ‘Rabbie’ Burns our famous Poet from Ayrshire, Scotland.
Of all the poets who have written in the Scottish language, Burns is most well-known, although much of his writing is also in standard English and a light Scots dialect.
Burns, also known as Rabbie Burns, the Bard of Ayrshire and various other names and epithets is considered to be a pioneer of the Romantic movement.
After his death he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.
Celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. In 2009 he was chosen as the greatest Scot by the Scottish public in a vote run by Scottish television.
To help celebrate here is my 4 course Burns Meal:-
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race! Aboon them a’ yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o’a grace
As lang’s my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin was help to mend a mill
In time o’need,
While thro’ your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An’ cut you up wi’ ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin’, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive: Deiltak the hindmost! on they drive, Tilla’ their weel-swall’d kytesbelyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
Bethankit! hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad make her spew
Wi’ perfect sconner,
Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckles as wither’d rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash;
His nieve a nit;
Thro’ blody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
Butmark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread. Clap in his walienieve a blade,
He’ll mak it whissle;
An’ legs an’ arms, an’ hands will sned,
Like taps o’ trissle.
Ye Pow’rs, whamak mankind your care,
And dish them out their billo’ fare, Auld Scotland wants naeskinkingware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer Gie her a haggis
Visited the Brodie Countryfare in Brodie near Inverness this week and picked up a wee Whisky Essence, thought I would try something different. Decided to make a dessert for after my dinner tonight and help celebrate world whisky day. Uncle Roy’s are made in Moffat in the Scottish Borders www.uncleroys.co.uk , they have won 21 Gold Awards and numerous Scottish Food and Drink Food Excellence awards, a make a variety of sauces, condiments and mustards.
100g 70% Dark Chocolate
Juice, strained from 1 x Fresh Orange
200ml Double cream
1 tsp Gelatine
2 eggs, 1 egg yolk
40g caster sugar
2 tbsp Whisky Essence or you can use straight Whisky if you prefer
1. If you have an Induction Hob, break up chocolate and melt in a pan on No. 1, if not, melt chocolate in a bowl over pan of hot water.
2. Strained juice into a bowl from orange and add gelatine, heat in a pan of water until gelatine is melted, then add whisky. Remove from heat.
3. Whisk eggs, egg yolk and sugar together until thick and pale in colour.
4. Gently fold the chocolate into the egg mixture and then add the orange mixture and fold through.
5. Whisk the double cream up until thick but not too thick, don’t want it stiff. Keep a tbsp back for decoration later. Then gently fold in the Chocolate mixture until mixed well together and decant into serving dishes, chill for about 1 hour.
World Whisky Day – 16th May 2015! What will your dram or delight be?
I visited the Brodie Countryfare this week and picked up this wee beauty, made in Dundee by the Whisky Sauce Company www.whiskysauce.co.uk it has loads of flavours and certainly packs a punch in your mouth. I couldn’t decided what to have with it, so really went for a mix up and it was absolutely delicious.
2 Handfuls of Spinach or alternative salad leaf
8-10 Green pitted olives
2 roasted red peppers – sliced
Handful of king prawns
Handful of Cooked Mussels
1 tsp red chillies
1 tbsp light mayo
1-2 tbsp of Scotch Whisky Dressing
1. Wash and place spinach in a bowl, add in sliced roasted red peppers and olives.
2. Meanwhile mix the prawns with the chillies and mayo then add to the bowl along with the mussels
3. Sprinkle in Scotch whisky dressing, mix well together and serve with a lovely chilled glass of Chardonnay.
To say that food and drink is at the very heart of Scotland would be an understatement. More than just a night out, Scottish food and drink is the very lifeblood of Scotland’s the country’s fabric, culture and economy.
With our rolling, rural hillsides, clear coastal waters and lush, fertile lands, Scotland produces some of the best, and most sought after, natural produce in the world.
From mouth-watering Aberdeen Angus steaks, to world-renowned sea-food such as wild trout, salmon, oysters and langoustines, not to mention our water of life – whisky – the Made in Scotland stamp has become synonymous with taste and quality. Even our cheese gives the French a run for their money!
Our natural larder
Produce
Scottish producers now grow 3,200 tonnes of raspberries and 21,500 tonnes of strawberries each year. Beef is worth more than £569m per year which is more than fruit, dairy and poultry combined.
Seafood
Scotland’s 16,000km coastline is home to thousands of species of fish and shellfish. In 2010, exports of fish accounted for over 59% of total exports in Scotland. Exports of fresh Scottish salmon alone in 2011 were valued at £341m. Scottish lobsters are currently used in over 20 Michelin starred restaurants in Tokyo.
Dairy
1,118 million eggs are produced annually, as well as 1,092 million litres of milk. There are more than two dozen cheese-makers across Scotland, ranging from large Cheddar creameries to smaller artisan and farmhouse cheese-makers. Scottish Cheddar accounts for 70-80% of total output and the main creameries are located at Locherbie, Stranraer and Campbeltown and on the islands of Bute, Arran, Islay, Mull, Gigha and Orkney.
Whisky
Between January and June 2011 global shipments of Scotch whisky reached £1.8 billion, up 22% compared to the first half of 2010.
Oatcakes
Scotland is famous for naturally healthy oat-based products such as porridge and oatcakes – the latter being first produced as far back as the 14th century when Scottish soldiers would carry a sack of oatmeal which they would moisten and heat on a metal plate over a fire when they were hungry. Today, they are commonly enjoyed as an accompaniment to soups, or after dinner with cheese and chutney.
Haggis
Scotland’s national dish, haggis, is a savoury pudding containing sheep’s heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, traditionally encased in the sheep’s stomach, although nowadays most haggis is prepared in a sausage casing. It is traditionally served with neeps and tatties (turnip and potato), particularly when served as part of a Burns supper. However, haggis is also enjoyed all year round with other accompaniments such as black pudding.
Tablet
Tablet is a medium-hard sugary sweet made from sugar, condensed milk, butter and vanilla essence, boiled to a soft-ball stage and allowed to crystallise. It dates back to the early 18th century.
Did you know?
Scottish food and drink exports hit a record high of £5.4bn in 2011.
Last year, the manufacture of Scottish food products and beverages accounted for 29% of all international manufacturing exports.
55 countries around the world imported fresh Scottish salmon in 2009.
Scottish farmed salmon has held the French Government’s top quality award, Label Rouge, for the past 19 years. It was the first non-French food to receive this accolade.
2 large Potatoes, I used Albert Bartlett potatoes (yum)
1 turnip
pinch salt and pepper
50ml warm milk
1 knob of butter
Choice of sauce – the usual is whisky cream sauce but we’re not that keen, so a good old sweet gravy it is for us!
1. Cook haggis as per instructions, normally in a casserole dish at 190 deg for 1/5 hours.
2. Peel and dice potatoes and turnip,bring to the boil (in a separate pan) and then simmer for 25 mins, add in pinch of salt.
3. Once all cooked, mash potatoes with the warm milk and butter added so make a smooth consistency.
4. Also mash the turnip to a good smooth consistency.
5. Take a cookie cutter and lay on plate spoon in haggis first making sure it is well patted down, then lift the cutter up slightly but not out and then spoon the turnip on top of the haggis and pat down, repeat the same with the potatoes.
6. If you have any left over add to plate in your own design, pour over sauce and serve. Yum Yum!
THE WEE CALEDONIAN COOK 
You must be logged in to post a comment.