Scottish Traditional Cranachan (2024)

Posted on Published: 15 June, 2021- Last updated: 23 June, 2023

Scottish cranachan, a traditional layered dessert combining sweet Scottish raspberries with toasted oats and a whisky & heather honey flavoured cream. When it comes to traditional Scottish desserts cranachan comes top of my list. This beautifully layered dessert tastes every bit as good as it looks.

Raspberry cranachan is a dessert that it quick to pull together, simply toast some oats, smash up some raspberries and whip and flavour some great. Layer it all up and you have a delicious dessert prepared in 20 minutes.

This raspberry cranachan is one of my favourite desserts. I don’t have the sweetest tooth so the addition of the whisky in the cream layer cuts through what might otherwise be too sweet a dessert.

This tasty raspberry layered dessert is made using on 5 ingredients and can be whipped up in less than 20 minutes. But don’t be fooled, this dessert pack a real flavour punch and is pretty enough to grace any dinner table.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• This dessert can be made in minutes using fresh raspberries.
• A great make ahead dessert that can be made earlier in the day and stored in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• If making a gluten free cranachan just ensure you use gluten free oats.

What is Cranachan?

Cranachan is a tradition Scottish dessert, traditionally made with sweet Scottish raspberries, nutty toasted oats and layered with whisky and honey flavoured cream.

There are variations to this recipe, however prepared simply like this is most authentic and is pretty close to dessert perfection for me.

Old recipes would have used Crowdie, a traditional Scottish soft curd cheese, which is not readily available other than in Scotland and even then not in every supermarket. So we have used whipped double cream instead, although you can also use whipping cream.

How to make the perfect Scottish Cranachan

• This layered dessert makes in minutes so look out all your ingredients ready to start.
• Toast the oatmeal by placing on nonstick pan over a medium heat and adding the oatmeal.
• Keep moving the oatmeal around the pan to toast the grains, it’s ready when the oatmeal starts to smell nutty.
• Take the pan off the heat and set it aside.

• Place 225g of the raspberries in a bowl and crush to form a rough puree. Set aside.

• Pour the double cream into a bowl and whisk to form soft peaks.

• Add the honey and the whisky and whisk again, taking care not to over-whisk the cream.
• At this point taste the cream and add in a little more honey or whisky if desired.

• Gently stir the toasted oatmeal through the cream, leaving some aside to sprinkle over the top of the finished dessert.
• Layer up the dessert into glasses. Start with some of the crushed raspberry and follow with a layer of the sweetened cream. Continue layering the dessert, finishing with the cream on top.
• Garnish the dessert with the remaining raspberries and sprinkle over some of the toasted oatmeal.
  Place the desserts in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Recipe ingredient & substitutions

• Pinhead oatmeal are used in a traditional Scottish cranachan recipe. You can substitute with a medium oatmeal or rolled oats, but you won’t have quite the same amount of crunch and they will soften and turn a little soggy when layered with the cream.
• Scottish raspberries are deliciously sweet so there is no need to sweeten them when making the puree. If buying other raspberries check the sweetness, likewise berries that are grown outwith the growing season. If the berries are a little sour then sweeten them with a teaspoon of icing sugar.
• Double cream can be substituted with whipping cream if you prefer.
• Whisky imparts real flavour to this traditional Scottish dessert. Use any type of whisky that you enjoy drinking, bearing in mind that the smokier the whisky, the smokier the dessert.
• Heather honey sweetens the cream layer. Whilst heather honey is traditional, and something I can get my hands on easy enough, you can use any variety of honey. Use what is available to you locally.

Why Scottish Raspberries are the best?

When it comes to flavour you really cannot beat Scottish raspberries, in indeed any other soft fruits for that matter. During the growing season, these Scottish berries are in demand in restaurants the length and breadth of the UK.

The long day light hours in Scotland, along with the cooler climate, means the berries take longer to ripen and produce more sugar, resulting in a sweeter fruit.

I am lucky enough to have these sweet berries, available to buy direct from the grower, right on my doorstep. However, if you can’t get you hands on Scottish raspberries don’t worry. Check the fruit for sweetness and if necessary sweeten them with a little icing sugar if you think they need it.

Can I made Traditional Scottish Cranachan ahead of time?

This raspberry cranachan is a great make ahead dish. Simply layer it up earlier in the day and pop the individual desserts into the fridge and when ready to eat, serve straight from the fridge.

Whilst you can make this dessert the day before, and leave it overnight in the fridge, the dessert is best made and eaten the same day. Otherwise the whisky and the cream will start to split a little and become runny, which in turn makes the toasted oats soggy.

Useful hints and tips:

1. Feeding a crowd? No problem, this simple recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on the number of guests.
2. The raspberry puree in this recipe is a rough puree, which adds texture to this creamy dessert. If you prefer a smoother puree you can pass the crushed raspberries through a sieve to remove the seeds.
3. Serving to children or those who do not want the whisky no problem. Simply remove the whisky from the cream layer and perhaps stir through a little extra honey instead.
4. This is not a great dish to freeze as double cream doesn’t freeze well. During the freezing process the fat molecules in the double cream clump together, giving the cream a grainy consistency once defrosted.
5. If making this dish for Coeliacs or anyone following a gluten free diet ensure that the oats you use are gluten free oats.
6. Allergy advice: egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

Pin the recipe:

Additional recipe suggestions:

If you like this recipe then try some of our other great no-bake fruity desserts:

• Easy Lemon Tiramisu with Limoncello
• 4 Ingredient Strawberry Mousse
• Strawberry Eton Mess
• Lemon Posset

For more inspiration have a read of our No Bake Desserts post which contains helpful hints and tips as well as a great selection of our favourite no bake dessert recipe.

This recipe has been linked to CookBlogShare, click on the link to find recipes by fellow food bloggers.