Cranachan Parfait - Iced Scottish Dessert
Cranachan Parfait, my original French twist to the popular main Scottish dessert of cream, honey, Whisky, oats, served with raspberries, topped with a crispy oat praline and served on buttery shortbread thins.
Equipment
- Electric whisk or stand mixer
- dome moulds or regular loaf tin
Ingredients
Cranachan Parfaits (Whisky & Honey Iced Domes)
- 4 egg yolks (organic, farm fresh)
- 4 tablespoon runny honey (Heather honey, if possible)
- 2 tablespoon Malt Whisky
- 350 gr (12oz/ 1½ cups) Whipping Cream (30%) Heavy cream/ Crème fleurette
Oat Praline
- 100 g (3½oz/ 1 ⅕ cup) rolled oats
- 75 g (3oz/ ⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 25 g (1oz/ ¼ stick) unsalted butter
- pinch salt (fleur de sel, Maldon or Celtic sea salt)
Shortbread Thins (Base)
- 200 g (7oz/scant cup) unsalted butter (softened)
- 75 g (3oz/ ⅓ cup) caster sugar
- 200 g (7oz/1¾ cups) flour (all-purpose)
- 75 g (3oz/5 tbsp) rice flour (or cornflour)
- pinch salt
- fresh raspberries to serve
Instructions
Cranachan Parfaits
- Chill a large bowl in the fridge for the cream. Place the egg yolks in another large bowl, heat the honey without boiling it (I put it a few seconds in the microwave) and pour it over the yolks and beat with electric beaters (or a stand mixer) for about 10 minutes until thick and moussy.
- In the chilled bowl, whisk the cream like a Crème Chantilly until soft peaks and the same consistency as the yolk-honey mixture. Add the Whisky and beat again until well mixed. Gently fold the 2 mixtures together and spoon either into spherical silicone moulds (this used 10 spheres), greased muffin tins, or in a lined cake tin. Freeze for 2 hours or leave overnight to set.
Oat Praline
- In a saucepan, heat the sugar over a medium heat without stirring. Just as it starts to change colour after about 5 minutes, shake the pan to dissolve all of the sugar into the caramel. Once the caramel is medium golden, add the butter, salt and stir to mix well then pour in the oats. Stir until the oats are well covered then immediately transfer to a baking tray.
- Once cool, break the praline into small pieces and reserve in a jam jar. This can keep for about 10 days in an airtight container.
Shortbread Thins (Base)
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F (160°C fan/Gas 4). Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy (either by hand or in a stand mixer). Gradually add the flour, rice flour and salt until the mixture comes together into a dough that's easy to work with.
- Roll the dough out with a rolling-pin until about 1cm thick. Cut out disks with a cookie cutter or glass (the same size as the moulds). Space out each shortbread disk on a non-stick baking tray (they will only slightly spread - to stop this chill in them directly on the tray in the fridge 10 minutes beforehand). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Leave to cool on a wire tray.
Assembly
- When ready to serve, place the shortbread disk on each plate (spread each with raspberry jam if no fresh raspberries), turn out the frozen parfaits at the last minute and place on top. Sprinkle with the oat praline and, if using, serve with fresh raspberries.
Notes
Gluten-free: to make this dessert gluten free, replace the shortbread base with this buttery gluten-free shortbread. Slice thinly and also bake for about 20 minutes.
Without moulds: this recipe can be made even easier without the moulds or shortbread. Simply freeze the honey and Whisky cream in a lined cake tin overnight and slice before serving. Serve with the oat praline and fresh raspberries.
What to do with leftover egg whites:
Store the egg whites in the fridge for 3-5 days to make raspberry macarons, financiers, Tuiles, or chocolate mousse.
Otherwise freeze the whites in a sealed jar until ready to make them.
Store the egg whites in the fridge for 3-5 days to make raspberry macarons, financiers, Tuiles, or chocolate mousse.
Otherwise freeze the whites in a sealed jar until ready to make them.
Nutrition
Calories: 455kcal
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