Cloutie Dumpling in the Slow Cooker (nae clout)

My Granny (Dad's Mum) was not a very adventurous cook.  She made an amazing peppermint slice, mince and tatties and broth,  but her 'signature dish' was her Cloutie Dumpling.  A Cloutie Dumpling is a sweetened fruit pudding, boiled in a cloth (clout), the cloth is floured giving the pudding a 'skin'.  My Granny made a Dumpling at Christmas and for my Dad's birthday and we ate it as dessert with custard.  She would always send us home with half the dumpling and Dad would fry it in butter and dredge it with caster sugar, that was my favourite way to eat it.  I know a lot of people also serve it with a full Scottish breakfast.

My Mum, who is an excellent cook and baker,  tried to replicate Granny's Dumpling but she never could get it to taste the same.  Granny would mix the Dumpling in her washing up bowl, sterilised with boiling water, she didn't weigh anything it was a handful of this and a handful of that and she added a whole tub of mixed spice. We had such a laugh one Christmas when Granny put a piece of holly on top of the Dumpling and put it back in the oven to dry off after boiling (as you do).  When she took it out, the PLASTIC holly had melted in a green pool on top of the dumpling!  We just scraped it off and at the Dumpling anyway.

I'm not sure whether it was Mum's failure that put me off, or the fact that I am not really that keen on Dumpling, but I've only made it once, it worked okay but boiling puddings for hours is a luxury I really don't have.

Having learned a few things about cakes and puddings in the Slow Cooker recently,  I wondered whether it would be possible to cook a Cloutie Dumpling in the Slow Cooker as it has a sort of steaming effect.  I decided against using a 'clout' and lined the Slow Cooker with a baking parchment cake liner.  I perused a number of different recipes for Cloutie Dumpling, every Scots Granny seems to have her own recipe, but none uses a whole tub of mixed spice! In the end I ditched the breadcrumbs and suet in favour of butter in this hybrid 'Nae Clout' (No Cloth) Cloutie Dumpling, I don't pretend it's a real Cloutie Dumpling more a boiled/steamed fruit cake, but the smells coming from the pan and the finished texture is pretty good, without having your windows steamed up and constantly checking to see that there is still enough water in the pan!


Slow Cooker Cloutie Dumping

350g mixed dried fruit
110g caster sugar
220ml water
110g butter
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
110g plain flour
110g self-raising flour

Put the dried fruit, sugar, water, butter, spices and bicarbonate of soda into a pan and bring to the boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Set aside until just warm.

Add the eggs a little at a time alternating with spoonfuls of the flour.  Mix well.

Line your Slow Cooker with baking parchment or a cake tin liner, cook on high for 2 1/4 hours.

Slow cookers do vary in timing, so it may take 15 minutes either side of this time.  If your cooker has a clear lid, you can see the change to the top of the dumpling as it bakes.  I did test this one with a skewer after 1hr 45 minutes but the middle wasn't cooked.  Lifting the lid does increase baking time, so do keep an eye on this as it reaches the 2 hour mark. 



This is my entry for my own Slow Cooked Challenge, the theme this month is St Andrew's Day and what better way to celebrate than a Cloutie Dumpling!

I was listening to BBC Radio Scotland's Kitchen Cafe programme last Friday, as I was on holiday from work, the programme was all about Food Blogging and I tweeted about the Cloutie Dumpling with 'nae clout', I got a mention on the programme and the tweet below from Sue Lawrence, well known Scottish cookery and food writer and ex Masterchef winner.

@FarmersgirlCook @BBCKitchenCafe #cloutiedumpling without Clout! How is that poss? Baked not boiled? Look forward to being enlightened..
— Sue Lawrence (@SueHLawrence) October 31, 2014

I'm also entering the Cloutie Dumpling with nae clout for Tea Time Treats, the monthly blogging event run alternately by Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Jane at The Hedgecombers .  Jane is hosting this month and the theme is Bonfire Night, I think a nice slice of dumpling would be perfect for bonfire night, with or without custard!

Labels: Cloutie Dumpling, dessert, Scotland, Scottish, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, St Andrew's Day

posted by Janice @ 07:00 10 Comments

To a Haggis - a new way with a traditional favourite 1/2

I am a huge fan of haggis.  Many people are a bit squeamish, but it's really just a big, round, peppery lamb sausage, so don't be put off and do try some.  There are also some very good vegetarian versions of the haggis now, if you are not a meat eater.

You can eat haggis at any time of year but there is a huge peak in demand around the 25th January, the birthday of Robert Burns, Scotland's National Bard.  There are Burns Supper celebrations everywhere just now in Scotland and, indeed, all over the world, so why not have a look at Scotland.Org and in particular the Celebrate Scotland pages where you can find out about events happening in Scotland, particularly this year, the Year of Homecoming, 2014.

But back to the haggis!  There are many different ways to use Haggis in your cooking and on Scotland.org you will find some restaurant quality recipes prepared by Jacqueline O'Donnel

Dingwall Haggis Bon Bons


and Vegetarian haggis with hisky glazed turnip pearls, straw potatoes with chive and malt cream sauce


Both recipes look delicious, but do recommend the use of a deep fat fryer which is something I do not have.  However, nothing daunted, I scanned the recipes to see what I could learn and decided that I would try something just a little bit different.

First microwave your haggis, I read the instructions on the back of the haggis, this involving much squinting and removal of my glasses to read the tiny writing.  Normally I would simmer the haggis in water for an hour, but was pleased to see that I could 'deconstruct' the haggis (take all the packing off), slice and cube it and microwave for 9 minutes.  I have a top power model of microwave so it only took 6 minutes to heat it through, brilliant!

Second add cream and whisky to your 'neeps' or turnips (Swede), you know the orange one.

I would usually add butter and black pepper to my turnip and then mash, but this time I added a splash of double cream and a tablespoon of whisky.  Oh my goodness, what a fantastic addition, you couldn't really taste the whisky but the mashed turnip tasted fantastic, sweet and very very moreish.  I will be doing this every time, it was outstanding.


I'll be back later in the week with a way to make one small 2-3 person haggis stretch to feed 6-8 people. In the meantime check out the Address to a Haggis in many and varied languages.

Labels: Burns Night, haggis, mashed potato, Neeps, potato, Scotland, Scottish, swede, Tatties

posted by Janice @ 07:30 6 Comments

Escape for the Night - My Dream Wedding Menu

I don't do a lot of competition posts but I've been tempted by the prospect of a night in at Stanley House, a luxury hotel in the North West of England, with breakfast, dinner and spa treatments included.  Anyone who knows me, knows I love an overnight in a hotel with spa treatments. 
Brian and I have been married for 32 years, the photo above is from 2011 which was our 30th Wedding Anniversary and is taken outside the hotel where we had our wedding reception.

To enter this competition you have to write about your dream wedding menu which really got me thinking.  At our wedding, so long ago, I went for simplicity.  As it was June, I chose traditional Scottish summer dishes: a whole side of poached salmon served cold with a buffet, followed by Scottish strawberries and cream, to be honest I can't remember much else about the food.  I didn't want a big wedding, just family and a few close friends, it was all very informal.


For my Dream Wedding Menu, I would still choose beautiful fresh Scottish produce, but this time it would be a slightly more formal dinner, for a slightly different group of family and friends as many of those invited to our wedding are no longer with us. 

Labels: Iced Cranachan, langoustines, Menu, raspberries, Scotland, Scottish, Sirloin Steak, Spa, Stanley House Hotel, Tablet, wedding

posted by Janice @ 21:29 5 Comments

Best of British - The Scottish Round Up

Loch Tay from Kenmore

When the sun shines, Scotland is one of the most stunning places you could ever visit.  Glorious hills, lochs and coastal villages.  There is also a rich heritage and culture to enjoy.

Pittenweem Harbour

We also have some incredible produce, beef, lamb, seafood, milk, cheese, butter cream and glorious raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants.

Langoustines

Blackcurrants

We are lucky that New World Appliances as proud BRITISH manufacturers of kitchen appliances are sponsoring this event for the first six months.  Each month, one entrant will be picked AT RANDOM to receive a £50 Amazon voucher.  And, at the end of the six month period we will have a regional showdown, with a judge to pick the best entry (we are still working on who that will be and should be able to announce it shortly).  New World Appliances have kindly offered £300 of Amazon vouchers for the overall winner, so if you enter every month you have 6 chances to win the grand prize!


Thank you to all the lovely food bloggers who entered the Scottish challenge for Best of British in partnership with New World Appliances , it was fun to read about what Scottish food means to you and see the delicious meals that you made.  Fiona will also be blogging the round up at the Face of New World blog 'A Whole New World', in the next few days.

1. First past the post was Chris Halfmann from 'Cooking Around the World' with his Scottish Whisky Cake and remember, the whisky is supposed to go IN the cake!

2. Next up is this fantastic Pork and Haggis Meatloaf with Honey Mustard and Whisky Apples from Claire at Under the Blue Gum Tree. Claire is based in South Africa and really impressed me sourcing haggis from local butcher with Scottish roots!

Skirlie

Selkirk Bannock

3.  Jill from Lapin d'Or and More wrote a lovely post telling about her time cooking at a shooting lodge in Tomintoul and a bit about Catherine Brown, author of  Scottish Regional Recipes, the book the recipes for Skirlie and the Selkirk Bannock came from.

4. Ros at The More Occassional Baker  consulted her Scottish friends who suggested she make one of the most difficult, but total delicious, Scottish sweets - TABLET!  Tablet is notoriously difficult to get right and although Ros felt hers was a bit on the soft side, it tasted just right, mmmmm I love tablet.


5.  Scottish Mum brings us Traditional Scottish Oatcakes a quick and simple biscuit (cracker) and a great accompaniment to stovies, corned beef hash, or any slow cooked meal, stew or stroganoff.  In fact that reminded me that as children, we used to crumble them into any gravy left on the plate, usually from mince, totally delicious!

6. Jacqueline of How to be a Gourmand made me laugh with her quote from Billy Connolly “There are two seasons in Scotland – Winter and July” although I have to say that this year, it would be hard to tell them apart!  Jacqueline chose Scottish Raspberries and made this lovely looking Scottish Raspberry and Pinenut Bake.


7. Caroline of Caroline Makes decided to recreate a Scottish tea time favourite, 'Tunnocks Teacakes' using some Marshmallow Fluff she had found at a bargain price and was happy enough with the results that she plans to make them again and may even make her own marshmallow next time.

 My own entry is an Iced Cranachan with Raspberries.  Cranachan contains cream, honey, oatmeal and whisky.  I used these ingredients to make an icecream and froze it into little moulds just to make it look more cheffy! 

8. Karen at Lavender and Lovage brings us some traditional Scottish baking, not in the oven but on the girdle, as we call it in Scotland, with her Scotch Griddle Cakes with Heather Honey .  These were probably the first thing I ever baked, standing on a stool at my granny's cooker, dropping spoonfuls onto the girdle and the eating them warm and dripping with butter.

9. It's breakfast time and time for Tattie Scones at the home of Tinned Tomatoes blogger, Jac!  Jac says "These are traditional potato scones, made in Scotland. A simple scone made from mashed potato, flour and butter. Once cooked they can be kept in the fridge and re-heated in a toaster or under a grill."

10. Back to the sweet stuff with traditional shortbread with a twist: this is Chocolate Scottish Shortbread from Janine at Cake of the Week and it come highly recommended!

11. Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog used the challenge as an opportunity to make Cranachan, she says  "It's been on my list of things to make for years AND I wasn't going to miss this opportunity to give it a whirl. For the uninitiated cranachan is a traditional Scottish celebration dish consisting of oatmeal, whipped cream, honey & whisky and sometimes raspberries."  It looks great and, of course, as it was from Choclette, it includes some sprinkles of white chocolate!


12. Caroline from Cake, Crumbs and Cooking is a big fan of Scottish Cook, Sue Lawrence, and chose to make Treacle Scones and Parlies.  Here's a photo of the Treacle Scones but you will have to visit Caroline's blog to exactly what the Parlies might be!


13. And so back to breakfast again, you would think that we Scots ate nothing but breakfast and tea, although those are some of our best meals.  Fiona of London Unattached is the instigator of the Best of British Challenge with help from Karen at Lavender and Lovage and a few co-conspirators hosting the regions.  Inspired by childhood memories of her Scottish aunts, Fiona chose to make a breakfast dish of Kippers and Oatcakes.

14. And so we come round full circle with a Whisky and Honey Cake from Gloria's Canela Kitchen.  A lovely confection of whisky, honey and almonds.

And the WINNER, chosen by Random Number Generator, is......drum roll please..........................

Labels: Best of British, cake, Cranachan, Griddle, haggis, honey, kippers, oatcakes, pancakes, raspberry, Scotland, Scottish, Selkirk Bannock, shortbread, skirlie, Tablet, Tattie Scones, whisky

posted by Janice @ 20:47 15 Comments

Iced Cranachan for Best of British

Best of British - The Scottish Challenge!

We are lucky that New World Appliances as proud BRITISH manufacturers of kitchen appliances are sponsoring this event for the first six months.  Each month, one entrant will be picked AT RANDOM to receive a £50 Amazon voucher.  And, at the end of the six month period we will have a regional showdown, with a judge to pick the best entry (we are still working on who that will be and should be able to announce it shortly).  New World Appliances have kindly offered £300 of Amazon vouchers for the overall winner, so if you enter every month you have 6 chances to win the grand prize!
We’ll be showcasing the entries both on the Face of New World blog and on host blogs and promoting the recipes through Facebook and Twitter, with all your entries fully credited back to your blogs.
So, why not show what you think is the Best of British and join our challenge.
Rules:
 The full rules are posted on The Face of New World Appliances. However, here is a summary of what you have to do to enter:

• Post your recipe on your blog with a link back to The Face of New World Appliances AND to this post.
• Add the Best of British badge to your post.
• Add "Best of British" to your post or as a tag.
• E-mail bestofbritishchallenge@gmail.com with your recipe title, a link to your post and a photograph by Midnight of 15th July.
• If you post on Twitter, you can use #BestofBritish and if you mention @fionamaclean or @serialcrafter or @newworldapps, we will try and retweet.
• The round-up of entries will be posted on or before the 20th July on The Face of New World Appliances and here on my blog too.

The Best of British Challenge has been organised by Karen Burns Booth of Lavender and Lovage and Fiona McLean of London Unattached.  Many thanks to them both for all their hard work and to Choclette at Chocolate Log Blog for hosting the first month featuring recipes from Cornwall. Remember to check the round up on the 20th June.

Scotland's Food

There are so many fantastic food producers in Scotland.  We have high quality beef and lamb and game, incredible seafood and delicious dairy produce.  The varied landscape of Scotland has the right conditions to for all of these products and, despite some of the 'deep fried Mars Bar' anti-food propaganda, Scotland has an excellent reputation for good food. 

I thought long and hard about what I should showcase for Best of British and toyed with a smoked venison salad or maybe some traditional baking.  In the end I decided to put a bit of a twist on a dish that is full of Scottish products and is popular in restaurants and at home for entertaining:  Cranachan.

I'm not sure what that bottle says about us, there doesn't seem to be much Auchentoshan malt whisky left!  In my defence, we have had that bottle for quite a while... oh yes and some lovely Scottish Heather Honey, thick and fragrant.

It's also the start of the Scottish soft fruit season.  I visited a fruit farm in Fife last weekend, no raspberries there, but plenty of strawberries.  These raspberries come from Perthshire, the cooler summers in Scotland are ideal for raspberry growing.

Iced Cranachan with Raspberries (serves 4)

For the ice-cream
300ml milk
1tsp vanilla extract
 3 egg yolks
25g caster sugar
1 tbsp Scottish Heather Honey
1tbsp Scottish Malt Whisky
300ml 1/2 Fat Creme Fraiche

For the Oat Crumble
100g Scottish medium oatmeal (I used Hamlyns Oatmeal suitable for baking)
30g Scottish butter
50g demerara sugar

200g Scottish Raspberries

To make the ice cream
1. Pour milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the honey and heat until almost boiling.
2. Take off the heat and let it cool slightly.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until thick and creamy.  Gradually whisk in the hot milk, then strain back into the pan.
4. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
5. Do not allow to boil!
6. Pour into a chilled bowl and leave to cool in the fridge
7. Whisk the Creme Fraiche into the cold custard until evenly blended.
8. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn until frozen, alternatively freeze in a shallow container, whisking 2 or 3 times during freezing to break down the ice crystals and ensure an even-textured ice-cream.
9.  When the ice-cream is still soft, add half the oat crumble and mix well.

To make the oat crumble
1. Rub together the medium oatmeal and the butter until combined and resembling rough breadcrumbs.
2. Add the demerara sugar and stir through.
3. Heat the oven to 180C and spread the mixture on a baking tray.
4. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
5. Let the crumble cool.

For the Raspberry Coulis
100g Scottish Raspberries
25g icing sugar, sieved
1. Push 100g of raspberries through a sieve, collecting the juice in a bowl.
2. Stir in the icing sugar until dissolved.
3. Chill until ready to use.



I used some old fashioned Tala Castle Cake tins, lined with clingfilm, to make my little ices, but you could use a small glass or just add a scoop of ice cream to your plate.  You need to take the ice-cream out of the freezer about half an hour before eating.  Place the ice cream on the plate, using a dessert spoon add a pool of raspberry coulis on one side and place three raspberries in the coulis.  Add a little 'stream' of oat crumble on the opposite side of the plate.

This is not an over sweet dessert, there is only a very subtle taste of whisky, but you could leave it out if you don't have it or don't like it.  They honey taste is to the fore and the different textures of the crunchy oat crumble and smooth raspberry coulis are delicious with the ice-cream.

I hope you will join us in the Best of British Challenge and make something from Scotland, it can be a traditional Scottish dish or a dish using Scottish produce.  I look forward to seeing what you make and good luck with the prize draw.



Scottish Cooking
Scottish Recipes
STV Scotland Food and Drink
Scottish Recipes Food and Culture

Labels: Best of British, Cranachan, Heather Honey, honey, ice cream, oat crumble, oats, raspberries, Scotland, Scottish, whisky

posted by Janice @ 07:30 17 Comments