Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan
Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan is my seasonal variation on a classic Scottish dessert. It’s a delicious combination of tender roasted rhubarb, whipped cream, toasted oatmeal, Scotch whisky and honey.
What is Cranachan?
Cranachan is a dessert usually made with Scottish raspberries, whipped cream, honey, Scotch whisky and toasted oatmeal. For this recipe, I use rhubarb from my garden instead of raspberries and roast it with sugar to make a Rhubarb Cranachan.
What ingredients do I need to make Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan?
Once you source your forced rhubarb, all the other ingredients are easily available in your supermarket or grocery store. Here is what you need:
- Rhubarb
- Sugar
- Oatmeal
- Hazelnuts
- Cream
- Scotch Whisky
- Honey
Scroll to the end of this article to find the full recipe and all quantities of ingredients and full instructions.
What is rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a hardy perennial plant with pink, red or pale green stems that are most often used in desserts like crumbles and pies.
It has a tart flavour and is too sharp to eat raw, but combined with sugar and other ingredients it has a delicious tangy taste.
What is forced rhubarb?
The best rhubarb is available in Spring. Forced rhubarb is grown in the dark and is available in late January or early February. It has pale pink stems and is tender and sweet and is ideal for making Rhubarb Cranachan.
Can I use garden rhubarb for this recipe?
Yes, you certainly can. I rarely buy forced rhubarb and wait until March or April to start to harvest my garden rhubarb. Choose young stems of red garden rhubarb to make Rhubarb Cranachan.
What kind of sugar do I need for Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan?
You will need two different kinds of sugar for this recipe:
- White caster (superfine) sugar to sweeten the roasted rhubarb. You can use white granulated sugar but it doesn’t dissolve as easily and you may end up with a gritty texture.
- Soft light brown sugar to add to the toasted oatmeal and hazelnut mixture. I don’t recommend using dark brown sugar as its strong flavour will overwhelm the delicate rhubarb.
What kind of oatmeal do I need?
You will need pinhead (steel cut) or medium oatmeal for this recipe. You can’t use rolled oats or instant oats as they don’t have enough texture for the crumb mix.
Can I use nuts other than hazelnuts?
I chose hazelnuts because they have a lovely creamy texture and a mild but distinctive flavour especially when toasted. I used whole hazelnuts in their skins and rubbed off the skins after toasting, but you can use preskinned hazelnuts just be extra careful when toasting.
If you don’t have hazelnuts then you can substitute any of the following nuts:
- Almonds are a popular substitute for hazelnuts. They have a comparable crunch and mild, slightly sweet flavour.
- Macadamia nuts have a rich, buttery flavour, they offer a similar texture to hazelnuts but are slightly softer and more delicate.
- Pecans are a useful substitute as they have a sweet, buttery flavour and a softer texture.
Can I leave out the hazelnuts?
If you don’t or can’t eat nuts then you can leave them out and still enjoy this recipe. The toasted oatmeal adds a toasted flavour and good texture.
What kind of cream do I need to make Rhubarb Cranachan?
I use double (heavy) cream or whipping cream. You need cream that you can whip and will hold its shape in soft peaks.
You can use all whipped cream but I like to mix in some crème fraiche with the rich double cream. Crème fraiche is a cultured cream that has more acidity and the combination of the two types of cream works well with the rhubarb.
What kind of whisky should I use?
I use a good quality Lowland or Speyside malt Scotch whisky. This type of malt whisky has a honeyed flavour that is perfect to include in the dessert. I wouldn’t use any malt which is peated as the strong flavour would overwhelm the other ingredients.
What can I substitute for malt whisky?
You can use a good quality blended Scotch whisky or a whisky liqueur such as Glayva or Drambuie. If you don’t have any Scotch then you can use Irish whiskey or Bourbon.
Is there a non-alcoholic alternative to Whisky?
For a non-alcoholic alternative, try a mixture of apple juice with a dash of cider vinegar to mimic the whisky’s sweetness and slight acidity.
What kind of honey should I use?
Ideally I would use Scottish Heather Honey. This distinctive variety of honey is produced by bees that forage primarily on the nectar of heather plants found in the Scottish Highlands and moorlands. Heather honey has a rich, aromatic flavour, a deep amber colour, and a firm texture.
I don’t have heather honey, what other honey can I use?
You can use any honey to make this recipe. But if you would like a close alternative to heather honey, then you can use a good quality wildflower honey, as it offers a similar floral profile.
For a vegan option, try maple syrup or a floral agave syrup to mimic some of the sweetness and aromatic notes.
Can I make Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan ahead of time?
Yes! You can eat rhubarb cranachan as soon as you assemble it however I would recommend that you make it up 24 hours before you want to eat it as both the flavour and the texture benefits from some time in the refrigerator.
You can also get ahead by roasting the rhubarb and then storing in the fridge in a lidded container until you are ready to assemble.
The oatmeal crumb can be made in advance too and kept in an airtight container (not in the fridge) so that you only need to whip and flavour the cream and assemble the dessert.
Can I freeze Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan?
You can’t freeze the finished dessert as the textures of the dessert would not be maintained after defrosting. You can however freeze the roasted rhubarb separately and defrost overnight in the fridge or on the defrost setting of your microwave.
Vegetarian
This recipe is suitable for vegetarians.
Gluten Free
This recipe should be suitable for a gluten free diet. However, be very careful about the oatmeal that you use as some has been processed alongside gluten containing products. As always, check all packaged ingredients to ensure that they meet your dietary requirements.
For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How should I serve Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan?
I like to serve rhubarb cranachan in individual glasses so that you can see all the pretty layers of rhubarb, cream and toasted oatmeal. However, you can also layer the ingredients in a larger dish such as a trifle bowl. and serve it into individual bowls at the table.
You can make up the glasses or bowl and store it in the fridge. To get the best from the flavours, remove the dishes from the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to eat it to let the cranachan come to room temperature.
Burns Night
Rhubarb Cranachan is ideal to serve for dessert at a Burns Supper to celebrate the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland’s National poet. Find out more about the Burns Supper traditions and the recipes to serve in my article How to host the Ultimate Burns Supper.
More Cranachan Recipes
Scottish Rhubarb Cranachan
Ingredients
- 3 (3) medium stalks of rhubarb
- 30 grams (2 tablespoon) caster sugar superfine
- 100 grams (½ cups) pinhead or medium oatmeal steel cut
- 30 grams (¼ cups) hazelnuts
- 60 grams (⅓ cups) light soft brown sugar
- 200 millilitres (1 cups) double cream
- 100 millilitres (⅓ cups) crème fraiche
- 25 millilitres (1¾ tbsp) malt whisky or a whisky liqueur
- 2 teaspoon Scottish Heather Honey or other honey
Instructions
To roast the rhubarb
- Clean 3 medium stems of rhubarb and cut into 3cm (1 in) lengths.
- Place them in a single layer in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with 30 grams (2 tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar.
- Roast in the oven for about 8-10 minutes at 200℃/180℃ fan/400℉. The rhubarb pieces should be whole but if you pierce them with a knife, it should be soft all the way through. Leave the rhubarb to cool.
To make the oatmeal crumb
- Meanwhile, toast 100 grams (½ cup) pin head (steel cut) oats in a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Move them around a little so that they toast evenly, watch them carefully so they don't burn,
- Toast 30 grams (¼ cup) whole hazelnuts in the same way or in a dry frying pan which can be easier to manage, let them cool and rub off the skins.
- Put the oats, hazelnuts and 60 grams (⅓ cup) soft brown sugar into a blender or food processor and process to the texture of rough breadcrumbs. Make sure you don't grind them to a powder you want a little bit of texture.
For the whisky cream
- Whip 200 millilitres (1 cup) double cream to soft peaks.
- Mix 100 millilitres (1 cup) crème fraiche, 2 teaspoons honey, and 25 millilitres (1¾ tablespoons) Scotch whisky into the whipped cream.
To assemble
- Spoon into individual glasses starting with the oat mixture, the cream and roasted rhubarb. Then repeat the layers, finishing with a few of the best pieces of rhubarb and a little spoonful of oat mixture.
- Refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving. Remove from the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving to allow the dessert to come to room temperature and enable the full flavours to be enjoyed.
Nutrition
First published in 2016
What a FABULOUS dessert and as a BIG rhubarb lover, as you know, this would be top of my list for a spring dessert! Karen
Thanks Karen, it is definitely the time to be a rhubarb lover!
My family are obsessed with rhubarb so I’ve saved this to make for them. Lovely photos x
Thanks Sisley, I hope you all enjoy it.
This looks delicious – I applaud you for getting your layers so neat, I can never do it! Too clumsy!
Why thank you, I never really thought about the layers, I just blob it in, seems to come out okay – tee hee!
Heavenly – I love rhubarb and I’m missing picking my own (our crown got too woody and old and I made the mistake of splitting it too vigorously), I must plant a new one next year!
Oh what a shame Chris, I used to have three crowns but only one now, so I will need to think about getting another just in case!
I love rhubarb and Cranachan is one of my favourite desserts – so I had to try this recipe. The dessert was delicious, sweet, slightly sour, smoky and spiced with whisky – perfection.
That’s great to hear that you enjoyed the rhubarb cranachan.
I didn’t do a burns night dinner but I did make this as a nod – I’m not that keen on raspberry version but this twist is so good!
That’s great, thanks for letting me know.