Cool, clean-tasting, refreshingly milky, Italian ice cream is scooped onto a cone. ‘Raspberry?’ ‘Oh, yes please.’
Other topping options include a ‘99’ milk chocolate flake, ‘amaretto nibs’ and ‘hundreds and thousands’. But it’s the partnership of dripping red raspberry syrup, as ice melts, which is childhood nostalgia in a cone.
One legend has it that red raspberry syrup met cool-tasting Italian ice cream in Glasgow when a Clyde football club supporter, named McCallum, persuaded his local Italian ice-cream maker to make an ice cream in the club colours – red and white. The ‘club’ ice cream was so popular that the inspired supporter was rewarded when the new creation was named after him. Another story is linked with an ice cream parlour in Rutherglen owned by a family of McCallums.
Whatever the truth of its origins, it’s certain that the first McCallums were not take-away cones dripping in raspberry syrup, but sit-in-and-eat saucerfuls of several scoops of ice cream, with the red sauce poured over them in stripes. Special ‘McCallum saucers’ were stocked for the purpose as the popularity of the Italian ice cream parlours developed throughout the early decades of the twentieth century.
By this time, the first itinerant Italian ice-cream salesmen – who had begun by pushing their barrows around the city streets – had moved into small shops, mostly in slum areas. Then, armed with driving ambition, and much hard work, they began to move up into better areas. This is when they hit some local prejudice.
The Glasgow Herald (2 October, 1907 – Ice Cream Hells) reports a United Free Church conference held to discuss the growth of Italian ice cream shops. They were, so the churchmen opined: ‘perfect iniquities of hell itself and ten times worse than any of the evils of the public house’. But Glasgow of the early twentieth century was a city of prospering classes looking for fun and entertainment in the many cinemas, dance and music halls. So despite the killjoy church, there was a growing market for delectable Italian ice creams and everything that went with the classic Italian ice cream parlour. Then, a popular Glaswegian novelist of the day, A J Cronin, dared to take his upper-class heroine in Hatter’s Castle (1931) into Bertorelli’s café; who knows, perhaps for a McCallum – and Italian ice cream parlours never looked back.
‘He took her arm firmly and led her a few doors down the street, then, before she realised it and could think even to resist he had drawn her inside. Mary paled with apprehension, feeling that she had finally passed the limits of respectability and looking reproachfully into Denis’ smiling face in a shocked tone she gasped:
‘“Oh Denis, how could you?”
Yet as she looked round the clean empty shop, with its rows of marble topped tables, its small scintillating mirrors and brightly papered walls, she felt curiously surprised, as if she had expected to find a sordid den, suited appropriately to the debauched revels that must, if tradition were to be believed, inevitably be connected with a place like this.’
For days children have been scouring the countryside for ripe berries. It is late September and they find plenty of black, juicy brambles as well as smaller, sharper-tasting blaeberries. There are still a few late white raspberries for those who know where to find them. A large bowl is filled and placed in the middle of the table.
This is a special family gathering for Highland clanspeople (circa 1700) to celebrate the year’s harvest. On the table too is a bowl of their own-grown meal ground finely. There is a large bowl of thick cream from their milking cow and another is filled with the soft, white ‘crowdie’ cheese that they make by cooking curdled milk and hanging it to drip in a cloth. There is a bowl of wild honey and the ever-available stoneware bottle of their own distilled water-of-life (usquabae), later to become known as whisky.
Everyone gathers round for the feast, and with carved horn spoons make up their own mix of the characterful ingredients.
Clootie Dumpling
My granny made a dumpling
She made it in a cloot
She put it in the kettle
And she couldn’t get it oot
My granny made a dumpling
She made it in a cloot,
She took a stick of dynamite
And blew it oot the spoot!
My granny made her dumpling in a ‘cloot’ too, but she put hers in a large pot so there was no need for any dynamite. As I remember, she made it for Hogmanay, as well as for all birthdays and we sat, expectantly, waiting for our share, hoping that it would contain a lucky piece of silver which would ensure our future prosperity.
The suet dumpling in a cloth has its origins in the primitive custom of boiling a pudding in an animal’s stomach bag. It’s where the haggis comes from, as well as the sweet clootie dumplings (bag-puddings in England) that became popular in the nineteenth century when spices and sugar became cheaper. They were the Scottish answer to the English fruit cake in households where all cooking was done on the top of the stove and baking in an oven was only done by the local baker.
‘A huge pot hung over the fire which leapt in a shining black-and-steel range,’ says Jennifer Gowan in ‘Friendship is a Clootie Dumpling’, Scottish Field, July, 1966. ‘A black kettle stood on one hob, a brown teapot on the other. Steam rose gently from the kettle and thickly from the great black pot, whence also came a continuous “purring” noise and the wonderful smell’
Apple and Pear: The familiar street cry for apples and pears in eighteenth-century Edinburgh was – ‘Fine rosey-cheekit Carse o’ Gowries, the tap o’ the tree.’ Today, neither apples nor pears are grown commercially in the Carse of Gowrie, or anywhere else in Scotland for that matter. Yet they grow particularly well in many parts of the country, and there are many domestic orchards where old varieties are still preserved.
Bilberry: A small, blue-black, wild berry which was once widely used in Scotland.
Blackcurrant and Redcurrant: These were at one time an important part of the Scottish kitchen garden. When made into preserves they were regarded as flavourings, not just to spread on bread, but to use in sauces with sweet puddings, or even to make flavourful drinks, often to cure colds. Now 90 per cent of blackcurrants are grown for the juice market, but there are also new hardier varieties that have been developed for growing in Scotland for the fresh market.
Blaeberry: Blaeberries are very small, deep purple-black berries growing wild on low bushes on large areas of Scottish hills. At one time they were picked annually by travelling people who sold them to the rural population. When fresh they were usually eaten with cream, then made into jam. The system of picking was with a large, wide-toothed comb and enthusiasts still head off for the blaeberry hills in August and September to make their picking.
Blueberry: Known as the High Bush American Blueberry, it is the same genus as the low-grown, wild blaeberry, both of which thrive on acidic peaty soil. The blue-black blueberry is larger than the blaeberry and has a powdery blue bloom, greenish to purple flesh and a winey flavour, less tart than a blaeberry. It adds character to fruit pies and is the most popular flavouring for American (blueberry) muffins. It has been made available to growers in Scotland by the Scottish Crop Research Institute, and some growers have taken up the crop. Though they take some time to establish, they can remain cropping for fifty years.
Bramble (blackberry): These grow wild in hedgerows and are picked by enthusiasts each September when they ripen. Some commercial varieties of brambles have been developed. These are a more fleshy fruit with less seeds, ripening earlier in August.
Gooseberry: Originally a wild fruit, growing naturally in the cool, moist, high regions of Northern Europe, thorny little gooseberry bushes were introduced to Britain in the thirteenth century. And while in England their popularity led to breeding larger and sweeter dessert varieties, in Scotland the hardier wild variety prevailed. They were named after the French ’groseille’ rather than the English gooseberry and became known as ’grosets’ or ’grosarts’. They thrived well in the cool, moist Scottish climate. So much so that on the isles of Orkney and Shetland, where no trees survived, gooseberry bushes were to be found in every back yard and it was said that when the people read in their Bibles of Adam hiding among the trees, the only vision they could imagine was of a naked man cowering under a thorny groset bush.
Raspberry: In the early 1900s it was a group of Scottish market gardeners in Angus who decided to move out of traditional strawberry production and into raspberries. They formed a co-operative and in subsequent decades established the Scottish crop as the dominant British supply. On the fertile Tayside soils-once favoured by the farming monks of the middle ages – the raspberry matures slowly, producing a flavourful berry around the beginning of July. The quest for perfection in raspberry quality is everlasting. Among the experimental raspberry canes at the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) at Invergowrie, there is endless variety of size, colour, brightness, firmness and flavour; all to be considered in the search for a perfect raspberry. Currently in production are Glen Clova, one of the oldest varieties (1969), and Glen Moy and Glen Prosen (both released in 1981). Other varieties include: Glencoe, a purple raspberry (1989), Glen Garry (1990), and Glen Lyon (1991). There is also the autumn fruiting variety, Autumn Bliss, which serves a niche market while Magna, Glen Ample and Glen Rosa are the newest varieties of the later 90s. Visual and taste differences between the main varieties are minimal. Clova is medium-sized, light to medium coloured fruit with a sweetish-sharp flavour. Prosen is medium-red coloured with a slightly sourer flavour but is a firmer, more easily transportable fruit, while Moy is a large berry, also medium-red coloured and generally regarded as the best flavoured of the three. Neither too sharp nor too sweet, its flavour is more rounded but it is also the one with the shortest shelf life.
Sloe: On his Tour in Scotland 1771, Thomas Pennant, one of the most eminent naturalists of the eighteenth century remarks on the fruits eaten on Jura – ‘Sloes are the only fruits of the island. An acid for punch is made of the berries of the mountain ash (rowan): and a kind of spirit is also distilled from them.’
To make sloe gin, prick ripe sloes with a darning needle and pack them into jars. Pour in caster sugar to come one third of the way up the fruit and fill up with gin. Shake till the sugar is dissolved. Store in a cool place for at least a month, shaking occasionally. It will keep for a year and the liqueur can be drained off and bottled.
Strawberry: While turn-of-the-century Tayside growers moved out of strawberries and into raspberries, strawberry growing continued to flourish in the smallholdings of the Clyde valley. Now the Clyde valley has largely turned to other crops, such as tomatoes, and strawberry growing has been revived on the arable farms of Tayside, Fife and the North-East. The 1990s success story was the variety Elsanta, which was first developed for Dutch glasshouse growing, and not for an outdoor Scottish summer. It is a large, orange-red berry, with a deep, pinkish-red flesh, and when fully ripe is neither too soft nor too firm. It’s a berry to be squashed when eating, when it releases its finely balanced flavours. Neither too sweet, nor too sharp, it’s the gradual slow-ripening of the fruit in the long hours of summer daylight that develops the sugar content gradually to give the berries their superior taste. ‘We sent our first consignment of Elsanta to France last week,’ says William Halley of Scotfruit, Dundee distributors of Tayside soft fruits, ‘and they have just multiplied the order by 10!’ Other large eating varieties are Pegasus, Symphony and Hapil (EM227), a large, soft, juicy berry with a short shelf life which is only grown on pick-your-own farms. Cambridge Favourite and Tamella are smaller-sized, jam-making berries.
Tayberry: This is a hybrid cross between the American blackberry (bramble) and the European raspberry and is of similar type to the American Loganberry. The Tayberry has a strong personality, a sweet aromatic flavour and an exotic, deep, purple-red colour. It is a long firm, fleshy fruit (about 4cm) that cooks well. Though not widely available commercially, it is a very popular pick-your-own berry.
Cook’s Tip: Making this up in advance misses the point of it as a communal celebration. Only by letting everyone make up their own – as they go – can they discover their own personal favourite mix of flavours and textures.
Yield: 6-8
425ml (15fl oz) double cream, whipped
125g (4oz) coarse or pinhead oatmeal, lightly toasted
225g (8oz) crowdie or other sharp soft cheese or crème fraiche
450g (1lb) soft fruit (rasps, strawberries, blackcurrants, brambles etc)
Bottle of light Lowland Malt Whisky to taste
Jar of runny flower honey to taste
2 medium sized bowls
1 small bowl
SETTING THE TABLE: Place the cream and crowdie in one bowl and mix well. Put the fruit into the other medium bowl and the oatmeal into the smaller one. Place three bowls in the centre of the table with the bottle of whisky and jar of honey. Provide each guest with a mixing bowl and spoon.
MIXING THE CRANACHAN: Begin with cream/crowdie, sprinkle with oatmeal and add fruit and honey. Finally pour over some whisky to lubricate and mix. Adjust whisky and honey to taste.
An easy mix of lively flavours that were first combined by Mrs Dalgairns (circa 1829), the nineteenth-century cookery writer, when she mixed minced marmalade, brandy and the juice of a lemon through a couple of pints of cream.
Yield: 4
2 large sweet Spanish navel oranges
300ml (10fl oz) whipping cream
2 heaped tablespoons Seville marmalade
2-3 tablespoons brandy
Lemon juice to taste
Sugar to taste
MAKING: Strip the zest from the oranges with a zester into the bowl of a food processor. Cut off all the white pith and remove each segment of the orange with a sharp knife, avoiding the white pith. Squeeze out any remaining juice from the leftover pith and put it in the base of a glass serving dish. Add the marmalade and brandy to the orange zest in the processor and blend until smooth (this can also be used as a sauce). Add all but two teaspoonfuls to the cream. Mix and add sugar and lemon juice, and pour on top of oranges. Sprinkle the remaining teaspoonfuls on top and swirl with a knife. Serve chilled.
This rich ‘parfait’ type of ice cream with a high proportion of egg yolks and cream is quite unlike Italian ice cream, with its milky and much more ‘icy’ texture.
Cook’s Tip: This does not require any special ice cream-making equipment. The mixture can be set in a special mould and turned out for serving. It is best not to make it up in very large quantities since some of the delicate flavouring will be lost if kept in the freezer for longer than one month. Some flavours are more robust than others. Bear in mind, also that the frozen flavour will be less strong than unfrozen, so flavour strongly rather than mildly.
Yield: 4
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons icing sugar
250g (9oz) strawberries and/or raspberries or any other fresh fruit in season
150ml (5fl oz) whipping cream, whipped
Lemon juice to taste
2 tablespoons flavouring liqueur, or to taste
Raspberry Sauce:
250g (9oz) raspberries
Lemon juice to taste
Sugar to taste
MAKING THE ICE CREAM: Put the eggs and sugar into a bowl over hot water and beat till thick and creamy. Press the fruit through a sieve to make the puré;e, or puré;e in the liquidiser or food processor and sieve. Add the lemon juice and liqueur. Mix the egg and sugar with the puré;e, folding in lightly and then fold in the cream. Taste for flavour and pour into a plastic container or special mould and freeze. To turn out, run the mould under the hot tap to loosen.
TO SERVE: Allow ice cream to soften slightly for about 30 minutes at room temperature, which will greatly improve the texture and also the flavour.
MAKING THE SAUCE: Either press the raspberries through a sieve to remove the pips, or blend in a food processor and sieve. Add lemon juice and sugar to taste. This will depend on the sharpness/sweetness of the fruit. Serve poured over the ice cream.
Uncomplicated mixtures of fruit puré;e and sugar syrup give clean penetrating flavours that were often used in Victorian meals of many courses, somewhere about the middle, to ‘refresh the palate’. Queen Victoria herself was particularly fond of a rum-flavoured sorbet. For eating styles today, they are usually served at the end of a meal with some fresh fruit.
Syrup:
250g (9oz) granulated sugar
300ml (10fl oz) water
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
Fruit:
500g (1 lb 2oz) blackcurrants or any other soft fruit
1 large egg white, stiffly beaten
MAKING THE SYRUP: Dissolve the sugar in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Cool and add the orange and lemon juice.
PREPARING FRUIT: Blend fruit in a processor. Mix into the syrup.
MAKING WATER ICE: Pass the puré;e and syrup through a sieve. Pour into a plastic container with a lid. The shallower it is, the quicker it will freeze. Put into the freezer and remove every half-hour or so to stir in the crystals that have formed, giving it a beat to prevent large crystals forming. When it is uniformly solid, but not too hard, it can be beaten with an electric beater into one stiffly beaten egg white to give it more volume and a lighter texture. Beat the egg white in the bowl first, and then gradually add spoonfuls of the water ice. It must not be too hard or it will be difficult to mix in. Re-freeze. Like all ices it should not be kept for too long in the freezer since the flavour will begin to fade after a month or so.
This was first created in the 1970s at the Laich Bakery in Edinburgh’s Hanover Street. The crunchy meringue – slightly chewy in the centre and heavy with hazelnuts – is sandwiched with a thick layer of whipped cream and an equally thick layer of raspberries.
Cook’s Tips: It is best made up a few hours before eating so that the flavours mingle and the raspberry juice seeps a little into the top layer of meringue. The nuts can be either finely or coarsely ground, the latter giving a crunchier texture. This is a good cook-ahead-and-stop-worrying cake, since the meringues will keep for several weeks if they are tightly, but carefully, wrapped in foil and kept in an airtight tin.
For the meringue:
250g (9oz) hazelnuts
4 egg whites
250g (9oz) caster sugar
For the filling:
300ml (10fl oz) whipping cream, stiffly whipped
250g (9oz) raspberries
Icing Sugar for dusting
Line 2 × 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tins.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.
MAKING MERINGUE: Toast the hazelnuts in a cool oven for about 10 minutes, then cool. Grind them fairly fine (this is a matter of taste, coarser will give a rougher textured meringue). Whisk the egg whites till well bulked up but not too stiff and then add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating well. Finally fold in the nuts and pour into the prepared tins. Bake for 20 minutes till the meringue is set but not dried out. Remove from the tins and leave to cool.
ASSEMBLING CAKE: Spread the cream thickly on one half of the meringue, cover with raspberries and place the other half on top. Dust thickly with icing sugar and leave for at least an hour before serving.
A simple mix of outstanding flavours and textures that can be assembled in minutes.
Yield: 4
500g (1lb 2oz) raspberries
4 tablespoons Frangelica liqueur
425ml (15fl oz) whipping cream
8 meringues (shop-bought will do)
Four bowls
MAKING: Divide raspberries equally into four bowls. Add one tablespoon of liqueur to each bowl. Whip cream till fairly stiff. Crumble meringues roughly and mix through the cream. Pile on top of raspberries and stir through, or leave in two layers. Serve immediately.
Though Scots might claim the partnership of strawberries and shortbread, it’s our English neighbours who have perfected the union of strawberries and cream. This is an amalgam of the two, largely inspired by Dorothy Hartley in Food in England (1954): ‘Take a deep cold bowl half full of cream (an old punch bowl is excellent for this purpose). Whip the cream slightly, but do not make it too stiff. Then drop into it as many strawberries as it will hold, the smaller ones being put in whole, the larger, cut up. Stir as you go, mashing slightly, and when the cream really won’t cover another strawberry, leave it to stand for an hour. It will then be a cold level, pale-pink cream. Crust it over with dredged white sugar and serve forth in June, on a green lawn, under shady trees by the river.’
Yield: 4-6
600ml (1pt) whipping cream
500g (1lb 2oz) strawberries
2 tablespoons caster sugar
8 Balmoral Shortbread biscuits (see p159)
MAKING: Put the cream into a bowl and whip lightly. Wash and shaw the strawberries, cut up larger ones, and drop into the cream, stirring and mashing. Leave to stand for an hour. Dredge the top with caster sugar and serve with the shortbread biscuits.
Cook’s Tip: When mixing different fruits, it’s worth adding a handful of berries – brambles, rasps, strawberries, blackcurrants, blueberries – which will add flavour and colour as well as excellent juices.
Yield: 4-6
700g (1½ lb) apples OR plums, gooseberries, rhubarb, blackcurrants, brambles
125-175g (4-6oz) granulated sugar
125g (4½ oz) butter
250g (9oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) soft brown sugar
Grated rind of an orange or lemon
Serve with: custard or cream.
Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.
1.3L (2½pt) pie dish.
MAKING AND BAKING: Prepare the fruit. Peel, core and slice apples, stone plums and chop rhubarb. Grease the pie dish and put in the fruit in layers with the sugar. Rub butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (this can be done in a food processor). Mix in the sugar and grated orange or lemon rind. Pile on top of the fruit. Spread evenly and press down. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Serve with custard or cream.
Hazelnuts and oatmeal make this a variation on the crumble topping, while the apple filling is spiced with cloves.
Yield: 4-6
5 tablespoons water
4 cloves
75g (3oz) granulated sugar
50g (2oz) beef or vegetarian suet
125g (4oz) soft brown sugar
125g (4oz) medium oatmeal
25g (1oz) hazelnuts, finely chopped
700g (1½ lb) apples
Serve with: whipped cream.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.
Grease a 1.3L (2½ pt) pie dish.
INFUSING CLOVES, MAKING FILLING: Bring the water to the boil and add the cloves. Take off the heat and leave for 10 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and boil up to dissolve. Remove from the heat. In a bowl mix the suet, half – 50g (2oz) – of the soft brown sugar, the oatmeal and nuts. Peel, core and slice the apples.
ASSEMBLING AND BAKING: Place the apples in the base of the dish and pour over the clove syrup. Cover with the topping mixture spread evenly and, lastly, spread over the remaining brown sugar. Press down and bake for about an hour till the apples are cooked and the top browned. Serve hot with whipped cream.
Cook’s Tip: It’s worth adding a handful of berries – brambles, rasps, strawberries, blackcurrants, blueberries – which will add flavour and colour as well as extra juices.
Filling:
900g (2lb) cooking apples
1 lemon, grated rind and juice
1 tablespoon water
75g (3oz) soft brown sugar
Sponge Topping:
125g (4½ oz) self-raising flour
125g (4½ oz) caster sugar
125g (4½ oz) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
Serve with: cream, custard or milk.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.
Grease a 1.3L (2½pt) pie dish.
PREPARING FILLING: Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. Place in layers in the pie dish, sprinkling each layer with grated lemon rind, juice and water, then sugar.
MAKING SPONGE AND BAKING: Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and beat for about one minute. Add the butter, eggs and one tablespoon of the milk and beat for another minute, or until it changes colour and becomes creamy. Add the remaining milk and beat for another 30 seconds. It should be a soft dropping consistency. Add more milk if necessary. Spread evenly on top of the apples and bake for about 40 minutes until the sponge is risen and browned and the apples tender. Serve with cream, custard or milk.
Cook’s Tip: It’s best to choose apples of an equal size so they will all be cooked at the same time.
Yield: 4
Shortcrust pastry:
100g (3½ oz) unsalted butter
200g (7oz) plain flour
1-2 tablespoons cold water
Pinch of salt
4 large cooking apples
50g (2oz) soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
Beaten egg to glaze
1 tablespoon caster sugar
Serve with: custard, whipped cream or cré;me fraiche.
Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas 7 and bake at this temperature for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F/170°C/Gas 3 for about 30 minutes.
MAKING PASTRY: Put the butter into the mixer bowl (or food processor) and add half the flour. Beat on a slow speed until they have combined into a soft paste. Add the remaining flour, salt and one tablespoon of water and mix at a slow speed till it becomes a smooth, firm paste. Add more water if necessary. Do not over mix. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in a cool place for at least an hour before use.
MAKING DUMPLINGS: Divide the pastry into four and roll out each piece into a round wide enough to cover the apples completely. Cut off any surplus pastry and reserve for decoration. Peel the apples and remove central core with the vegetable peeler. Place each apple in the centre of the pastry round. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon and cloves and use to fill the core space. Wet the edges of the pastry and gather them up round the apple, moulding them into a neat join at the top. Turn over and press to neaten. Make some pastry leaves and decorate the tops. Brush with egg and dust with caster sugar. Bake for 10 minutes in a hot oven to set the pastry, then turn down to cook the apple. Test with a skewer after about 30 minutes when the apple should be soft.
‘Frushie’ is the Scots for crisp and was often used to describe anything with a short pastry.
Yield: 4
Sweet shortcrust pastry:
100g (3½oz) unsalted butter
50g (2oz) icing sugar
1 egg yolk
175g (6oz) plain flour
Filling:
1kg (2lb 4oz) tart cooking apples
100g (4oz) soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon or mixed spice
1 lemon, juice and zest
Dredging: caster sugar
Serve with: cream or custard.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4.
Use a 1.3L (2½pt) deep pie dish.
MAKING THE PASTRY: Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer (or blend in a food processor) till light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat for a minute to mix in, then add the flour and mix on a slow speed till it forms a smooth paste. Do not overmix. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in a cool place for at least an hour till ready to use.
MAKING THE PIE AND BAKING: Roll out the pastry about 2.5cm (1 inch) larger than the rim of the pie dish. Invert the pie dish and place on top of the pastry. Cut round to fit and wet the pie dish rim. Cut the excess pastry into a long strip and place on the rim. Press down well and wet the edges. Peel, core and slice the apples. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. Put apples into the pie dish in layers, sprinkling with lemon juice and zest and the spiced sugar. They should be heaped well above the rim of the pie dish. Place on the lid and press down well to seal. Make a small hole in the centre for the steam to escape. Pinch the edge to make a decorative finish, or mark with a fork. Bake for 40-50 minutes till the apples are cooked. Cover the pastry with foil if it darkens too much. Dredge with caster sugar and serve hot or cold with cream or custard.
Soft, lemony filling is topped with a marshmallowy meringue, set in a crisp pastry crust to make the perfect contrast of flavours and textures.
Yield: 12 from 25 × 3.25cm deep (9½x 1½ inch deep) flan tin with removable base.
Pastry:
100g (3½oz) unsalted butter
50g (2oz) icing sugar
1 egg yolk
175g (6oz) plain flour
Beaten egg for brushing
Filling:
125g (4oz) sugar
25g (1oz) cornflour
4 lemons, zest and juice
6 egg yolks
200ml (7fl oz) milk
50g (2oz) butter
2-3 tablespoons single cream
Meringue:
6 egg whites
Pinch of salt
175g (6oz) caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 then turn down to 300°F/140°C/Gas 2. Grease a flan tin.
MAKING PASTRY: Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer (or blend in a food processor) till light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat for a minute to mix in. Add the flour and mix on a slow speed until it forms a smooth paste. Do not overmix. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in a cool place for at least an hour before use.
LINING FLAN, BAKING BLIND: Roll the pastry out on a lightly-floured work surface to a circle large enough to fill the base and sides of the flan tin plus about 1cm (½ inch) extra. Lift the pastry over a rolling pin into the flan tin and press into the base and sides. Do not cut off the overhang. Place a sheet of foil in the base, pressing the foil into the corners and up the sides. Fill with dry beans or rice. Bake blind for 18-20 minutes or until pastry is set. Remove from the oven and take out the foil and beans. Brush the base and sides with a little beaten egg and return to the oven to dry out for another 10 minutes or until crisp. Trim off the surplus pastry with a sharp knife.
MAKING THE FILLING: Put the sugar, cornflour, lemon juice and yolks into a bowl and beat together till the sugar is dissolved. Heat the milk, butter and lemon zest in a pan and slowly bring almost to the boil. Leave to infuse for five minutes. Strain over the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return to the pan and cook slowly over a low heat, stirring all the time, until the custard has thickened. Add cream to thin down a little and pour into prepared flan tin.
MAKING THE MERINGUE: Whisk the egg whites and salt till they form peaks and then add about half the sugar gradually in tablespoons, beating between each addition. Stir in the remaining sugar gradually and when mixed in, pipe on or pile on top of the filling. Dust with caster sugar on top to give a crisp finish.
BAKING: Bake at the cooler temperature for about 30-40 minutes till lightly browned.
A rich, fruity tart that is a popular Borders teatime speciality, but can also be served with cream as a dessert.
Yield: 12 from 25 × 3.25cm deep (9½ × 1½ inch)
deep) flan tin with removable base.
Pastry:
100g (3½ oz) unsalted butter
50g (2oz) icing sugar
1 egg yolk
175g (6oz) plain flour
Beaten egg for brushing
100g (4oz) melted butter
175g (6oz) soft brown sugar
2 eggs
2 dessertspoons apple cider vinegar
100g (4oz) chopped walnuts
250g (9oz) mixed dried fruit
Serve with: whipped cream.
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas 5.
Grease a flan tin.
MAKING PASTRY: Beat the butter and sugar in a mixer (or blend in a food processor) till light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat for a minute to mix in. Add the flour and mix on a slow speed until it forms a smooth paste. Do not overmix. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest for at least an hour in a cool place till ready to use.
LINING FLAN: Roll the pastry out on a lightly-floured work surface to a circle large enough to fill the base and sides of the flan tin plus about 1cm (½ inch) extra. Lift the pastry over a rolling pin into the flan tin and press into the base and sides. Trim off the overhang.
MAKING TART: Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the pastry. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold with whipped cream.
A rich custard topped with sugar, which is burnt to a crunchy layer of burnished caramel.
Yield: 4 × 150ml (5fl oz) bowls or pots
75ml (3fl oz) milk
50g (2oz) caster sugar
6 egg yolks
275ml (9fl oz) double cream
1 vanilla pod
2 tablespoons caster sugar for caramelising
MAKING MIXTURE: Put the milk, sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and beat well with a whisk. Put the cream into a pan. Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape the seeds into the cream in the pan. Add the pod and bring the cream gently to simmering point so the full flavour of the vanilla is infused into the cream. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for another 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod, then pour half the cream over the egg and sugar mixture, beating well. Pour this back into the pan with the remaining cream. Cook gently, stirring all the time, till the mixture thickens. Strain and pour into the pots.
FINISHING: Cover the surface with sugar and caramelise under a hot grill or use a pastry blowtorch. Serve immediately.
This is an old Shetland New Year’s Day breakfast that was eaten with rich shortbread as a memorable start to the year. It’s thought to be of Scandinavian origin.
Yield: 8-12
4 egg yolks
175g (6oz) caster sugar
125ml (4fl oz) rum
500ml (18fl oz) whipping cream
MAKING: Beat the egg yolks and sugar till thick and foamy. This can be done in a bowl over a pan of hot water or in a double boiler. Add the rum. Beat the cream in another bowl until stiff and add to the mixture. Serve with thin Petticoat Tails (see p158) or Balmoral Shortbread (see p159).