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Whisky (whiskey in Ireland and the Americas) is a spirit distilled from fermented grains, deriving its name from the Celtic uisge beatha meaning ‘water of life’. Single malt Scotch whiskies, the product of one distillery, made from malted, toasted barley and matured in oak for years, are complex, rich, spicy, citrusy, woody and strong. If the malted grain has been dried over a peat fire, the whisky will also have a distinctive, smoky, slightly medicinal tang.
The much more widely drunk type of Scotch is blended – a mix of spirits from different distilleries, comprising some from unmalted grain as well as malted barley. Blended Scotch whiskies offer a gentler, more rounded drinking experience. They’re not inferior to single malts, just different, and can work well in cooked dishes where their smooth character is less disruptive to other flavours. Malt whisky has its place in the kitchen too, but go for slightly lighter, sweeter types such as those from Speyside. Big, smoky, peaty beasts, such as the Islay malts, can do rather wild things in a dish and are best, I think, enjoyed in a glass.
Whisky is a traditional ingredient in many Scottish recipes, not infrequently combined with oats, honey and cream – bland, sweet, cushioning ingredients that form the ideal backdrop to whisky’s bright, hot complexity. You can even put a nip in your porridge in the morning (though only if you’re about to stride off up a snowy Cairngorm, not drive the kids to school). For a gorgeous pud of crushed fruit, toasted oatmeal and cream spiked with Scotch, try cranachan. In such recipes, the whisky is used unheated, and its blithe alcoholic tang is much in evidence.
There are also lots of cooked uses for whisky, where that edge is mellowed. It works well in marinades and bastes, and with fruit – try adding a dram to a rich fruit cake or a batch of marmalade. In all cases, add whisky judiciously… it’s powerful stuff.
American bourbon whiskey is made primarily from corn and has a sweeter character than Scotch, hence its frequent use in glazes for barbecued meat.
WHISKY AND MARMALADE BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING
Rich, hot, comforting and indulgent, this is best served with lots of cold double cream. Serves 8–10
About 100g butter, softened, plus extra to grease
450g slightly stale, crustless white bread
3 medium eggs
1 medium egg yolk
125g caster sugar
300ml whole milk
200ml double cream
100ml whisky
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g orange marmalade
100g dried cranberries or raisins
A little demerara or granulated sugar, to finish
Lightly butter an ovenproof dish, about 2 litre capacity. Cut the bread into slices, about 1cm thick. Butter the bread lightly on both sides and cut it into squares or triangles.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk and sugar together thoroughly, then stir in the milk, cream, whisky and vanilla.
Line the bottom of the buttered dish with a third of the bread slices and spread half of the marmalade over them. Cover with half of the cranberries or raisins, then spoon on a third of the whisky custard. Repeat these layers. Finish with the rest of the bread and pour on the remaining custard. Leave the pudding to stand for 15 minutes, so the bread can really soak up the custard before baking. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.
Just before baking, push the bread down slightly with a spatula to make sure the custard is all soaked in, and sprinkle a little sugar over the surface. Stand the dish in a roasting tin and pour boiling water from the kettle into the roasting tin, to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn up the heat to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 and bake for a further 15 minutes until the pudding is set and golden on top.
Lift the dish out of the roasting tin and leave the pudding to stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.