Recipes featured in
Horror in the Highlands
βAnd Mrs. Cavendish,β Annabelle said, βI am eternally grateful for your hospitality and care, and especially the numerous culinary delights to which youβve introduced me in my short time here.β They embraced, and Mrs. Cavendish grinned broadly.
Wonderful Whisky Marmalade Pudding
Butter for greasing
8 tbsp marmaladeΒ
4 oz (115g) butter, softened
4 oz (115g) sugar
2 tbsp Drambuie (optional)
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 eggs, beaten
6 oz (170g) flour, sifted
1ΒΌ tsp of baking powder
Pinch of salt
Milk
Grease a 900g/2 lb. pudding bowl, and spoon 4 tablespoons of the marmalade into the bottom.
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the remaining marmalade, Drambuie, and orange rind.
Add the eggs a little at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in half the sifted flour, then fold in the rest with the baking powder and salt. Add a little milk to give a soft-dropping consistency.
Pour the mixture into the bowl, cover with buttered greaseproof paper or foil, and secure with string. Allow some room for the pudding to rise. Place in the steamer or a boiling pan of water and steam for 1 hour.
Donβt let the pan run dry or the marmalade will burn.
Invert the pudding on to a serving plate. Serve with lots of custard or cream and a bit of extra warmed marmalade.
Serves 4.
Note
You can also cook this in the oven in a bain marie.
Omnipotent Oatcakes
8 oz (230g) oats
2 oz (60g) whole wheat flour
Β½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Β½ tsp sugar
2 oz (60g) butter
1 tsp salt
Hot water
Pre-heat the oven to 190Β°C/375Β°F/Gas mark 5.
Pulse the oats in a food processor to make an oat flour. For a coarser texture, you can leave the oats as is. Mix together the oat flour, whole wheat flour, salt, sugar and bicarbonate of soda.
Add the butter and rub together using fingers until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs.
Add the water a little at a time, and combine until you have a thick dough. The amount of water needed will vary depending on the oats. Use your hands to form a ball.
Dust flour on a work surface and roll out the dough to approximately 0.6 cm/ΒΌ-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out 2-inch rounds.Β
Place the oatcakes on a baking tray and bake for approx. 20-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown at the edges.
Makes 16.
Sacred Scottish Pancakes
4 oz (115g) flour
Β½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cooking oil
1 egg, beaten
c.ΒΌ pint (120ml) milk
Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar and oil, then beat in the egg and milk gradually until a thick batter is formed.
Heat a stovetop pan (a frying pan or griddle will do) until hot. Wrap a small piece of fat in a piece of kitchen paper and use to grease the pan between frying each batch of pancakes.
Drop batter onto the hot pan, a spoonful at a time, leaving room for the batter to run. Cook until golden-brown on the underside and bubbles rise on the surface. Turn over and cook the other side.
Keep the pancakes hot in a warm tea-towel whilst cooking the remaining batter. Serve with maple or golden syrup and fresh cream.
Makes approximately 16.
Notes
These are sometimes called scotch pancakes or drop scones. They are traditionally cooked on a griddle. If a griddle is not available, a heavy-based frying pan can be used, or the pancakes can be cooked directly on the hot plate of an electric cooker.
Devilishly Delicious Dundee Cake
8 oz (230g) flour
Pinch of salt
8 oz (230g) butter
8 oz (230g) sugar
4 large eggs
12 oz (340g) golden raisins/sultanas
12 oz (340g) raisins
6 oz (170g) candied mixed peel
4 oz (115g) candied cherriesΒ
Grated rind of half lemon
3β4 oz (80g – 115g) whole almonds, blanched
Pre-heat the oven to 150Β°C/300Β°F/Gas mark 3.
Grease an 20cm/8-inch round cake tin and line with double greaseproof or baking paper. Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin and let it extend about two inches above the rim. Set the tin on a double piece of brown paper on a baking tray.
Sift together the flour and salt. Beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs into the mixture, a little at a time. Fold in the flour, and when evenly combined, fold in the golden raisins, raisins, mixed peel, cherries, and lemon rind. Chop 1 oz/30g of the almonds; add to the cake mixture. Spoon into the tin.
Arrange the rest of the almonds over the levelled cake surface.Β Bake just below the centre of the oven for 3Β½ hours. If the cake shows signs of browning too quickly, cover the top with a sheet of damp greaseproof or parchment paper and reduce the heat to 135Β°C/275Β°F/Gas mark 2 for the last hour. Remove the cake from the oven when a skewer comes away clean from the cake.
Cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. Wrap the cake in foil, with the greaseproof or baking paper still in place. The cake is best kept for at least one week and up to one month to bring out the full flavour.
Makes a 4 lb/1.8kg cake.
