Recipe
Winter Warming Hot Toddy Cake
This is a perfect cake to enjoy while you hear winter’s wind and rain battering your windows! Inspired by the Scottish drink known as a ‘hot toddy’ (hot water, whisky, honey, and lemon), it combines a whisky and lemon sponge with whisky icing and a drizzle of honey on top. Because winter is the time when you want to indulge a little we went a little mad and added some whisky liqueur chocolates on top too!
For the Cakes
We used this recipe from the Stork website but with a couple of tweaks
225g (8 oz) Stork with butter or Stork
225g (8 oz) caster sugar
4 large eggs
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour, sieved
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon and dash of whisky
For the Icing
300g of butter
600-700g of Icing Sugar
Whisky to taste.
Step 1
Cream the stork and sugar together
Step 2
Add an egg and beat it into the mixture. Repeat for the remaining eggs. The last egg add in a little flour so as to avoid curdling. Beat until incorporated.
Step 3
Fold in the flour and lemon zest. Mix until fully incorporated.
Step 4
Divide into 2 cake tins and bake at 180 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean!
Step 5
Allow cakes to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a drying rack. The cake will have risen in the centre so you will need to cut the tops off to create an even cake. Once this has been done, take the lemon juice and whisky mixture and, using a pastry brush, brush onto the tops of the cake.
Step 6
Cream butter for the icing. Pour in 2-3 shots of whisky
Step 7
Beat in the icing sugar a little at a time. Use at least 600g to ensure it is thick enough to ice. Add more whisky to taste.
Step 8
Assemble the cake. Smear icing across the top of the bottom cake. Add top cake and then smear icing across the top, working your way down the sides. Use an icing bag with a star tip to create fancy decorations!
Step 9
Finish off the cake with your own choice of decorations! We used whisky chocolate liqueurs on top and giant white chocolate buttons on the sides. Drizzle with honey to finish off!
Step 10
Admire your handicraft briefly and then get stuck in!!
Easter Recipe – Simnel Cake
Simnel Cake
Why not try baking a Simnel Cake this Easter weekend? This classic Easter cake is easy to make, and goes well with a cup of tea! I have made mine rather minimalist but feel free to add marzipan decorations, to give it your own flare!
Prep time 30 mins, cook time 1 hr 20. This can be made dairy free.
Ingredients
1 lemon (zest and juice)
500g Mixed Fruit
225g Self Raising Flour
2tsp Mixed Spice
3 large Free Range Eggs
175g Butter/Dairy free alternative
175g Light Muscovado Sugar
Marzipan (Pre made is easiest)
For this use a spring bottom tin (20 inches), for beating either do this by hand or use a food mixer/electric beater (a food proccessor will ruin the sponge mix).
Method
- Put the lemon juice in a saucepan and add all the dried fruit, on a low heat bring the mix to a simmer and let it bubble for 2 minutes – make sure you stir this and watch for the liquid disappearing then remove from the heat and place the mix on a large plate and leave to cool.
- Line the base of a 20 inch loose based deep round cake tin with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 150 fan / 170.
- Mix the flour and the mixed spice in a large bowl.
- In an electric food mixer, beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy looking. Once this is mixed add in the eggs one at a time.
- Now add in the flour mix in batches. Then the fruit, again in batches.
- Take the marzipan and roll it out into a circle about 5mm thick. Make sure it is big enough to touch the sides of the tin. (If you are using a spring bottom tin, remove it and use it as a guide for the size of the marzipan disc)
- Pour 1/2 of the mix into the baking tin, making sure the mix is level, add a disc of the marzipan. Then add the rest of the mix to the tin.
- Bake for 1 hour and 20 mins – it should have risen be firm and golden brown. Once cool glaze with apricot jam which has been heated.
Have fun making this and enjoy your Easter weekend – Catriona McIntosh, Learning Intern 🙂
To Poland with Love: Haggis Pierogi Recipe
Got more Haggis than you know what to do with? This last recipe in our January series looks to Poland for culinery inspiration. Pierogi are dumplings, usually filled with simple ingredients like potato, ham, or cheese, and can be either fried or boiled. They are very popular, and for good reason!
To make a Haggis version is very simple, so this recipe shouldn’t be at all difficult.
Haggis Pierogi
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
3 quarters of a cup water
2 eggs
teaspoon salt
Haggis
Process
Cook your Haggis according to package instructions and leave it to cool.
Seive the flour into a bowl
Beat the two eggs in a separate bowl.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the beaten eggs.
Stir the flour and egg mixture, adding in water as you go until the mixture becomes crumbly.
Use your hands to work the crumbly dough until it starts to come together.
Form it into a big bowl and rest for 30 minutes.
Once the dough has rested, put some flour on your counter and rolling pin and roll the dough thinly.
Cut with cookie cutter.
Spoon haggis into each circle, and pinch the edges down.
Put a frying pan on the stove with some oil, and once the oil is hot start firing in the pierogi.
Cook until golden brown and serve with your favourite condiments!
Pizza alla scozzese
This is an Italian take on the traditional Scottish meal of Haggis, Neeps & Tatties. In Italy sausage and potato is a common pizza topping, so this seemed like the perfect Burns Night experiment!
Ingredients:
For the pizza dough (enough for 2 pizzas):
- 300g. strong bread flour
- 200ml warm water
- 1tsp instant yeast
- 1tbsp olive oil
For the topping:
- Haggis for 2-3 people (I used vegetarian)
- Grated turnip (1/3 average size)
- Grated potato (1 medium sized)
- Olive oil
Instructions:
Cook the haggis according to package instructions. Once cooked scoop the contents of the package into a bowl and separate with a fork. While the haggis is cooking (usually it takes over 50 minutes) prepare the pizza dough.
To make the pizza bases:
1. Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt.
2. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough.
3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it’s not essential for a thin crust.
Putting it all together:
4. Once you have prepared the pizza dough, grate the turnip and potato and set aside.
5. Roll out the pizza dough, making sure you cover the pizza trays with flour.
6. Once the Haggis is ready, increase the oven temperature to 200C.
7. Sprinkle the haggis, turnips and potatoes (in that order as the potatoes will moisten the rest of the ingredients) over the pizza bases. Drizzle plenty of olive oil on the pizzas.
Cook for 8-10 minutes and Buon appetito!
Recipe by Elena Trimarchi Learning InternÂ
Thanks to Christine Jones for the photographs and for the pizza dough!
Burns Night Recipe – Haggis Pakora (which can be Vegetarian & Dairy Free)
Haggis Pakora
Following the fabulous and super tasty ‘Haggis in the Hole’ recipe here are some Home-made Haggis Pakoras. Perfect Burns Night party food these are easy, fun and great to make with friends. I first made these when celebrating Diwali and they now feature as my go to party food.
Ingredients
- One medium Haggis cooked (you can use vegetarian haggis)
- 150g Gram Flour
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon powdered cumin
- 1 tablespoon of fresh coriander
- Some salt
- 150ml Natural Yogurt (I used 150 ml of Alpro Soya Yoghurt to make these lactose free)
- One whole lemon juiced
- Oil for frying
Instructions   Â
- Cook the Haggis following the instructions on the packaging. Once cooked, scoop out the insides getting rid of the haggis skin and break up the meat with a fork. Set this to the side.
- Now mix the chilli powder, cumin, coriander and salt with the Gram Flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Then add the yoghurt and lemon juice and mix into a thick batter.
- Roll the haggis into small ish balls and dip them into the pakora batter and sit them on some parchment.
- Now heat the oil in a pan . Make sure the oil is hot enough before you fry the pakora by dropping a bit of batter into the pan. If it fizzles then it is hot enough.
- Drop the pakora into the pan until the batter is cooked and is a golden brown colour. Set them on some parchment or on a wire rack to cool slightly before eating.
Serving suggestion – When I have these at home I love them with some chilli dipping sauce and a wee bit of salad! Also feel free to mix up your spices to your own taste!
Written by Catriona, Learning Intern , inspired by friends and the tastes of  India. Photographs by kind permission of Alistair Copeland.
Burns Night Recipes: Haggis in the Hole
We all enjoy sitting down to a ‘groaning trencher’ of haggis, neeps, and tatties on Burns night, but over recent years we’ve all seen new interpretations of our Bard’s favourite dish. Haggis samosas, pizzas, crisps are just some of the Haggis products you might see in the shops in Scotland! So we’ve decided to delve right in there and create some of our own haggis concoctions.
First of our creations has been inspired by the wonderful county of Yorkshire and its contribution to culinary culture: the yorkshire pudding. So if you fancy a bit of a Yorkshire twist on your Burns night, follow the recipe below for a delicious Haggis in the Hole!
 Ingredients
1 and a half cups plain flour
3 eggs beaten
1 and a half cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
Process
1) Whisk flour, eggs, milk, and melted butter until there are no lumps and let stand for 30 minutes.
2) Pre-heat your oven to 220°C or Gas Mark 7.
3) Put oil in non stick baking tin and pre heat the tin in the oven to make the oil very hot.
4) Take your haggis, pierce the skin and take all the contents out. Mash it up with the fork.
5) Take out the tin from the oven. Test the heat of the oil by dropping a little bit of batter in it. If it sizzles its ready.
6) Dollop lumps of the haggis into the tin and pour batter on top.
7) Bake for 30-40 minutes or until Batter is risen and golden brown.Â
Finally serve up with neeps and tatties or the vegetables of your choice! You can also add some gravy if you fancy it too.
Burns Birthplace Blog 