Scottish Cranachan Italian Cheesecake

Scottish Cranachan is a creamy dessert with raspberries, oats, honey and whisky. . . from Scotland, that is. It’s very similar to a miniature individual serving of trifle. This was the inspiration for a classic Italian cheesecake made with Mascarpone cheese. The result is a wonderful, show-stopping dessert!

This is no ordinary raspberry cheesecake! It is unique because of the Scottish ingredients. To the crust, I added toasted brown-sugar-coated Scottish “porridge” oats (what we call oatmeal). To the filling, I added Scottish honey to one of my recipes, creamy, dreamy cheesecake. And finally, it’s not mandatory, but it’s traditional to add Scottish whiskey to the raspberries in Cranachan. I chose not to add it this time, but I may try it in the future.

I couldn’t get my hands on fresh Scottish raspberries, though!

Yes, there is such a thing as “Scottish raspberries,” believe it or not! They’re supposed to be naturally sweeter, so they don’t need a lot of sugar added. But it’s impossible to find these in my neck of the woods, so I used fresh raspberries from the States (somewhere). They need some sugar, for sure!

But I just had to find out why these raspberry treats from Scotland are so celebrated and famous for being the finest in the world. In a brief nutshell, here are several reasons for their fame:

The Highlands’ weather: The main reason why Scottish raspberries are so different and superior. The climate has more months of summer, so there are more hours of sunshine, which gently boosts the growth of the berries’ canes.

Perthshire and the surrounding region have near-perfect conditions. Specifically, the area has a drier climate but still has a solid stream of rainfall that causes a more rich depth of juicy flavor. Summer temperatures are very moderate. It’s never too hot, which is good since temps that are too hot cause the fruit to ripen too fast. And that causes a loss in the depth of flavor. So slow ripening is a big factor in their delectable, ravishing flavor.

The soil: Not only is it quite fertile, it has a lovely loaminess to it that helps warm up the soil more quickly, as well as allows the soil to drain better. All of these are ideal conditions for raspberries to grow the best.

TRIVIA: Demand for Scottish raspberries became so high that in the 1950s, they were sent on board their own dedicated steam train to London, called “The Raspberry Special”.

TRIVIA: The word “whiskey/whisky” is spelled “whiskey”—with an e—in the United States and Ireland. It is spelled “whisky”—without the e—in Scotland and Canada

Scottish Cranachan Italian Mascarpone Cheesecake

Scottish Cranachan is a traditional dessert prepared for special occasions and festivals, particularly for celebrations on Burns Night. It’s a beautiful and delicious treat that is considered to represent Scotland’s culinary heritage and highlights simplicity, and quality of ingredients (very similar to Italian cuisine, in my humble opinion)! Cranachan always includes ingredients of Scotland:

Whipped Cream: Heavy cream that is softly whipped provides the rich, creamy base.

Scottish Oats: Toasted oats add a fantastic, nutty-flavored crunch. Although I used softer “porridge” oats in this recipe (what we call ‘oatmeal’), typically ‘steel-cut’ or ‘pinhead’ (roughly ground) oats are used for crunch.

Raspberries: Vibrant, fresh red raspberries are the classic fruit chosen because of the tart, yet sweet contrast to the cream and oats.

Honey: If possible, use Scottish honey to sweeten the cream. There is an incredible difference in flavor!

Scottish Whiskey: To add for another layer of flavor. Typically a single malt whiskey is used).

Presentation:

Cranachan is commonly served in a glass or bowl. It is layered in a way to display the vibrant red raspberries and luscious cream, topped with more berries and a sprinkling of toasted oats on top.

Scottish Cranachan

  • Italian mascarpone cheese – makes cheesecake creamier then only using cream cheese, plus it’s Italian!
  • cream cheese – it is a cheesecake after all, you gotta have this
  • eggs – lots of them
  • butter
  • lemon juice
  • vanilla
  • cream
  • Scottish honey – this is amazing and adds so much to the flavor!
  • (optional) Scotch whiskey
Scottish Cranachan
  • graham cracker crumbs
  • Scottish “porridge” oats (oatmeal) – steelcut are originally included, but they are too hard for us and prefer the crust to not be so crunchy
  • brown sugar
  • red raspberries – the star of the show and if you can get your hands on some Scottish raspberries, then by all means use them and enjoy!
  • sugar
  • flour
  • cream
  • salt
scottish Cranachan

#1 Toast the oats with brown sugar, then place in a bowl

#2 Mix the toasted oats in a bowl and mix in graham cracker crumbs

#3 Add in sugar and butter and blend well

#4 The crust ingredients should looklike coarse breadcrumbs

#5 Press this mixture on the bottom of a springform pan

#6 In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese

#7 Add the sugar to the cheeses, mixing slowly. Add flour and salt. Add lemon juice, vanilla, and Scottish honey. Mix well.

#8 Add the cream and blend nicely

#9 Pour in top of the crust

#10 Using a spatula, smooth over the top of the filling

#11 Bake according to instructions

#12 Add raspberries to a mixing bowl and add the sugar to the berries

#13 Add syrup from pie filling to thicken them up

#14 Carefully add all of the raspberry mixture on to or the cake after it has baked and cooled down.

#15 Continue to covert the entire cake with raspberries

#16 Decorate with fresh raspberries

Enjoy my Video for Scottish Cranachan Italian Cheesecake!

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Scottish Cranachan Italian Cheesecake

Scottish Cranachan Italian Cheesecake

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  • Author: Roz | La Bella Vita Cucina

Description

This delightful cheesecake combines Scottish Cranachan and Italian Cheesecake.  The Scottish ingredients for this unique cheesecake include Scottish steel-cut oats and Scottish honey borrowed from Cranachan, the traditional Scottish dessert.  The Italian ingredient, Mascarpone cheese, is borrowed from classic Italian cheesecakes.  The raspberry topping takes this cheesecake over the top!


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Crust:

  • 11/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 cup Scottish porridge oats (oatmeal)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup sugar

For the Cheesecake Filling:

  • 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 (8 oz) Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 2 Tbsps. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tsps. vanilla
  • 13/4 cups sugar
  • 3 Tbsps. flour
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 23 Tbsps. Scottish honey
  • 5 large/jumbo eggs, room temperature
  • 2 egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

For the Topping:

  • 4 (8 oz) tubs of fresh raspberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • syrup from 1 can of raspberry pie filling
  • (optional) 1 tsp. clear gel (to thicken topping)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500 F degrees

For the Crust:

  1. Scatter the Scottish oats along with brown sugar all over a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
  2. Toast the oats and brown sugar in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes until golden brown.  Keep an eye on this so that it does not burn.  The ‘nutty’ aroma of toasted oats will indicate the oats are finished toasting in the oven.  (You can also do this on a stovetop in a heavy skillet, but you can’t use parchment paper in a pan.  Spray your pan with cooking oil so that the brown sugar doesn’t stick to the pan).
  3. Pour the toasted oat mixture into a large mixing bowl.  With a hand-held blender or a large fork, chop up the mixture (the brown sugar melts into the oats and causes them to stick together).
  4. Add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter, and mix thoroughly.
  5. Press this crust mixture into an 8 or 9-inch springform pan.  Refrigerate until ready to fill.

For the Cheesecake Filling:

  1. Using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese in another large mixing bowl until smooth, but not overbeaten.
  2. Blend in lemon juice, vanilla, and Scottish honey.
  3. Gradually beat in the sugar, flour, and salt until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes.
  4. Beat in the eggs and yolks.
  5. Beat in the cream.
  6. Pour filling into the crust.
  7. In the preheated (500 F degree) oven, bake the cheesecake for 12 minutes.
  8. Turn the oven temperature down to 200 F degrees and bake for 60 minutes.  The top will be a little bit wiggly and that’s OK.
  9. Run a sharp knife between the edge of the cheesecake and the sides of the pan to loosen.
  10. Cool completely and then place in the refrigerator overnight or for 24 hours.

For the Topping:

  1. Mix fresh raspberries with sugar and (optional) syrup from raspberry pie filling.
  2. Add clear gel to thicken.
  3. Pour raspberry topping all over the cheesecake.

Buon Appetito!

Roz xo