Photo by Katie Pryde
Sue Lawrence has been a leading force in spreading the joy of Scottish food. She’s one of life’s true enthusiasts, a natural teacher who conveys her deep learning with modest charm, and a prolific author. She has 20 cookbooks under her belt, and each one is a joy — something much needed these days.
There are many Scottish classics in this volume, understandably enough. These gratifyingly include Selkirk Bannock; Black Bun; Treacle Scones; Potato Scones; the wonderfully named Fatty Cutties; ditto Guggy Cake, also known as Huffsie or Doofie; Cloutie Dumpling; Border Tart; Ecclefachan Tart; and Petticoat Tails. And I must give special mention to the Corned Beef Meringue Pie, which sounds frightening, until you learn that the meringue denotes a topping of egg whites beaten not with sugar but whisked until stiff, with grated cheese folded into the cloudy mass before being piled on top of the savoury filling.
But Sue Lawrence is no believer in museum-piece cookery, and this book cheerfully encompasses baking from all over the world, as found in bakeries and homes across Scotland. She finds enthusiastic room for — among so many other good things — Green Tea and Choc Chip Cookies, inspired by a visit to Japan; Afghan Biscuits from New Zealand, learnt from her Kiwi daughter-in-law; a Danish Tosca Cake, which became part of the family repertoire after her father, who worked for Carlsberg, brought it back from his travels; and some splendid Salted Caramel Brownies. She also bakes devotedly with her grandchildren, and this has led to a really lovely chapter called ‘Cooking with Kids’ and which includes an inspired recipe for Chocolate Caramel Wafers. As a lover of Tunnock’s Wafers, I couldn’t be happier to have a recipe for a homespun version.
I’ve chosen what could be described as a Scottish recipe, though certainly not a traditional one, to share with you today. It would have been cruel to keep it from you, so without further ado (and I’m aware there’s always a lot of ado in my babbling) here is her Orkney Fudge Cheesecake!
New Scottish Baking by Sue Lawrence (Birlinn Ltd, £25).
