Black bun is a Scottish dessert similar to fruit pie, made with a heavily spiced and sometimes brandy filling, raisins or currants, and a pastry crust. It is traditionally served on Hogmanay and has been enjoyed in Scotland since the 16th century. The dessert is made with numerous spices, including black pepper, and has a solid, candy-like interior. Recipes may differ slightly, but most call for a long cooking time and a lot of crust.
A black bun is a bit deceptive in name, since it may not be a bun at all. It is similar to fruit pie, but instead of having a batter into which fruits are mixed, it consists of a pastry crust surrounding a heavily spiced and sometimes brandy filling, raisins or currants. The typical black bun is made in large pans and can be prepared several days before eating so that the currants and raisins mix together. Usually the black bun is served in slices.
This dessert is popular in Scotland, where it was once often served on Twelfth Night, but is now more associated with the celebration of Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year. It forms a traditional dessert uniquely connected to Scotland and recipes for it already exist in the past. Scottish elders fondly remember the dish served by their grandmothers, and some historians suggest that the earliest recipes date back to the 16th century. These recipes may have been inspired by some of Italy’s fruity pies.
Numerous spices make up the inside of the black bun. These include some traditional ones such as ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Most recipes also call for black pepper, which adds an unusual and stronger overall taste. Cooks may use citron or candied rind, and directions in recipes often call for currants and/or raisins to be soaked for several minutes in water or alcohol to plump them up.
Although most black bun recipes are made in loaf form, you can make individual black buns in round tarte shapes or a black bun cake. An unusual cooking direction in most recipes is the baking time, which in cake or loaf form can last up to three hours. This long cooking time is recommended for the raisins and currants to condense into a sticky, spicy solid mixture. Others recommend letting the finished confection sit for several days to create the solidified center.
The solid interior of a black bun makes it look more like candy than cake or pie. He suggests some desserts found in Italy. He particularly suggests the panforte, a chewy citron, raisins and nut cake that is baked in a round pan. Both are firm and a little gooey, but very delicious.
There are a number of black bun recipes online, and each may differ slightly in terms of cooking time, ingredients, and the like. The pastry dough used is most often very crust-like, but if you’re making the loaf shape, the dessert may require much more crust than the average pie. This isn’t exactly a low-fat treat, given the amount of butter or shortening used to make the crust, but it’s an essential dessert if you plan to celebrate the New Year authentically Scottish-style.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
