Filled with sweet, golden flavours of nutty caramels and toasted apples, whisky makes the perfect addition to many classic dessert recipes from boozy chocolate brownies to a delicious spiced whisky cake. Best of all, you only need a splash, so there will still be plenty left in the bottle to enjoy afterwards!
Table of Contents
Orange, chocolate and whisky mousse
Mary Berry’s recipe for rich chocolate mousse is the perfect dessert for a last minute dinner party – it’s super-easy to make and sure to impress your guests.
Makes: 6-8 servings
- 300ml (10fl oz) double cream
- 150g (5oz) dark chocolate, broken into small pieces (Bournville chocolate works a treat!)
- 1 large egg, separated
- 25g (1oz) caster sugar
- 1 tbsp whisky
- Finely grated zest of ½ orange
- Cocoa powder for garnish
- In a saucepan, heat half (150ml/5fl oz) of the double cream until just hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted, then set aside.
- Pour the remaining cream into a bowl and whisk into soft peaks with an electric whisk.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until firm. Add the sugar one teaspoon at time and continue to whisk at a high speed until it looks shiny. Combine this with the cream.
- Mix the egg yolk, whisky and orange zest in a bowl using a fork then stir into the chocolate mixture until combined.
- Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the cream with a spatula until the mixture is smooth and no whites are showing.
- Spoon into pots and chill in the fridge overnight, or for at least four hours before serving.
- Add some cocoa powder on-top and voila!
Top tip
Be careful not to over-mix the mousse on step five as you risk knocking all the air out of it.
Hot toddy spice cake
Made for winter days, this whisky cake from Taste is full of warming spices and a generous slug of the good stuff.
Makes: 20 servings
For cake
- 1 ¼ cups (185g) self-raising flour
- 1 cup (120g) almond meal/ground almonds
- ¾ cup (165g) brown sugar
- 150g butter (melted)
- ½ cup (125ml) honey
- 3 eggs (lightly whisked)
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream
- 1 lemon (zested and juiced)
- ¼ cup (60ml) whisky
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 cup (160g) icing sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp whisky (extra)
For Syrup
- ¼ cup (60ml) whisky
- ¼ cup (60ml) honey
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease a 22cm bundt or ring cake pan and dust well with flour.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal/ground almonds, and sugar.
- In a small bowl, whisk the butter, honey, egg and sour cream then stir into the flour mixture with lemon zest, lemon juice, whisky, mixed spice and cardamom.
- Pour the cake mix into your prepared cake pan and bake for 1 hour. Let it cool for 10 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack.
- In a saucepan, combine all the syrup ingredients (whisky, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves). Cook over a low heat, stirring continuously for 5 minutes.
- Pour the syrup over the cake and set aside to cool.
- Combine icing sugar, lemon juice and 1tbsp whisky in a small bowl to make a smooth paste. Drizzle over the cake and serve.
Top tip
To make sure the cake is cooked, insert a skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean, then the cake is cooked through.
Bread pudding with bourbon sauce
A twist on the classic bread and butter pudding recipe, this delicious dessert by Simply Recipes may just be the ultimate winter comfort food.
Makes: 8-10 servings
For the bread pudding
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 loaf French bread (at least a day old, cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 4 cups milk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup bourbon
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ½ to ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp butter (melted)
For Bourbon Sauce
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup bourbon (to taste)
- In a small bowl, soak the raisins with ¼ cup of bourbon. Cover the bowl and let the raisins soak for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. With the melted butter, coat the bottom and sides of tray well.
- In a large mixing bowl, pour in the milk and add in the bread. Press the bread into the milk with your hands until bread is completely soaked.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, then whisk in the sugar, vanilla, allspice and cinnamon. Pour this over over the milk and bread mixture. Add the bourbon-soaked raisins and stir gently.
- Pour the bread into the pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the liquid has set – you can tell your bread pudding is ready when the edges begin to brown and come away from the pan.
- For the bourbon sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan, and whisk in the sugar and egg until well blended. Slowly cook over a low heat, constantly stirring until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the bourbon to taste.
- Pour the bourbon sauce over the bread pudding and serve.
Top tip
If there’s any leftover whisky after soaking the raisins, you can add this into the bowl too for an extra boozy kick. And, if you’re bourbon sauce begins to curdle, simply pop the mixture in a blender to create that smooth finish.
Cranachan
Sweet berries, rich cream, and golden oats combine in the king of Scottish desserts. You don’t have to wait until Burns night to try this recipe from Scottish Scran.
Makes: 4 servings
- 75g (¾ cup) oats
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp whisky
- 250g (2 cups) raspberries
- 350ml (1 ½ cups) double cream
- Toast the oats by spreading them out onto a tray and placing it under the grill, keeping an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. There will be a nutty smell when the oats are done – this means you can place them aside to cool.
- In a bowl, crush the raspberries, making sure to leave some full ones for garnishing. Set the bowl aside.
- Whip the cream into stiff peaks, then mix in the whisky, honey and oats. Save some of the cooled oats for garnishing.
- Layer the raspberries and cream mixture into glasses, ending with cream on top.
- Finish with some crunchy oats and a sprinkling of raspberries, then it’s ready to serve straight away or save it in the fridge for later.
Top tip
In step three, start with small amounts of whisky and taste the cream mixture as you go along – you can always add more whisky if you want to.
Bourbon brownies
These boozy homemade brownies by Saporito Kitchen are here to cure your chocolate and whisky cravings all at once. Best of all, you can whip up a batch in just 30 minutes.
Makes: 9 servings
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 tbsp whisky (bourbon compliments the sweet chocolate flavours)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup all purpose (plain) flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- Caramel sauce and sea salt (optional) for garnish
- Preheat the oven 350ºF/180ºC and line a baking pan with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, butter and whisky.
- Add in the eggs and whisk until combined.
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, and whisk until all the dry ingredients have just been incorporated.
- Pour the brownie batter into the baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. When cooked, the brownies shouldn’t be shiny on top but they may be a bit gooey if you insert a skewer to check they’re cooked properly.
- Leave the brownies to cool completely before cutting. Drizzle the brownies with caramel sauce and sprinkle some sea salt on top to finish.
Top tip
For a truly indulgent dessert, warm the brownies before serving with extra-thick double cream.
