Hello everyone, welcome to my latest recipe for Vegan Scottish Tablet.
If you’ve grown up in Scotland then the chances are that you see Scottish tablet as the sweet treat comfort food that has the power to fix all frowns. In fact, even if you haven’t grown up in Scotland like me but you’re lucky enough to have had a Scottish grandmother, the chances are you feel the same way.
Tablet is a medium-hard, melt in the mouth confection from Scotland. Scottish Tablet has a long history, first noted in The Household Book of Lady Grisell Baillie in the early 18th century. The traditional recipe used just sugar and cream. Most recipes nowadays substitute condensed milk and butter for cream, as it has a tendency to burn when boiled. In my recipe I have substituted with condensed coconut milk, oak milk and dairy-free butter to make it vegan. Scottish Tablet is also often flavoured with vanilla or whisky.
I dedicate this recipe to my beautiful Grandma Ferguson. One of my favourite memories of things we used to do together was baking treats. Whatever fun treats you make, I would encourage you to leave a legacy with your children and grandchildren and one of the best ways I can think of is through time spent together in the kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
1 tin of sweetened condensed coconut milk (397g tin)
900 grams of caster sugar (4.5 cups)
85g of dairy free butter (6tbsp)
250ml of unsweetened Oat Milk (1 cup)
a dash of good quality whisky
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large pot on the stove over low heat, slowly dissolve the sugar, milk, and butter until it's smooth and sugar is fully dissolved.
Add the condensed milk and bring it up to a boil (stir continuously to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan). Allow the mixture to really bubble up and reach boiling point before turning down to simmer.
Briskly simmer for about 20 minutes until the mixture darkens to a caramel colour, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon until it reaches 120C/248F on a candy thermometer, or you can use the “drop test”. This is where you drop a small amount of mixture into a glass of cold water and if it forms a little ball then it’s ready.
Add in the whisky (if using) and stir to combine.
Take off the heat. Using an electric whisk or wooden spoon, beat the mixture in the pot until it thickens up almost to setting point. When it’s pretty thick, but still liquid, pour the mixture out into your greased tin and set aside to cool.
After 25 minutes, score the tablet into roughly 1-inch squares.
Leave to set for another 2-3 hours, cut, then serve or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.