Black Bun

Dense and black with spices, dried fruit and treacle, it’s so rich it must be held together in a pastry casing. That’s today’s version of Scotland’s answer to Christmas Cake. Popular Hogmanay sustenance – with a dram of course – but quite a different bun to its original version.

First recipes are for large, enriched yeasted breads, or buns, made for all festive occasions. A recipe appears in the first Scottish cookery book, written by Mrs McLintock (Glasgow 1736), which is made with a rich bread dough, including butter, eggs, and a pint of brandy. It’s mixed with a large amount of currants, lemon peel, orange peel, blanched almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and caraway seed. So rich with fruit now that it cannot hold together on its own. Another piece of dough is rolled out thinly and wrapped round the whole bun for a ‘cover’.