Scottish Tablet - Dairy free & Vegan

 

 

 

 

 

Less well know than Haggis, tablet is another traditional Scottish food that's a whole lot sweeter. 

Scottish Tablet - wiki

 



One of our regular customers at work dropped off some home made Tablet for us this week.  As always everyone but me could eat it, so I took a piece home for my mum instead.  It got me thinking that there must be some way to make it dairy free.

 

Shop bought packaged Scottish tablet is never as good as homemade.  As a child growing up in Scotland, I have fond memories of the sweet.  It was sold at cake and bake sales, and if you were really lucky the little corner shop would have a regular supplier.  It was always wrapped into portions with greaseproof paper, that way you knew it was authentic. 

 

 

 

Scottish Tablet recipe

 

 

Traditional Scottish tablet is not exactly dairy free.  Usually I can use a free from substitute's, however the only recipe I knew was made with Condensed milk.  So Iv kind of given up trying to make a vegan version.  I spent a while surfing the Internet looking for a recipe, without this magic ingredient. I finally remembered I had a Scottish home baking cookbook, that luckily had one.  

 

 

 

Tablet

 

4 oz / 125 g Vegan Butter

1 lb / 450 g caster sugar

10 floz / 300 ml Dairy free milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

 

 

You will need a large saucepan and wooden spoon. Heat proof board, hand mixer and prepare a baking tin to pour the tablet out in.  I used a silicon baking mould, or you could grease and line a normal baking tin with greaseproof paper.

 

Get the rest of your ingredients ready and within easy reach.  Never leave the sugar boiling unattended!!!!

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

First Step, in a large saucepan gently dissolve the sugar in the milk. 

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat

and simmer for approx 20 min's.

 

Continue too slowly stir the mixture, this will save it from over

boiling and stop the hot sugar from splashing up and burning you. 

 

I used a sugar thermometer and simmered till it reached 115c or Soft boil.  It took just a little over the 20 min's.  If you don't have one test the mixture by dropping a small piece into cold water to see if a small ball will form. If it doesn't keep it on the heat a little longer

 

 

 

 

Once cooked I took it straight off the heat onto a heat proof board

and added the vegan butter and vanilla extract. 

 

I mixed these in with my wooden spoon, then switched to my hand blender.

  You could always keep mixing with the wooden spoon,

 however I have carpel tunnel syndrome in both hands and this way is easier.

 

The tablet mixture needs to be beaten to thicken, It should become paler and more grainy. 

 

 

The simplest way I can describe it is that the method is similar to making cookie dough. You keep stirring till  the mixture starts to come together and you can see the base of the bowl/pot.  It's then ready to be poured into your prepared baking tin. 

Leave to set for a few hours and once firm it can be taken from the tin and cut into portions.

 

The tablet has a soft crumbly texture, that melts down wonderfully in the mouth.  The recipe includes Vanilla extract, however I don't think it needs it.  It gives the tablet a taste similar to fudge, plus I really don't think the ordinary Scot's Sweetie-Wives would have been able to afford vanilla. 

 

My only problem now is that it's highly addictive,

I really need to watch how much I eat or I'll set of my IBS symptoms xxx