Picture a traditional Burns Supper of haggis, neeps and tatties then layer and bake it into a cupcake.
This was the innovative idea of a north-east butcher from Bruce of the Broch whose cupcake feast has scooped the coveted Diamond Award in the prestigious Scottish Craft Butchers Haggis Products Awards 2019.
Coined the Year of the Haggis, the Fraserburgh butcher fought off over 60 others battling to be crowned with the top haggis product.
With the annual celebration of the Bard’s birthday looming, owner of Bruce of the Broch Alistair Bruce believes the spotlight has fallen on the delicacy at the perfect time.
He said: “I thought we could produce a cupcake from layers of perfectly proportioned haggis, neeps and tatties to offer the customers something simple and different – all they have to do is heat it in the oven.
“Our haggis sells well all year round but it’s important to keep devising new products to present our national dish to the public and keep them interested in it.
“We decided the Haggis Cupcake was worthy of entering the Scottish Craft Butchers evaluation and we’re absolutely thrilled to take top honours.”
The Diamond kudos has been known to almost quadruple product demand for the winners but Mr Bruce said they were fully prepared.
“We will be producing them in two sizes to suit different appetites,” he added.
Bruce of the Broch was one of the competing butchers commended for their particularly novel product by judges.
Douglas Scott, chief executive of Scottish Craft Butchers, said judges had been “blown away” by the innovation and tastiness of the entries.
“2019 is the Year Of The Haggis and we wanted to encourage butchers to offer their customers delicious alternatives for their Burns Supper feast and for the remainder of the year,” he said.
“Scotland’s butchers from the Moray Firth to the Solway Firth have risen to that challenge magnificently and shown the versatility of haggis.
“Judges were impressed by just how novel some of the highly rated products were and they will, without a doubt, see haggis on the menu for many households throughout this entire year.
“Our Diamond winner looked amazing when we saw it presented in cake cases and it lived up to expectations when we tasted it – simply delicious.”
