Toast the oats

1. Put the oats in a dry skillet over medium heat.
2. Toast for about 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden.
3. Watch them carefully. There’s a relatively narrow window between pleasantly toasted and “we have recreated peat smoke indoors.”
4. Transfer to a plate and cool completely.

Prepare the raspberries

1. Reserve about a third of the prettiest raspberries for garnish.
2. Lightly crush the remaining berries with a fork. You don’t want raspberry puree—you want juicy, broken berries with some texture.
3. If they’re tart, mix in about 1 tsp honey.

Whip the cream

1. Whip the heavy cream until it begins to form soft peaks.
2. Add 3 tbsp honey, whisky, and vanilla, if using.
3. Continue whipping just until medium-soft peaks form.
4. Don’t take it to stiff whipped cream. Cranachan is nicer when it remains fairly luxurious and spoonable.

Assemble

1. Fold about 2/3 of the toasted oats into the cream.
2. Then either fold the crushed raspberries partially through the cream for a marbled effect, or layer everything into glasses.

For individual servings:

1. Raspberries → cream → oats → raspberries → cream
2. Finish with Reserved fresh raspberries, Toasted oats, Small drizzle of honey. Keep the final few oats out until serving so they remain crunchy.