Spending a bit of time again in Scotland, and it allowed me to find another delicacy that would go well with a nice cup of tea – Ecclefechan Tart.

The tart was traditionally made right across the south of Scotland, and I am wondering where it was hiding while I was walking the Southern Upland Way, however it is named after the town of Ecclefechan situated midway between Lockerbie and Annan in Dumfries and Galloway.

Ecclefechan Tart gained national recognition in late 2007 when Sainsbury’s promoted it as an alternative to mince pies for Christmas. The tarts proved to be very popular with over 50,000 packs sold in November alone, and I can quite understand why.  The tart has a texture reminiscent of pecan pie but is spiced with cinnamon and lemon peel and studded with raisins.

Delicious!

There is no precise recipe, but it is said that a knickerbocker glory was first described in the 1930s. As well as layers of ice cream, jelly, fruit and cream it can be topped with different kinds of syrup, nuts, whipped cream and often a cherry. More complicated variations can sometimes include layers of things like meringue, or be topped off with a wafer.

It is so called because of its horizontal stripes, traditionally red and white, resemble stockings called knickerbockers.

The Knickerbocker glory photographed (above) was from a tea shop (note the decor and my tea cup in the background) in Richmond, North Yorkshire. This particular one sustained me during my Coast to Coast walk at the end of day 10.