Soak
the raisins in the orange juice for at least 1 hour. Stir
in the brandy and cinnamon and soak for a further 1 hour. Remove
the cinnamon. Set
light to the raisins as you bring them to the table, a flicker of
purplish blue flames. Serve
very hot with chilled cream to contrast.
Serves 6
Note :
Raisins in brandy are a traditional sweetmeat at Halloween, when a game
of 'chicken' was sometimes played. Guests were - ill advisedly - dared
to snatch the raisins from the flames. Muscatels are the best raisins
for this dish but they must be seeded, and that's a tedious job.