A CUPCAKE fancy created for a Burns Supper has been voted the best haggis product in Scotland.

North-east butcher Bruce of the Broch has scooped the coveted Diamond Award in the Scottish Craft Butchers Haggis Products Awards 2019.

With Burns' Night approaching, the business' owner Alistair Bruce said the spotlight couldn’t fall on haggis at a better time.

“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," he explained.

“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. decided the Haggis Cupcake was worthy of entering the Scottish Craft Butchers evaluation and we’re absolutely thrilled to take top honours.”

The kudos of a 'Diamond' award have been known to double, treble and in some cases quadruple production demands on past winners, and Bruce of the Broch may now have to go into overdrive to meet enhanced public demand.

2019 has been officially designated the Year Of The Haggis, and butchers throughout Scotland are looking to extend the country’s haggis eating habits far beyond Burns Night with novel products. Mr Bruce's haggis cupcakes were up against entries from around 60 butchers from all over Scotland, who submitted a wide variety of handcrafted products which were judged blind.

Chief Executive of Scottish Craft Butchers, Douglas Scott, 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.

"Scotlands 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," he said.

“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!”