I have always loved cheese, I did grow up two mies away from Cheddar after all, but my tastebuds have only just let fruit cake in. That being said, if you add any sort of candied peel, you can enjoy the whole thing yourself. Horrid stuff! I made my first proper fruit cake last year and in my panic that it was going to burn, I took it out of the oven an hour early. The result was bloody delicious! Slightly like fudge but in a taste test against a professional cooks offering (long story) the pals at the picnic preferred mine! Yes, we do have picnics in winter, but thats another story again... This tends to be more of a fruit sponge, depending how long you bake it for, but its definitely worth a try for something different!
My Dad will eat pretty much any cake, but I remember a particular favourite was fruit cake with slices of cheese. Or Ginger cake with slices of cheese. And he is not alone, I see fruit cake and cheese quite often go hand in hand. To that end, I came across a recipe that bakes a layer of cheese into the middle of the cake. I have adapted to my own needs and I have to say, its really rather good!
Ingredients Makes one 20cm Cake
230g Butter at room temperature
230g Soft, Light Brown Sugar
5 Eggs
300g Plain Flour
1tsp Ground Cinnamon
200g Dried Apricots, quartered
100g Raisins
100g Currents
100g Sultanas
300g Wensleydale Cheese. Plain or flavoured. I used one with dried cranberries
Method
1. Set the oven to 175 degree fan, or equivalent. Line a 20cm round tin with either silicone inserts or layers of grease-proof paper
2. Using an electric beater, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, with a spoonful of the flour and beat after each addition
4. Add the rest of the flour along with the ground cinnamon and mix again
5. Stir in all the fruit and combine fully
6. Put half the mixture into the pan and smooth down. Now cover in a layer of the Wensleydale that you have sliced to about 5mm thick. Cover with the rest of the cake batter and again smooth the mixture down
7. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Or less if you prefer...
8. Leave to cool completely in the tin and then devour!
