Cheesy tea time cake: cheddar, cranberry and pecan nuts

One of my favourite food blogger is Joy and I have been following her blog since 2010. And on twitter and instagram too if you must know. What makes her such a darling is that not only is she a great baker, but her food photography is to die for. She was responsible for the great baking experiments of 2013 which ended up in me buying only baking stuff on my US trip (Well baking and multiple trips to Sephora). And last week she posted an unbelievable recipe of a savoury cheddar cheese with cranberry and pecan nuts and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to make it. And here I ran into a problem, I couldn't find any cheddar cheese powder in any stores around my area or online. King Arthurs Flour is available only in the US and I didn't have a food dehydrator or the time to make my own cheese powder so I did what I had to do, I adapted the recipe. Joy's version is a bread, mine is a hybrid between a bread and a cake. But its darn good. Especially right now when the weather is just so depressing and horrible. I have this for my post gym snack with a cup of hot tea and all rights in my world. And let me tell you there is nothing like a bit of cheese post workout, nothing. So without further ado let's get started. 

Ingredients: 

Dry Ingredients

self raising flour (1 1/2 cups, I ran out of plain flour so used this)

soda bicarb (1 teaspoon, Joy uses the same amount)

Baking powder (1 teaspoon, used less than the original recipe as I was using self raising flour, If using plain flour, put in 2 teaspoon baking powder)

Salt (1/2 teaspoon)

Sugar (6 tablespoon, this is double of the original recipe, and I used cane sugar)

Butter (120 gms, cut in cubes. Not sure how much Joy uses as thats in oz.)

Wet Ingredients

Egg (1 large)

Buttermilk ( I used the Dale Farm pot which is 250 gms)

Yogurt (1/2 cup)

Extra bits

Cheddar cheese (200 gms grated, extra for toppings, I had to make up for the loss of cheese powder. You can put in a bit more if you prefer)

Dried cranberries (100 gms, I used this as I had some left over from my mince pie filling. The original recipe uses fresh cranberries)

Pecan nuts (a very generous handful, roughly chopped)

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 Celsius. 

Sieve the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt together. I don't know the scientific reason for doing this but I have always seen my aunt doing this and I have just taken it from there. To this I add the butter (I take this out of the fridge about 1 hour before so thats its cold but not too cold) and work it into the flour with fingers. The mixture will remain crumbly, not to worry. 

Add the cranberries, nuts and grated cheese to this crumbly mixture.

I then whisk all the wet ingredients in another bowl and add to the flour mixture. Fold the batter in gently and add the sugar. The consistency should be slightly gloopy and I know there is a lot of stuff in the bowl, but it works. 

Grease a 81/2" x 41/2" loaf tin and spread the batter evenly. Grate over some more cheese for a more cheesy crust. 

I baked this at 190 Celsius for 40 minutes. Everyones oven is different so its a bit difficult to give a specific time. The best way is to insert a skewer into the middle and if it comes out with no gloopy bits, then you are done. I like to rest my baked goods in the oven for about 10 mins before bringing it out, so I time it accordingly. You can also create a foil tent to cover the top if it should brown too much during baking. I faced no such problems with this one. 

Macaroons & Laduree

I was born with a sweet tooth. And over the years my palate has reached epic proportions of flavour discernment as far as the taste of sweet is concerned. You have the delicate spun sugar flavour of macaroons, an ingenue, with lingering traces of innocence. You have the deeper more comforting taste of pecan pie, more syrupy laced with bourbon. And then you have the sweet for the grown ups, rich dark chocolate mousse tinged with chilli powder, a treat to be enjoyed in the dark. These are the tastes that I have savoured and committed to memory. But if I am honest, a tiny part of me will agree that part of enjoying a dessert is visceral. A sweet or a dessert is by nature an enticement, something illicit to be enjoyed with each bite. And in these times when eating anything with white sugar is a sin, desserts have taken on a more forbidden fruit kind of analogy. I mean just look at these macaroons, they just scream "look at me".

I couldn't resist so much of "pink", I just had to go in and taste them. And I did so twice, both times from the same brand but each experience was different. Laduree is of course the byword for macaroons, so popular that its a bit pretentious. Sells itself on its Frenchness and Sophia Copolla's Marie Antoinette certainly helped. I first went into the Harrods branch. Bad choice. The decor is very dark, not what I associate with the pastel macaroons. And all around me were rich arabic women, all burqa'd up relaxing after marathon shopping expedition at Harrods. Still the weather was cold and I was hungry so I ordered myself the afternoon tea which consist of sandwiches, macaroons and pastries. Did I enjoy it? Of course I did. I never let anything come between me and my food, not even screechy 

20 somethings wearing Isabel Marant wedge sneakers. I took the obligatory pictures, stuffed my face, paid my bill and left. The macaroons were great no doubts on that, but the whole tea drinking experience was just a bit off. I didn't have any charm. 

  

And then I visited their Covent Garden branch and i was sold. Right from the pretty menus to the seating areas, everything was perfect. I could imagine sitting here and giggling with friends, spending a first date, or just enjoying a cuppa on my own, with no books, iphone or friends for company. 

The green-blue one is actually called Marie Antoinette

You can also get champagne to go with your treats if you prefer. I stuck to good old Darjeeling. There is a very nice terrace to sit on if the weather is warm. And of course you can bring some millefeuille back home to share with your dog in your backyard.