Friday 8 January 2010

Yummy for Your Tummy

I've already done one recipe of the week, so I thought I'd give this post a little bit of a more exciting title!

Anyway, this has been prompted by a Tweet from the award-winning blogger Mark Dredge, as he was either asking or answering a question about what would go well with a beer - there were so many ReTweets and whatnot that I've got no idea where the original question came from!

Anyway, the beer in question was the utterly unctuous and delicious Tally Ho, a big, fruity gorgeous 7.2%ABV barley wine that Adnams brews on a limited edition basis and I suggested fruit cake with Wensleydale.

Now, I will admit that the original recipe on which I based this was Simon Rimmer's, but I've made a couple of tweaks to it to make it slightly more to my taste - but feel free to follow the original if you want, either are equally yummy!

Fruit Cake & Wensleydale
Ingredients

500g/1lb 1½oz plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
200g/7oz soft dark brown sugar
450g/1lb a mix of green raisins, chopped dates, chopped dried apricots
1 peeled & finely chopped soft pear
200g/7oz unsalted butter
4 free-range eggs
2-3 tbsp Mackeson milk stout (drink or freeze the rest!)
Young Wensleydale cheese, sliced, to serve

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 2, grease and line a 8in/20cm square cake tin (sorry to sound patronising but do use a square tin if you can, it's easier for putting slices of cheese on top!)
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon, brown sugar and fruit together in a bowl until well combined
3. Add the butter and crack in the eggs. Mix well, then add just enough beer to give a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin
4. Bake in the oven for one and three-quarters to two hours, or until the cake is golden-brown and springy to the touch, a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean, remove from oven and set aside to cool
5. Cut the cake, pop your cheese on top, pour your Tally Ho into a brandy balloon, kick back, relax!

5 comments:

Mark Dredge said...

In this weather I could really go for that combo right now. Trouble is, my bottle is snowed in at my parents place and I can't get to it!! Love the idea of cheese and cake - the perfect savoury/sweet match for the beer. Yummy indeed!

Melissa Cole said...

If you've got a Hog's Back AoverT, Fuller's Vintage/Golden Pride, Robinson's Old Tom or any other old or vintage ale in the house it will go very well

Unknown said...

I'm not keen of fruit cake as a rule, can I just have the cheese?

Melissa Cole said...

@WPDave - you can do what you like mate - your beer, your choice!

Kristy said...

I wish I'd seen this yesterday, I would've hung on to the Tally-Ho a little longer!!