Big Block of Cheese Day

No I'm not talking about American politics (fictional or non-fictional) but rather a big block of cheese from my freezer.

You may remember that back in November I mentioned that one of my all time favourite desserts eaten in a restaurant is Wensleydale and Ginger Cheesecake. The Hawes creamery provides the recipe so you can cook it yourself but it means finding a rather large (500g) block of Wensleydale Cheese with Ginger. For a month or so I have had just such a chunk of cheese sitting in the freezer waiting for me to have the time to make the cheesecake. So last Saturday was Big Block of Cheese Day.

From prior experience of making cheesecakes I altered the recipe a little and can honestly say that I think it makes a better version than the one in Hawes. If you want to try making the cheesecake yourself then my adapted recipe is in the cookbook and if you can't find the cheese locally you can mail order direct from the creamery.

Blejska Kremna Rezina

I don't really know any Slovenian but I do know that Blejska Kremna Rezina translates as Bled Cream Slice (or possibly cake I've seen both written down). As you can tell from it's name it is the local speciality. In fact it was first cooked in the Park Hotel, which is where I am straying, back in 1953.

I'm tempted to try and make these slices when I get home. From a quick hunt of the web this looks like a promising recipe.

Wensleydale and Ginger Cheesecake

Over the years I have eaten some wonderful deserts in restaurants but I still love the Wensleydale and Ginger Cheesecake from the Hawes creamery possible more than any other. It is made with Wensleydale Cheese with Ginger and digestive biscuits and while it isn't a baked cheesecake it has that relatively heavy feel to it. No matter how hard I try and describe it I will never be able to do it justice so if you only ever go to the Hawes creamery once make sure to try the cheesecake or if you are feeling adventurous why not try and cook it for yourself.

Strawberry and Cream Shortbread Stacks

Ingredients (Serves 6)
4oz unsalted butter
2oz caster sugar
6oz plain flour
1 large punnet of strawberries
1 large pot of double cream

Cooking Instructions
Beat the butter until soft with a wooden spoon. Beat in the sugar and then the flour. Form into a paste using your hands.

With some extra caster sugar lightly dust a work surface and then roll out the mixture to a thickness of about 3mm.

Use a 3inch cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits and place them onto a lightly greased baking tray. You should have enough paste to make 12 shortbread biscuits, and as each of the final deserts requires 2 you should be able to serve 6.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 150C (300F or Gas Mark 2), remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Wash, hull and quarter the strawberries. Whip the cream until thick and then fold in the quartered strawberries.

Assemble each desert by placing a single shortbread biscuit on a plate dollop a sixth of the cream and strawberry mixture on top and then place a second biscuit on top.