Cheddar Cheese Loaf

For someone who has a love hate relationship with cheese, it's rather strange to find me baking a butter cake that contains cheese. 

The cheese in question is cheddar cheese, those sliced cheddar cheese that I learnt to enjoy thanks to my late grandfather's influence. Grandpa was surprisingly adventurous when it came to food. 

Sheep's tongue, blue cheese and caviar were among the foods that he introduced to me. Oh no, I disliked the blue cheese immensely! I swore I experienced a burning sensation on my tongue and that unpleasant taste haunted me for life.

Caviar, I also disliked (though not traumatized), so fishy and smelly. But the sheep's tongue, that I enjoyed. I thought it was delicious!

Back to this cheese loaf, in spite of me adding extra cheddar cheese, the cheese flavor was quite subtle. Not surprising  since cheddar is one of the milder cheeses which explains why I was able to acquire a taste for it.

Hardcore cheese lovers would be disappointed with the lack of flavor but this being a butter cake, I doubt if anyone would dislike it.

Cheddar Cheese Loaf

Recipe source : Adapted from Alex Goh's Creative Making of Cakes.

Ingredients :

- 250g butter

- 200g sugar

- 4 eggs

- 100g cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

- 100ml milk

- 280g self-raising flour, sifted

Method :

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy.

2. Add eggs one at a time and continue to beat the mixture until light and fluffy.

3. Add vanilla extract and continue to beat until well mixed.

4. Using a spatula, fold in the flour in 3 additions alternating with the milk in 2 additions (start with flour, milk, flour, milk and flour)
5. Add cheddar cheese cubes and fold until well combined.

6. Pour batter into 2 small loaf pans and bake at 160C for about 40 minutes or until skewer inserted into the center comes out clean (if baked in a regular loaf pan, I reckon it may take about 50 minutes)