Cranberry & Apple Cake with A Secret Ingredient: Cheese!

What do you do with a bunch of leftover cheese? Well, make cake, of course! This cake was inspired by a haul of Wensleydale & Cranberries cheese that we acquired on a trip to the Wensleydale Creamery in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Of course, you can use other cheeses – more on that below.

Yorkshire Wensleydale & Cranberries is known for its sweet and fruity profile, combining creamy, crumbly Yorkshire Wensleydale with the sweetness of cranberries. Fun fact: Wensleydale Creamery sources their cranberries from the U.S., probably Wisconsin, the country’s largest cranberry producer, and fittingly, a state famous for its cheese. It’s as if my Midwestern routes have met the UK in a cheese-inspired sweet treat – how appropriate!

I had the good fortune of acquiring some windfall apples in Yorkshire at the same time, adding to the terroir of the final cheese cake creation. That said, any apple will do – I think these were cooking apples, but I’ve also made the cake with Granny Smiths which worked well.

Other Cheese Ideas

Of course, if you don’t have Wensleydale & Cranberries, you could substitute with a similar cheese and dried cranberries. Here are some ideas:

• Mild / young cheddar + dried cranberries – familiar sharpness balanced by sweetness. Dice finely or grate and toss in flour so it doesn’t all sink.
• Young or semi-mature gouda + dried cranberries – creamy, mild, slightly melty. Avoid smoked or very aged gouda (too strong/firm).
• Ricotta + a sharper cheese + dried cranberries – mild and creamy, but reduce liquid slightly to prevent sogginess.
• Cream cheese + dried cranberries – smooth and rich; cube or swirl it in so it doesn’t vanish completely.
• Cottage cheese (well drained) + dried cranberries – light flavour, good moisture, but make sure it’s properly drained.
• Mascarpone + a sharper cheese + dried cranberries – luxuriously creamy; lighten the batter well so it doesn’t get too dense.

Also, why stick to cranberries? I imagine any other dried fruit would work – currants? Goji berries? Apricots? Go wild!

Yorkshire Wensleydale, Cranberry & Apple Cake

Inspired by a visit to the Wensleydale Creamery earlier this month. The magic ingredient: cheese! Specifically Wensleydale with Cranberries. But you can substitute with other cheeses and cranberries. See my suggestions below.

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 150 g butter at room temperature
• 175 g golden caster sugar
• 2 eggs beaten
• 2 tbsp milk
• 175 g self-raising flour I used Gluten Free Dove’s Farm Self-Raising Flour
• 2 apples peeled, cored, sliced
• 125 g Yorkshire Wensleydale & Cranberries cheese
• 1 tbsp Demerara sugar

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 170 °C (325 °F) / Gas Mark 3. Grease an 8-inch (20 cm) springform cake tin, or line a suitably sized tin (I used a large loaf tin).
2. Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, ideally with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, or you can do this by hand with a wooden spoon.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in milk and sifted flour.
4. Fold in about ¾ of the apple slices, then crumble the Wensleydale & Cranberries over the batter.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Arrange the remaining apple slices on top. Sprinkle Demerara sugar over the surface.
6. Bake for ~55 minutes, until risen and golden. Allow to cool in the tin.

Notes

If you don’t have Wensleydale, try substituting with an alternative cheese and a handful of dried cranberries (or other dried fruit). Grate or crumble the cheese before adding to the cake, obviously!

• Mild / young cheddar
• Young or semi-mature gouda
• Ricotta or mascarpone + a sharper cheese