Delicious Cheddar Cheese Loaf

I bought some cheddar cheese, wanting to bake a ham and cheese bun, but ended up doing something else, as usual.

Actually I was pondering whether to bake a steamed cake or a cheddar cheese loaf, in the end I opted for the latter as I only had 4 eggs left which were just nice. This cheddar cheese loaf recipe had been sitting in a little notebook for a few months. It was a handwritten recipe penned by my dear cousin HC, who painstakingly jotted down many of her tried-and-tested favourite recipes when I visited her last Chinese New Year and asked her to share her baking recipes. She even drew a smiley face besides the recipe, to indicate that this recipe is very good and not to be missed.

My cousin is a very good baker, her mini huat kueh and cookies are well-known throughout our extended family. She used to bake and bring along a box of homemade cookies whenever we went on overseas trips. I remember we used to munch on her cookies whenever we felt hungry on the plane or when the food in the hotel was not to our liking. Those were the days, how I missed those days...

Anyway, back to this cheddar cheese loaf. At first I thought the amount of sugar was too much, but after tasting the cake, I was glad I didn't cut down on the sugar. It wasn't too sweet, partly masked by the slightly salty flavour of the cheddar cheese.  This cake was really delicious, it was moist and rich and had a mild undertone of cheddar cheese. I especially liked the cheddar cheese bits scattered throughout the cake, they looked so nice and pretty.

I knew this would probably add a few inches to my expanding waistline, but I simply couldn't resist its heavenly taste. It was so addictive that both my hubby and I, plus my baby son kept on munching on the cake, piece after piece...

Thank you my dear cousin, for sharing with me such a wonderful recipe!

Handwritten recipe passed down by my cousin HC from Singapore.

INGREDIENTS A

250g butter

230g sugar

INGREDIENTS B
4 eggs

INGREDIENTS C
80g cheddar cheese (finely diced)

INGREDIENTS D
280g flour (sifted)

100ml milk

1 tsp baking powder

METHOD

1. Cream A until light and creamy.

2. Add B (one by one) and cream until light and smooth.

3. Add C and mix until well combined. (Note that the diced cheddar cheese will still remain as it is even after mixing, as it is quite hard.)

4. Lastly add D and mix until well incorporated. Add flour and milk alternately, starting and ending with flour, and use a spatula to fold carefully into the batter.

5. Pour into a greased loaf tin  (I used a 30 x 11 x 7 cm loaf tin) and bake at 180C for about 50 min, or until a skewer comes out clean.

6. Once baked, quickly invert the loaf tin on a wire rack and remove the cake. Set it aside and let it cool.