Individual Welsh Cheese Bakes

Category: Hot Snacks

These are very attractive and simple to make- ideal as a starter or main course for a dinner party- to use as a starter use a smaller size ring to keep portion size small. Cheddar cheese may be substituted if Caerphilly is not available- they also taste delicious with blue cheese.

Servings

4

Ingredients

2 medium leeks, chopped and rinsed 1 tbsp vegetable oil 12 slices of thick sliced white bread 300g10½oz Caerphilly cheese, grated 1 medium egg 300ml/½ pint milk ½ tsp English mustard good pinch cayenne pepper salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Lightly fry the leeks in oil until soft. Cut one circle from each slice of bread (make croutons with any scraps by drizzling with oil and chopped rosemary, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven till crisp and golden) using a metal cooking ring. Place 4 slices of bread inside rings in the base of a large ovenproof dish. Add a layer of leek and a layer of cheese, repeat and finish with a circle of bread, reserving a little cheese to sprinkle on the tops. Whisk the egg, milk, mustard and cayenne together and slowly pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and leave to stand for 30 minutes so they can absorb more of the egg mixture. Bake for about 25- 30 minutes until golden and lightly set. Serve with a green leaf salad Cook's Note Cooking rings are available from all cookware shops or you could make your own by removing both ends from small tins such as baked bean tins. They are great for making individual servings look very fancy PER SERVING 731 Kcal, fat 32.2.g, saturated fat 16.9g, salt 3.1g, carbohydrate 80g, sugar 9.3g, fibre 4g