Now that both children are at school I am endeavouring to be a good mother and provide them with a vaguely nutritious snack. Last week was flapjacks; stuffed with maple syrup and dried fruit, they were predictably well-received. This week I thought I’d gamble with savoury. Now that the season is mellowly fruitful etc. etc. apples are in abundance and so I’ve paired sweet eaters with a creamy sheep’s milk Wensleydale to make these muffins. There’s also a passing nod here to the Yorkshire saying ‘an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze’ (note though, Mr Trump – you ask first).
Wensleydale is usually thought of as a cow’s milk cheese but cheese in the area would originally have been made from ewe’s milk, as indeed would most English cheese. Over the centuries, the cheese changed and, during the fourteenth century, cow’s milk started to replace ewe’s. Originally, it was probably also a blue cheese, due to the influence of the French monks over at Jervaulx Abbey. My cheese for this recipe is produced by the Wensleydale Creamery in North Yorkshire; I’ve tried their Kit Calvert’s Wensleydale before but do want to track down some of their blue Wensleydale, so watch this space.
Ingredients
250g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
80g butter, melted
200ml buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp thyme leaves
1 eating apple, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
150g Wensleydale, crumbled, plus extra, grated, to sprinkle on the top
Salt and pepper
Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a bowl and season well. In another bowl, mix together the melted butter, buttermilk and eggs. The trick with these muffins is to work quickly (which is my excuse for not taking many photos).
Fold the wet mixture into the dry, add the cheese, apple and thyme leaves until all ingredients are combined. Spoon into muffin cases and sprinkle some grated cheese over the top.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200/180 fan-assisted/gas mark 6 for about 20 minutes, or until the muffins are cooked through and coloured. Best served warm.
Fromage Homage 
Yum, I’d go for savoury over sweet every time (but then I’m not five any more. Mostly.)
The eight year old ate two in a row. The four year old asked if I could ‘take all the cheese out.’ No son of mine.
Lol. Clearly a changeling. 🙂
Thanks for celebrating a local cheese that I can easily find. I’ll make these muffins as a ‘thank you’!
I did think of you – finally one you can track down on your doorstep! Have you tried their blue Wensleydale?
Yes I have. Booth’s probably was the source. Yes, blue Wensleydale is well worth a try. Like most Yorkshire blue cheeses it has quite a ‘soft’ flavour without much of a harsh kick.
These look delicious. As we don’t get Wensleydale here in Australia ( unless we pay an arm and a leg that is) I am wondering what a good substitute would be? I can think of many, but I thought I would ask a cheese expert, to get something closer to the texture and taste of a Wensleydale.
You could try it with feta but I wouldn’t add extra salt, as feta is quite salty enough. If you can get Cheshire or Caerphilly-style cheeses, those would also work well.
yes, fetta is salty. I’ll try a local cheese like Cheshire.
Hi, here in America I know on the East Coast apple pie is eaten with a wedge of sharp cheddar. Will cheddar cheese work in this recipe?
Absolutely! Cheddar and apple are great together. Let me know how it goes if you try it.