Cottage Cheese, Celery and Walnut Teabread

Cottage Cheese, Celery and Walnut Teabread

An old-fashioned recipe, probably devised in the mid-nineteenth century, when breads relied on the newly acquired raising agents other than yeast to give them a lift.

Serves 10

Points per serving: 2½

225 g cottage cheese

75 g light brown sugar

3 medium eggs, beaten

225 g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

9 walnut halves, chopped finely

2 sticks celery, chopped finely

1 pinch salt

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F. Line a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin with baking parchment or greaseproof paper.

Sieve the cottage cheese into a bowl. Add the sugar and eggs. Cream until light (use an electric hand-held whisk or rotary beaters to do this).

Sieve the flour, baking powder and pinch or salt, on to the creamed mixture and fold in. Add the celery and walnuts.

Spoon into the prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour, until well risen and golden brown. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack, to finish cooling. Slice and serve fresh.