Eccles cake with cheddar cheese ice cream

For the ice cream, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Spread the grated cheddar onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake until crispy, then leave to cool.

While the cheddar cools, take the ice cream out of the freezer for 5 minutes. Fold the crispy cheese into the ice cream and place back in the freezer until ready to serve

For the Eccles cake pastry, mix the flour, salt and butter together, being sure to leave rough lumps of butter through the mix. Add the water and mix until a dough forms. Shape into a neat rectangle, wrap in cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge

While the dough rests, prepare the filling: combine the butter, sugar, spices and zest in a small saucepan over a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes

Add the currants, raisins and mixed peel and stir well. Cook for a further 5 minutes, remove from the heat and set aside to cool

Remove the dough from the fridge and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Dust a work surface and rolling pin with a little flour, and roll out the dough to form a large rectangle 2cm thick. Fold the bottom third of the dough in, then fold the top third of the dough down so the edges of the folded dough meet. Then, fold this rectangle in half the opposite way - left to right - so that the edges touch

Refrigerate the pastry dough for another 30 minutes, roll out the pastry and then repeat the folding process twice - making sure to roll the rectangle in the opposite direction so the layers overlap

Roll out the pastry to 5mm, cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Once rested, use a 12cm pastry cutter to cut out the circles for the cakes. Store the cakes between parchment paper

To assemble, take the pastry discs out of the fridge, turn out onto a floured work surface and place a tsp of the filling in each centre. Fold in the pastry to the centre, ensuring the bottom is well sealed, then flip the cake over and press down with the palm of your hand. Place the Eccles cakes in the freezer on a tray, spaced apart, so that the cakes retain their shape until ready to use

To bake, preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Place the Eccles cakes on a tray lined with parchment paper, brush with milk and sprinkle liberally with white sugar. Make 3 small parallel incisions in the top of the cake then place the tray in the oven for 12 minutes, or until they are golden brown

Serve immediately with a large scoop of the cheddar cheese ice cream