Our Christmas Cake

I'm not sure why we havent done this before! After all, the cheese wedding cake has been a Big Thing for years ... and a big thing for us, too, with a thousand or so leaving here every year.These stacks of cheese are just such gorgeous things, such a treat to look at, that it's a shame to reserve them for weddings only. Earlier in the year we brought in some smaller celebration cakes (intended for parties of all sorts) and - really - why should your Christmas table miss out?

Our Christmas Cake features six carefully-chosen cheeses in seasonal red, white and green colours. Godminster's popular and super-tasty Organic Cheddar is the base, followed by a Baby Yarg in its stunning coat of nettles. Then comes Alison French's special Dorset brie Cranborne, a chilli-and-pepper flavoured Red Devil, the vine leaf wrapped and cider brandy washed Eve, and finally a tiny little Rosary goats' cheese sits on top.

Supplied as six wrapped cheeses, once stacked up its height should be 28cm, with a base 16cm across. It's about 2.6kg of cheese - and you could think of this as 26 100g servings, which is the amount we allow for cheese at functions.