Stotty Cakes & Geordie Ploughman’s Lunches!
Cheese Savoury (Sandwich Filling) Recipe
Stotty Cake
I love a good stotty cake, and remember my grandmother making them in her Northumberland cottage when I used to stay with her and my grandfather, when I was little. There has been a revival in traditional North Eastern food lately, with lots of “trends” for Geordie grub being served in “posh” London restaurants; but, in reality, most of the recipes I know and love from Sunderland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne never fell out of fashion, they are still made and served to families every day of the week. Stotty cakes are well-known to many out of the region, courtesy of Greggs the Baker, but, nice though they are in Greggs, they are nowhere near as tasty as my grandmother’s or even mine! I find commercial stotty cakes too spongy and soft – a real home-made stotty has a nice crust and it almost chewy with a lovely yeasty flavour. The perfect stotty needs little to enhance it, although pease pudding and ham is a “must have” filling, as is cheese savoury too. And, it’s my family recipe, such as it is, that I am sharing today for Cheese Savoury, which is a sandwich filling.
Stotty Cakes & Geordie Ploughman’s Lunches!
Cheese Savoury (Sandwich Filling) Recipe
I will share my recipe for Stotty Cake in another post, but for now I am sharing ideas for a fabulous ploughman’s lunch idea, Geordie style, or a Mackem style lunch, as my grandmother was from Sunderland. I made a batch of cheese savoury last week and we both enjoyed it as part of a “make-it-yourself-sandwich-lunch” along with some fresh tomatoes and spring onions – a sort of ploughman’s lunch. Being a bit posh, and not having a stotty cake to hand, I served my cheese savoury with some freshly baked seeded bread rolls, but, next time I bake a stotty cake, I will of course be sandwiching them with some of this tangy cheese spread. All that was needed to complete the lunch, was a little bit of salt, to dip the tomatoes and spring onions in, and a glass of Newcastle Brown Ale or a Mackeson Stout, although I had neither in my home in France, so wine it was!
Stotty Cakes
The stotties shown in my photos from last year are NOT quite right, they are a BIT too fat and need to be thinner; however, the crust and texture were spot on and I think my grandmother would have been proud of me! MY cheese savoury on the other hand was perfect with a lovely thick and creamy consistency and a really tangy flavour. It’s also a great way of sneaking some vegetables into your little one’s lunch box, if you make sandwiches with this filling. The filling is also perfect for picnics, suppers, high tea and cricket teas too. Once made, it will keep in the fridge for nearly a week, if it lasts that long, and it is also great when spread on toast.
Cheese Savour
Before I end my post for today, I must recommend a wonderful book called Stotty’ n ‘Spice Cakes, by Bill Griffiths. which is all about North Eastern food in England and is a fascinating read. 
“Renowned North East linguist and historian, Bill Griffiths, takes the reader on a journey through the cooking history of the North East. He takes us back in time to the way North East kitchens used to be – from the griddle on an open fire, via the ‘beehive’ oven and polished kitchen range, right through to the modern-day microwave oven. He also takes a fascinating look at traditional North East fare and cooking skills – including changing tastes and supply of foods – peppered with recipes for traditional favourites such as pease pudding, pikelets and panackelty. And of course, all of this is served up with generous helpings of dialect, stories, poems and humour, alongside nostalgic pictures and drawings. Bill says: Stotty is more than a regional recipe book – it’s a trip down memory lane to be enjoyed across generations.”
Cheese Savoury
Watch out for my other North East posts over the next few weeks, and the recipe for the BEST sandwich filling on the world (!!) is shared below! See you later, Karen
Greggs the Bakers: Stotties middle right
Other interesting links to Stotty Cakes:
Cheese Savoury (Sandwich Filling)
Print recipe
| Serves | 8 sandwiches |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Lunch, Salad, Side Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentines day |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 250g grated extra mature or vintage Cheddar cheese
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 large red onion, peeled and grated
- salad cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Note
A North Eastern classic sandwich filling from England and one that was made famous by Gregg's the Bakers of Gosforth in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Traditionally used to fill "stotty cake" sandwiches, this is a fabulous vegetarian spread for the school or office lunch box.
Directions
| Step 1 | Mix the grated cheese, carrot and onion in a bowl and then add salad cream spoon by spoon, until a spreadable and creamy consistency has been achieved. |
| Step 2 | Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and leave for at least 4 hours in the fridge before using. Keeps for up to 4 to 5 days in a covered container in the fridge. |
| Step 3 | Makes 8 rounds of sandwiches or 8 bread rolls. |
Greggs: Old Image
Stotty Cakes & Geordie Ploughman’s Lunches! Cheese Savoury (Sandwich Filling) Recipe
Made just in time for British Cheese Week: 7th September to 15th September 2013
British Cheese Week
Saturday 7th – Sunday 15th September 2013
British Cheese Week is a nation wide campaign designed to raise the profile of British cheese and celebrate this years winners, announced at the Awards Dinner on Friday 6th September.
It kicks off with CHEESES ON THE GREEN – 2 events created to make sure Cheese Lovers got to see and taste the 900 or so cheeses entered in the Awards.
Although the winners are the focal point of the campaign it is in fact designed to promote all British Cheese.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
It’s all new to me but I’m really looking forward to stotty cakes so I can put my cheese savoury filling in them! Truthfully, I just want to be able to say, “Come on over for stotty cakes,” to my friends. 🙂
Karen says
Thanks Maureen! You MUST bake some stotty cakes, recipe here next week and blog about your tea party! LOL! Karen
SallyBR says
Me too! I loved it, and had to smile thinking about telling our students to be ready to enjoy some “stotty cakes” “chez nous”
What is salad cream????? This filling is calling my name… love the carrots in it
Karen says
Thanks Sally! Salad cream is a salad dressing that is more tangy than mayonnaise and is the secret ingredient in this sandwich spread recipe!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_cream
Karen
Ada ~ More Food, Please says
This looks delicious! Love the thick and creamy cheese filling 😀 Would definitely want to have this with high tea. I’m getting hungry just by looking at the pictures!
Karen says
Thanks so much Ada!
Deena Kakaya says
Love this! Simple, but scoffable. All I need is a bag if crisps x
Karen says
Thanks Deena! 🙂 LOVE crisp sandwiches too!
Ash-foodfashionparty says
Never heard of it, but would love to try it..Agree with Maureen, I just wanna be able to invite friends for a ‘stotty cake’ :).
Karen says
LOL! The cheese savoury is also delicious too Ash!
Dominic says
The Viking talks about his mums bread baking and describes something like a cross between a ciabatta and a stotty cake and yours looks very close to what he talks about… it looks lovely!.. love the cheese filling too… want that now x
Karen says
Oh, I wonder what the bread is called Dom? Where does he come from? Interesting! Thanks for popping by…..Karen
Becs @ Lay the table says
Sounds fab! I must admit I have bought stotties from the supermarket – their large size makes it good to for a leftover roast dinner sandwich – with gravy for extra Northerness! 🙂
Karen says
Yes, me too sometimes Becs, but they are never the same as home baked! 🙂 LOVE bread and gravy too!
Tracy Nixon says
Love this Karen! Being a Geordie lass myself – I know all about stotties and know how popular and yummy they are! I love the cheese savoury stotties from Greggs too! I often buy stotties and create a saveloy dip (stottie filled with saveloy and peas pudding!) G+’d with pride!
Karen says
Thanks Tracy! I wondered if you had seen this post, and what you would think! I LOVE your saveloy dip, what a GREAT recipe for proper “at home fast food”! 🙂 Karen
Tracy Nixon says
Sharing on Facebook too!
Louisa Foti says
I’ve been meaning to comment on this since you put it out last week! A cheese savoury stotty has to be my ALL-TIME favourite lunch time treat! And one I always crave for, but am usually sorely disappointed. The filling’s never quite right and it’s hard to get good (or any) stotties outside of Newcastle. Dates back to my Uni days at Newcastle when I definitely had my fair share of them (from Greggs and the Student Union), and it HAD to be cheese savoury every time!. Really must make my own stotties and I’ll be following your savoury recipe too. Thanks so much for posting, made me all nostalgic!.
Karen says
So lovely to see you here and back blogging too, I love your new site Louisa! Thanks so much for your kind comments, and DO try this cheese savoury, as I am sure the children will love it too…..Stotty cake post coming up soon! 🙂 Karen
Nick Hopkins says
This looks great. I’m not sure it would if I tried to make it but will give it a whirl someday.
Kevin Bloomfield says
Wow! That look delicious!
Irene Wright says
I shifted from New Zealand to live in the Uk around 20 years ago an when I started working in the café at Gala Bingo we were serving bread rolls as part of a meal. I was asked for all sorts of things i.e. stotty cakes, baps, etc and I didn’t have a clue what they were. We just call them bread rolls in NZ . Anyway, these sound quite good so must look for your recipe and try making them. I usually make my own bread anyway because shop-bought bread doesn’t agree with me. I think it’s the preservative in it.
ROS IRWIN says
sounds really tasty
Maggie says
Going to make this on Saturday to eat in front of the telly while we are watching the rugby
LINDSEY CLARK says
Love Stotty Cakes; its my Northern roots kicking in!
JoeKover says
Wonderful! A home baked Geordie Stottie Cake stuffed with genuine Somerset Cheddar and sliced outdoor grown Yorkshire tomatoes. That’s for supper like now oooops bad news don’t have the Stottie Cake
Karen says
LOL! It’s all British then! You can make my Stottie Cake recipe here: http://www.kenwoodworld.com/uk/familyrecipes/nannys-stotty-cakes/
Danielle says
Hi Karen, I loved this post….more so because being from Sunderland but living in the middle east where Stotty Cakes don’t exist made me want to try out your lovely recipe.
Whenever I went back to the north East the first thing I always did was stop off at Greggs for a Cheese Savory Stotty & it’s one of the things truely I miss the most, the only thing being I can’t find your Stotty Cake recipe in the recipe search area
Karen Burns-Booth says
THANKS so much for your lovely comments Danielle!
My mum and dad are on their way up to Sunderland tomorrow for mum’s 81st birthday, as she comes from there and wants to go back!
I am so pleased you have discovered me and I am sharing my stotty cake recipe soon too.
Karen
Kathy says
Got sent home with a couple of stottie cakes after a recent trip home and, after googling what to put in them (although I had already secretly decided on Cheese Savoury), I stumbled across your blog! Thanks for the confirmation that the right and proper filling for my little slice of home is cheese savoury! Can’t wait.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Kathy – I hope you will enjoy the filling, Cheese Savoury, as much as we do! And, maybe you can make a stotty cake when you have time too, Karen