The Grand Finale Cheese Board: Truffled Honey, Membrillo and Homemade Walnut Crackers

⏱ 75 min · Serves 6

A cheese course worth waiting for. Warm, nutty crackers baked from scratch, a slick of truffle-infused honey, jewel-bright quince paste and three well-chosen cheeses — the kind of finish that keeps everyone at the table an extra hour.

Per serving: 695 kcal · 24.0g protein · 58.0g carbs · 42.0g fat

Ingredients

• FOR THE WALNUT CRACKERS:
• 120g plain flour
• 60g wholemeal or rye flour
• 70g walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt, plus extra for topping
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 50ml extra virgin olive oil
• 90-100ml cold water
• 1 tbsp milk, for brushing
• FOR THE TRUFFLED HONEY:
• 100g runny honey (acacia or clear blossom)
• 1 tsp white truffle oil, or 5g fresh truffle, finely shaved
• Pinch of flaky salt
• TO SERVE:
• 150g aged Comté or Gruyère
• 150g ripe Brie de Meaux or Tunworth
• 120g blue cheese (Stilton, Roquefort or Gorgonzola Piccante)
• 150g quince paste (membrillo), cut into thin wedges
• 1 small bunch black grapes
• 2 ripe pears or figs, sliced just before serving
• 30g walnut halves, lightly toasted

Method

1. Take all the cheeses out of the fridge at least 1 hour before serving — cold cheese tastes of nothing.
2. Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
3. For the crackers, whisk both flours, chopped walnuts, salt, sugar, baking powder, pepper and rosemary in a bowl.
4. Pour in the olive oil and rub through with your fingers, then add the cold water a splash at a time until you have a firm, non-sticky dough. Knead for 30 seconds and rest, wrapped, for 15 minutes.
5. Halve the dough. Roll each piece out on parchment as thinly as you dare — 2mm, almost translucent at the edges. Brush with milk and scatter with flaky salt.
6. Cut into rough shards with a pizza wheel, slide the parchment onto the trays and bake for 12-15 minutes until deep gold and crisp. Cool completely on a rack; they crisp further as they cool.
7. Warm the honey gently in a small pan until just loose — do not boil. Off the heat, stir in the truffle oil (or shaved truffle) and a pinch of salt. Pour into a small jug or honey pot and let it sit 15 minutes to infuse.
8. Arrange the cheeses on a large board with space between them, hardest to softest, blue last. Add wedges of quince paste, grapes, sliced pear or fig and toasted walnuts.
9. Pile the crackers alongside, set the truffled honey in the middle with a spoon, and serve. Best eaten as: cracker, blue cheese, a drizzle of truffled honey.