Herb & Cheese Aussie Damper

 

Although the new year has just begun, three eastern states of Australia have been affected by the horrible flood.  I have been living in Australia for more than 2 decades and I have never had a summer that rain and rain for over two months. When the flood came to Brisbane, TV channels had been board casting live for 24 hours and everyone just hope that the rain would stop very soon.  My town was lucky to escape from serious flood damage but there still a lot of cleaning up afterward.  It's sad to see that people lost nearly everything and had to fight with insurance company for compensation.  There were also injured animals and the most tragic was the lost of human lives.  Many flood victims are still cleaning up and trying to get back to their normal life this Australia Day (26 Jan).  It is so great to see that many people are willing to help the victims though volunteering cleaning up, donating money and necessary items, cooking meals, offering shelters etc.....  Although we cannot beat the mother nature to ruin our land, it cannot beat our spirit.

I combine two recipes to make this savoury version of herb & cheese damper.  It goes very well with other finger food.  Damper is a bush tucker that is made in camping.  I first tried it when I went to an excursion with school to a farm, the farm lady put a bottle of beer into the batter and cooked it under wood fire in the bush.  We dipped the hot damper with honey and I always enjoy having it with the crowd of people.  Happy Australian Day!     

Herb & Cheese Aussie Damper

Ingredients:

3 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cup milk

80 butter, soften

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon mixed herb

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200c.  Line a 20cm round cake pan with baking paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and crumble the butter with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add milk and cheese using a flat edge knife lightly mix until mixture starts to come together like scone batter.  Knead lightly and shape into the cake pan.  
4. Score top of damper into 8-12wedges with a sharp knife.  Bake for 45 minutes or until golden.  Serve with finger food such as smoked salmon, ham, olives, cheese and sun-dried tomato for great entertainment.