Blue cheese cake with port-braised blueberries and cinnamon brioche toast

Ingredients

• 2½ oz blue cheese
• 9 oz cream cheese
• 0.33 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4½ Tbsp whipping cream
• ½ cup port
• ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped, but pod reserved
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 lb blueberries

• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup whole milk
• 1½ cups flour
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 cup unsalted butter, warmed to room temperature
• 6 slices brioche, each ¾. inch thick
• 0.33 cup sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Brioche is a rich, buttery bread that is tender to slice. Any excess brioche can be frozen and used later. Use a sharp, creamy blue cheese for this recipe Stilton would work quite well. This recipe calls for timbale cups, which are drum-shaped metal moulds, available at kitchen supply stores. If you do not have them, ramekins will work just as well.
Blue Cheese Cake
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream together blue cheese, cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition to avoid lumps. Add cream and mix until well blended.
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
4. Grease and sugar six 4-oz timbale cups. Fill cups with the cream cheese mixture and place into a roasting pan. Pour water into the roasting pan until the water level reaches halfway up the cups. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the batter has slightly souffleed and a toothpick inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean. Allow to cool and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Port-Braised Blue Berries
5. In a medium saucepan, combine port, vanilla bean (both seeds and pod) and brown sugar. Simmer on medium heat until reduced to the consistency of honey, about 10 minutes. Add blueberries and stir until berries are heated through, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove and discard the vanilla pod.
Brioche
6. In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and yeast and mix to form a smooth dough. Add butter, about ¼ cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. The dough should be very soft, smooth and elastic.
7. Chill in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours or overnight.
8. Grease an 8-inch x 4-inch loaf pan. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a cylinder and press evenly into the loaf pan. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray to keep it from drying out. Allow to proof, uncovered, in a warm area until dough almost doubles in volume, 1 or 2 hours.
9. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
10. Bake brioche loaf until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Unmould the loaf and return it to the oven for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Cinnamon Brioche Toast
11. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
12. Using a cutter 2½ inches in diameter, cut rounds from the brioche slices. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Brush the brioche rounds with melted butter, then toss the rounds in the cinnamon sugar. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes. Turn each slice over and bake another 8 minutes, or until lightly toasted.