Shocked by a report from the British Nutrition Foundation last year citing that nearly a third (29 per cent) of primary schoolchildren think that cheese comes from plants, we got together to compile a community cookbook crammed with unpublished and much cherished family recipes. The proceeds will fund food education projects in the four educational settings in the area: Lake Street Playgroup; Grandpont Nursery School; New Hinksey and St Ebbe’s Primary Schools.

Here is one of the recipes from the chapter on baking.

GRAN'S RUM CAKE

My grandmother would make this cake every year when she came to stay for Christmas. Now she is no longer with us, I have taken on the mantle of making it and enjoy taking the time to recall my fond memories of her while I bake. It’s very fruity, but not too nutty, and much easier than a regular Christmas cake. The rum adds a little extra kick!

Makes one large ring cake or two smaller ones.

* 225g currants 
* 225g sultanas 
* 110g raisins 
* 55g cherries 
* 4-6 tablespoons dark rum 
* 225g butter 
* 225g caster sugar 
* 225g plain flour 
* 5 eggs 
* ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg 
* 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
* ½ teaspoon almond essence 
* 110g ground almonds 
* ½ tablespoon black treacle 
* 1 tablespoon orange marmalade 
* Glacé icing and glacé cherries, to decorate Preheat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/Gas 2.

Soak all the dried fruit in the rum for at least two hours.

Cream the butter and sugar together, then mix in the flour and eggs.

Add the nutmeg, vanilla and almond essence. Add the almonds, treacle and marmalade. Finally, add the rum-soaked fruit.

Spoon the mixture into a large nine inch (23cm) ring-shaped cake tin or two smaller seven inch (18cm) ones.

If you are baking the larger cake, cook for 1¼ hours, then reduce the oven temperature to 140°C/120°C fan/Gas 1 for a final 45 minutes (two hours in total for a large ring cake). For the smaller cakes, you can cook them together, but for 20 minutes less.

We like to ice with regular glacé icing so it looks like snow dripping off the sides, and decorate with glacé cherries and other tacky Christmassy things! The cake keeps well un-iced in an air tight tin, but doesn’t usually last long once our family are all under one roof. Also delicious with a slither of very mature cheddar.