Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Makes 2 cakes
For the cake batter
- 250 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour (plain flour), sifted
- 15 g (1 Tbsp) baking powder
- 6 medium eggs (or 5 large)
- 140 g (⅔ cup) neutral oil (sunflower)
- 200 g (¾ cup + 1 Tbsp) water (or plant-based milk)
- 5 g (1 tsp) fine salt
For the filling
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced (or 6-7 stems chives, finely snipped)
- 180 g (6 oz) pastrami (or other turkey or chicken deli meat), cut into cubes
- 150 g (1 cup) green or black olives, pitted
- 50 g (⅓ cup) sesame or poppy seeds
What makes this savory cake special is that it contains no milk and no butter, so it is ideal for anyone who is lactose intolerant or looking for a lighter cake (and it makes it a meat recipe, kosher-wise).
Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) fan/convection. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper (or oil it lightly). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder, then add the eggs, the oil and, while stirring, the water. Add the poppy seeds, the deli meat and the olives cut into pieces, and the sliced scallions. Season with pepper (unless your deli meat is already peppered).
As soon as the batter is smooth, pour it into the pans and smooth the surface if needed. Bake for 1 hour on a rack in the middle/lower part of the oven. This way of baking, similar to the one for bouscoutou, gives a moist texture that is not dry at all. Check for doneness with a toothpick or the tip of a knife: it should come out clean.
Serve sliced with a nice green salad.
Tips and time-savers
Savory cakes freeze perfectly! Just leave them for 2 hours at room temperature, then pop them back in the oven for about ten minutes at 150°C (300°F). That is why the quantities in this recipe are doubled: freeze one and take it out on an evening when you don’t feel like cooking.
If you grease your pan instead of lining it with parchment paper, you can sprinkle in a few sesame or poppy seeds at that point, so they decorate the whole outside of the cake. Personally, I like to keep the surprise and only see them when the cake is sliced, but both are very good.