The French Bistro Brunching Recipe Files – I’ve dipped into my old French recipe notebooks to bring some French Style recipes to you all.
Recipe 1: Cheese, Ham and Olive Cake (Cake Salé)
Welcome to a new series of recipes, The French Bistro Brunching Recipe Files, with five new recipes that would grace any brunch, breakfast, or lazy supper table.
We all love a slow, and leisurely brunch in our household, especially at the weekends…..the kind of brunch where you can all sit at the table, read a Sunday paper, in your pajamas if that’s the way you roll.
It seems almost deliciously decadent to eat your main meal in the morning, with a table full of home baked treats.
Pots of fresh coffee or tea at the ready, and for those really indulgent times, a glass of “Buck’s Fizz” to help all that delicious food go down.
I’m not that fussy when it comes to Brunching; a full English breakfast with toast and marmalade, or, a stack of fluffy pancakes with a heavy drizzle of maple syrup and tumbling blueberries – it’s all very welcome.
However, there’s something rather special about brunching French style. After living in SW France for just over 20 years, it’s nice to bring France to the table with some classic French recipes for that certain “je ne sais quoi” dining experience.
I’ve dipped into my old French recipe notebooks to bring some Brunching French Style recipes to you all. It’s a quintessential celebration of all things Bistro, or Brunch en Famille.
There’s four fabulous savoury recipes and one classic sweet recipe for you to enjoy dunking, should you decide to dunk, in your café crème, chocolat chaud, or tisane.
And recipe 1 today is for: Cheese, Ham and Olive Cake (Cake Salé), a delectable savoury cake (quick bread) that’s hugely popular in France.
I hope you enjoy this selection of brunch recipes, which I will be sharing over the next week, on the lead up to Easter.
I also hope that you are inspired to make some, if not all of them for your next lazy brunch, breakfast, luncheon or supper. Bon Appétit!
More French Inspired Recipes for Brunch
- Twice Baked Cheese & Chive Breakfast Soufflés
- Brioches à Tête for a Lazy Weekend Brunch or Breakfast
- Easter Eggy Bread: Raspberry & Vanilla “Pain Perdu” (French Toast)
- Sweet Clementine & Bitter Orange Crêpes
- Chèvre, Ham and Peach Crêpes
- Blue Cheese, Ham and Fig Conserve Crêpes
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Recipe for Cheese, Ham and Olive Cake (Cake Salé)
Cheese, Ham and Olive Cake (Cake Salé)
Cheese, Ham and Olive Cake (Cake Salé) is a delectable savoury cake (quick bread) that’s hugely popular in France.
Easy to make, and even easier to eat, it’s often served in small cubes with aperitifs, as well as being essential for any picnic.
Serve this with salted butter, olives and sliced tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 115g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 200ml milk
- 115g Gruyere cheese, grated
- 115g pitted green olives, halved
- 150g cooked ham, cut into small dice (Lardons can also be used)
Instructions
1. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Gently fry the onion for about 5 minutes, or until soft and golden.
2. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the eggs, followed by the milk, until you have a smooth batter. Mix in the cheese, olives, ham and sautéed onions, along with their oil. Cover and leave to rest for 2 hours. This will make a lighter cake.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F, Gas 6 and grease a large loaf tin. Give the batter a good stir and pour into the prepared tin.
4. Bake at the centre of the oven for 20-30 minutes or until firm and golden. Leave to cool.
5. When cold, turn out of the tins and wrap or store in an airtight tin.
Notes
Serve this cut into cubes with olives, as an amuse bouche for aperitifs.
Cooked peppers can be added.
Use black olives in place of green olives.
Use diced spring onions in place of the cooked onion, no need to pre-cook the spring onions.
Smoked lardons work very well in this recipe too, in place of the ham.
Make it veggie by omitting the ham.
Use any strong cheese with attitude, such as Vintage extra mature cheddar, Comte or Lincolnshire Poacher cheese.
The next FOUR French Bistro Brunching Recipes:
- Baked Camembert en Croute
- Tarte à la tomate (Tomato Galette)
- Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame
- Classic French Madeleines
sherry says
this savoury cake sounds so very tasty!
Karen Burns-Booth says
A big favourite here at Chez Lavender & Lovage 🙂
Suzanne Cross says
Oh a definite make,….having lived in France,sO had totally forgotten about this wonderful recipe…..
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Suzanne – I hope you enjoy it