Or…”I say tomato, you say tomaato.” When we lived in Paris our great friend and co-worker sometimes invited us for dinner at his place. We relished those special evenings with he and his wife, who is a beautiful, elegant French woman, and a fantastic cook. The French culture is quite private, so an invitation to dine in someone’s home is a true gesture of friendship. Before the meal she often prepared some “cake“. Cake? To start a meal? Well, it wasn’t a typical American cake, which in France would be a “gateau“. Instead, this kind of cake (which the French pronounce more or less as “caak” ) is a rich and savory loaf with the approximate texture of a banana bread, usually leavened with baking powder.
We loved those dinners, from the first to the last course (the latter always being a selection of cheeses), but the opening “cakes” were likely my favorite part. When I left France I brought along photocopies of her recipes, and also managed to buy two cookbooks that exclusively describe those savory loaves. Yes, that’s how much I loved them! So, I dedicate this post to our friends, Alain and Corinne!
This version comes from “Sophie’s Sweet and Savory Loaves.” It’s a delicious blend of zucchini and feta cheese. As you can see from the photo, I leave the feta in large chunks… for little bursts of sharpness and flavor.
FETA CHEESE-ZUCCHINI LOAF
(adapted from Sophie’s recipe)
2 T olive oil
1 medium zucchini, cut in 1/3-in slices
3 large eggs
1 cup + 2 T all purpose flour, sifted
1 + 3/4 tsp baking powder
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk, hot
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3 T cilantro leaves, minced
Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or shortening.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the slices of zucchini until they get soft and golden on both sides. Remove from the pan, drain over paper towels to remove excess fat. Reserve.
Combine the eggs, flour, baking powder, 2 pinches of salt and pepper, and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the hot milk and the oil, and beat until smooth. Add the Gruyere cheese, zucchini, feta, and cilantro, mixing well with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack, allow it to cool for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Savory cakes embellish the cooking repertoire of anyone interested in entertaining, potlucks, picnics, brunches, or late night munchies… They are simple to make, and you can add almost anything you wish in the basic mix. Leftover roast chicken? Dice it and add it, maybe with some roasted red peppers and basil… Smoked salmon, ham, black olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted eggplant… they all have their place in such recipes. Just combine flavors that match together, to the delight of your guests.
For this loaf, I prepared the zucchini the day before and saved it in the fridge. Next day, I only had to assemble the ingredients…
… eggs, milk, oil, flour, feta cheese, sauteed zucchini…
Add them to the prepared loaf pan….
and bake it!
Allow the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, remove it, slice it, and serve it to your lucky guests!
Holy yum! Those chunks of feta are enough to suck me in. I definitely need to try this!
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Looks luscious, as is expected. 😉
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This looks great! Looks so flavorful and yum.
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My goodness that is beautiful! Love the feta cheese and how vibrant it is within the bread! Great blog!
Cook with Care
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Thanks, Carolyn!
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That loaf looks good! I really enjoy savoury quick breads like this. I made a feta, roasted red pepper, and grated zucchini loaf a while ago.
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Savory breads are so tasty! Roasted red pepper would be perfect on this one….
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Oh my! I have never seen anything like this and therefore usually think of quick breads as sweet rather than savory. Clearly, I don’t get out enough . . . can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi, Janice
once you try your first savory “cake”, you will be making all sorts of variations, it’s just too tasty
🙂
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where does the vegetable oil go in the recipe????
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Debby, thanks for catching my mistake…. amazing that no one noticed (or at least no one told me about it…) until you did it today!
I corrected in the published version, will work on the printable version as soon as possible and correct that too….
Sorry!
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I love the texture of this cake! And it looks like it rose quite a bit too =) I’m going to try and make this when I buy zucchini-or maybe I’ll substitute it for something else…..
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My sister made this for her flatmate’s birthday cake- ( She hates sweet food) was frosted with a cream cheese. chilli oil and garlic oil mixture and was devine
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Thanks so much for reporting back! I should make this or another versions soon, it’s been too long… and it’s a favorite in our home…
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Sally, que maravilha! como que eu nunva vi esse post? podia ter colocado la nos comments do CS! beijo :-*
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