Thursday 22nd of September 2022 – Savoury cake – recipe given to me by Paula Soares
After Sunday’s Capoeira class, Paula let me have a taste of this savoury cake she made and it was so lovely I asked for the recipe. It’s a recipe passed on to her by her grandmother (they are the best) and Paula kindly shared with me, the photo of original recipe, no less. I needed to translate it (mainly for ease of getting the ingredients) and the name of the dish itself is a funny innuendo, when translated incorrectly but sort of literally: Salty tart, very British (but this dish hails from Brazil). However, this isn’t a tart – as it doesn’t have a crusty base. It’s a cake, really, of the savoury kind.
Savoury Cake (blended)
Mix together until smooth, in a blender/mixer:
3 eggs
500ml of semi skimmed milk
350g of plain flour
100g of grated cheese (I used grana pradano/parmesan cheese, but any cheese will do)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
If the mix is too dense add milk, but it shouldn’t be too thin either.
Filling: anything goes for the filling, whatever is in the fridge, but here’s what’s on the original recipe:
2 onions (I forgot them!)
2 large tomatoes
100g of olives
100g of ham, cut into strips (I used 100g of Pancetta, which I fried beforehand)
100 of more cheese!!!!
Grease the tin – pour half the mix in, then distribute in the fillings, gently, and cover with the other half of the mix.
NOTE: Olives, ham and cheese are salty already, so no need to add any salt.
Cook at 140c for 15 minutes, then 160c for 15 minutes and finally 25 minutes at 180c (I have a fan assisted oven). It tastes even better the day after.
Ingredients (+ milk)
My little helper
Blend it like Beckham
Filling it up after pouring half the mix in
Cheesing it up
Topping up with the other half of the mix
Just finished cooking It smells promising! (i.e. delicious)
My first attempt turned out a bit stodgy – so I need to add less flour next time. It was also a bit overcooked so I decided to take 5m out of the final baking time next time, bringing it down to 25m. Paula assessed it and concluded it would also be better to use plain white wheat flour (I used wholemeal spelt flour) but it still tasted good! I guess it would be nearly impossible to make something with bacon and cheese taste bad!
Second attempt
I used plain flour for my 2nd attempt and it turned out much better. I used baking paper this time. The smell of this dish while it’s being baked and then cooling down is quite something! Delicious!
