Cake with Ham and Olives/Bread with Ham and Olives

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We are just a few days before Christmas and I thought that an easy festive snack idea might be welcome (even though this one is dug out from my old posts, where, maybe due to an old unappealing photo, it passed unnoticed). I have chosen this cake since I bake it very often when I have guests and I find it crowd-pleasing, especially if made with such popular ingredients like olives, ham or sun-dried tomatoes. It also has other advantages. The preparation is very quick, easy and the ingredients’ choice is infinite. The most popular combination seems to be the one you see above (I sometimes also add dried tomatoes), but it can be made with leftover roast, vegetables, nuts, cheese…

Savoury cakes are very popular in France and never called “bread” because in most French regions even visually bread has got nothing to do with a square, moist loaf. In fact they are called by English name “cake”, but pronounced “kek”. Do not look for them in restaurants or cafés. They are a kind of home dish served at a party, on a picnic and they are an excellent alternative to sandwiches: for a long trip, breakfast, quick lunch at work, etc..

A good savoury cake shouldn’t be dry and most recipes call for important amounts of oil. This certainly gives a soft texture, but makes the cake too greasy for my taste (and waistline!). After several – sometimes tragical – attempts to modify the recipe I have discovered that the smooth quark cheese (also called fromage blanc) is an excellent “softener”, giving the necessary moisture. I add a bit of oil too since it gives a better texture. Quark cheese is here an invisible magician – unless you reveal it, no one will ever guess its presence! I have been making it for many years, always with the quark cheese base, and have never seen anyone discover this ingredient.

TIPS: The cake should be served cold and it can be made in advance, wrapped in cling film and kept in the fridge for two-three days.

Quark cheese/fromage blanc is smooth and has a very thick yogurt-like consistency (a bit softer than cream cheese). It can contain up to 40% fat, but I always use the lightest one. I think it’s available in most, at least Western countries.

I have good news for those living in Asian countries where this cheese might be impossible to find: silken tofu is an ideal substitution. Since it contains more water than this cheese, use 200 g tofu and skip the milk.

If you manage to find a narrow and long baking dish (I have bought a 4 cm x 30 cm one at sales), it produces cute, two-bite sized, elegant snack slices.

Preparation: 1h15

Ingredients (for a 30 cm x 10 cm (12 x 4 inches) baking dish or two 4 cm x 30 cm (1,6 x 12 inches) dishes):

200 g (7 oz) quark cheese (fromage blanc) (or 200 g silken tofu and skip the milk)

125 ml milk (approx. 1/2 cup)

50 ml oil (approx. 1/5 cup)

250 ml flour (approx. 1 cup)

1 flat tablespoon salt

pepper

4 eggs

1 package baking powder  (16g)

1 tablespoon thyme

10-14 tablespoons chopped olives

200g (7 oz) ham, bacon, other smoked pork cuts etc. cut into 1/2 cm cubes

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

If using the raw smoked meat, grill it on an empty frying pan until it changes the colour. If you have chosen smoked and cooked ham, simply skip this step.

Mix the eggs, the cheese, the flour, the milk, the baking powder and the oil with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

ATTENTION! If you use silken tofu, you need to mix the batter in a food processor or a blender.

Add the rest. Stir well.

Grease a rectangular 30 x 10 cm baking dish or line it with baking paper.

Pour the cake preparation. Bake 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown. Let it cool down. Serve cut into slices and then into 2 or 4 bite-sized pieces or, if using as a sandwich alternative, simply cut into slices.

Published by Sissi

49 Replies to “Cake with Ham and Olives/Bread with Ham and Olives”

  1. Dare I call it an omelet cake/kek? Looks like a meal on it’s own. Thanks for the tofu option. It’s definitely quite difficult to find quark cheese here and even if we have it, it’ll probably be quite expensive.

    1. Hi, Ping! Maybe there is not enough eggs to call it an omelet 😉 You are perfectly right. It is for example a great lunch or even breakfast. I have found the tofu option only a couple of weeks ago when I wanted to make it and I didn’t have the courage to go and buy the cheese.

  2. Ah, the “kek-euh”, as ze Frenchies like to say in the place in the mall which sells little individual cakes for lunch. I’d never had one before then and I have to say I was hooked after trying it. My favourite at the store is the one with grated courgette and goat’s cheese, though ingredients like lardons, olives, sun-dried tomatoes etc are welcome additions. Of course, these are made “en-masse” and pre-packaged, so I doubt they have the quality of yours. I’ve been meaning to try and make one for a while but wasn’t entirely sure how to go about it – I was going to give it a try with a standard sponge cake recipe, but taking out the sugar, so 180g Butter, 180g Flour, 3 Eggs – I can see now that would have been quite disastrous so thanks for enlightening me 😀

    1. Hahaha! You are so funny! I think ready-to-eat savoury cakes are something very recent. The French try to develop their own fast-food, but French dishes (and they are totally right! I prefer to eat a good French, crunchy sandwich from a good baker than a hamburger or even a kebab most often made with no one knows what). Well, I think you would manage to make a savoury cake with your sponge cake recipe, but 180 g sounds like lots of fat… I really recommend fromage blanc. You won’t taste it, but the texture will be as moist and soft as with lots of fat. (Minus the fatty part). By the way, I have recently made a new version which was so good I have decided to post it next week 😉

  3. What an intriguing kek? I’ve never heard of it so I’ll keep an eye out for the new one as well. Baking it in a bread/loaf pan really makes it look like a loaf of bread or a quick bread.

    1. It’s much much lighter than bread and the texture is moist and soft, more like a cake… I have baked it in a ceramic thin and long baking dish (4 cm x 30 cm).

      1. Thank you for clarifying the proportions for me as I couldn’t judge how big it was and really thought it was the size of a regular bread loaf. 🙂

        Could you bake them in individual baking dishes/ramekins?

        1. I should have put a fork or something else to show the size. Of course you can bake it in any size and form you like (I have already made muffins), but you have to bake it for a shorter time of course (I don’t remember how much time, but it depends on the size and the oven).

  5. Wish I saw this earlier, I would have attempted it for dinner. There’s no quark cheese at home but perhaps brie with more milk than suggested should work.
    This seems to be a combination of cheesecake, bread, frittata…It is a brilliant idea. I see myself making lots and freezing slices of it – it will make a quick breakfast, just pop in the toaster.

    1. Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies. It would probably work with brie, but you would have to mix it in a food processor maybe. It does make an excellent breakfast, even straight from the fridge (no not frozen!). The funny side is that you put inside whatever you want.

  6. Ah, love this! For me, it is the quintessential ‘European’ cake. When we visited our relatives in the French countryside, they offered us something very similar…I have such fond memories of it and remember the hostess mentioning that we would find it satisfying without being heavy; which was exactly right. It was also moist and delicious – I can’t figure out why these sorts of breads/cakes are not at all common here. Your recipe sounds so simple too Sissi – what perfect timing to share this with us at the most hectic time of year!

    1. Thank you so much, Kelly. The recipe is very simple indeed. I have never failed it and it doesn’t require any kneading, waiting etc.. I hope you make it one day and maybe it will remind you your holidays in France… You can put practically everything here (unless it’s too soft and might fall into pieces). (By the way, I’m thinking about you because it’s snowing today: a very rare phenomenon in my city).

    1. Thanks, GG. Yes, you can put leftover roast plus some vegetables (but not cooked, otherwise it will be too mushy).

  10. Wow Sissi, a savory cake looks and sounds absolutely delicious to me for some reason! Never had one, but imagine it would be a denser quiche? Oh I am so hungry just looking at the moist cake/ham/cheese combination!

    1. Jeno, thank you for this kind comment. You are right: it’s a bit like a denser quiche without the crust 😉

    1. Nami, I feel honoured to receive such a compliment from my photography idol! I am happy you like the idea of this cake (it’s really foolproof and easy). You are so sweet to visit my blog and comment even while you are on holidays. I really appreciate it and hope you are having fun! (How was the film???)

    1. Thank you, Sportsglutton. Let me know how it turns out. Good luck! (although it’s not necessary: this cake is really easy).

  15. I’ve never seen something like this, Sissi, but it sounds fabulous! I’m always making sweet breads, but I think I need to give the savory ones a try. 😉

  17. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like this, but the moment I saw the pictures I knew I would love to try it. It’s like a complete sandwich in every bite!

    1. Thank you, Jessica. I must check what gibanica is 😉
      As I have written “Quark cheese/fromage blanc is smooth and has a very thick yogurt-like consistency (a bit softer than cream cheese).”, so nothing to do with feta (which is dry). The aim of quark cheese here is to make the cake soft and moist, so feta is definitely not possible. However, you can put it into cubes and delicately stir at the end, treating feta like one of the additions (instead of ham for example). Good luck!

  21. I love savoury bread or ‘cakes’ 😉 much much more than the sweet ones. At first look I thought your cake even had macaroni in it because of the texture, but after I read your post I realised I was totally wrong ;). The ingredients sound very very yummy!

  22. Sissi, I love this savory cake and it would be so perfect for picnics and casual parties, especially football watching! You’ve detailed the recipe and history so well, I’m excited to try it out!

    1. Thank you, Linda. You are right. It’s perfect for picnics. I suppose for football watching too, but I never watch football or any sports 🙁

    1. Hi, Lucinda. I bought it once on sales in a shop called Casa (http://www.casashops.com/index.php?lang=reset). It is a ceramic terrine/pâté dish, used in France to make small pâté en croûte, but it was the first time I saw it (the long and very narrow one). Otherwise when I make a bigger portion I also use a standard shaped terrine dish (in metal, glass or silicone). Maybe try on Amazon?

    2. Wait, I think here I used just a simple pâté/terrine dish in metal (30 cm x 10cm). I’m sure it’s available on amazon.

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