Cheese and onion savoury cake

Inspired by Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake, this cheese and onion savoury cake is filled with cheese, herbs and red onion. It is the perfect elegant yet easy lunch recipe and will make an excellent vegetarian main.

When I first saw Yotam Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake, I was absolutely smitten and I knew I had to make a savoury cake of my own. This is the man who has brought Middle-Eastern flavours and techniques to the forefront and put the focus back on vegetables, and vegetarian cooking, in all its glory.

I was therefore incredibly excited to make this cheese and onion savoury cake because it is the kind of recipe I just love. Simple, packed full of flavour and so moreish, I couldn’t resist seconds.

This savoury cake recipe is pretty much the love child of a quiche and a savoury muffin (and if you love the flavour of cheese souffle, you’ll LOVE this recipe). It is rich yet light and very easy to eat. With a base of creamed cottage cheese, eggs and cheddar cheese, how could it not be?

I added lots of fresh herbs (sage, parsley, chives and thyme) and sautéed red onion for added interest and as I so loved the look of Ottolenghi’s savoury cake topped with onion rings, borrowed the idea. I love how the onions char a little around the edges and add their sweetness to the cake.

I served the savoury cake with a green salad for lunch but it would be equally fantastic as a vegetarian main or as part of a brunch spread. Or sneakily eaten at your kitchen counter because it is just so good. No judgement.

I used Lancewood’s Creamed smooth cottage cheese for the cake and it added such smooth richness. I wanted to demonstrate using their products in a savoury recipe as they are so versatile.

Lancewood has launched the LANCEWOOD Cake-Off^®  competition for home bakers. Bake a creative cake with Lancewood Cheese and you could win a trip to New York! To enter, upload a picture of your cake, your Lancewood Cheese next to it, and your recipe to lancewoodcakeoff.co.za. Finalists will get to Cake-Off LIVE on the Expresso Show.

Recipe submissions will run until Sunday, 20 May 2018. 

Be sure to enter your most beautiful image of your cake (and include the Lancewood packaging in your shot) and get baking! This is one competition you DON’T want to miss out on.

Follow Lancewood on Facebook and Instagram for more info.

Cheese and onion savoury cake

Inspired by Ottolenghi's cauliflower cake, this cheese and onion savoury cake is filled with cheese, herbs and red onion. It is the perfect elegant yet easy lunch recipe and will make an excellent vegetarian main.

4.34 from 6 votes

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Course: Baked goods, Brunch, Cake, Lunch, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Cooling time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 416

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

• 2 250g Lancewood creamed smooth cottage cheese
• 200 g butter, room temperature (approximately 2 sticks)
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups cheddar cheese grated
• ½ cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used thyme, sage, parsley and chives)
• 1 onion (chopped and sauteed)
• 175 g flour (approximately 1¼ cup)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Onion rings to decorate

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC and grease a 20cm springform pan. 
• Cream together the butter and cottage cheese until smooth and pale. 
• Add the eggs, one a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition and mixing well. 
• Add the sauteed onions, cheddar cheese and herbs and mix well. Scrape bowl again. 
• Add the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper and mix until just combined. 
• Transfer batter to prepared cake pan and top with onion rings. 
• Place in the oven and allow to bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. 
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes until warm, but not hot. 
• Slice and serve. 

Nutrition

Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 678mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1105IU | Vitamin C: 2.3mg | Calcium: 261mg | Iron: 1.7mg

This post was sponsored by Lancewood cheese. All opinions, words and images are my own.