This is an absolute favourite recipe in our home, perfect for entertaining but simple enough for a special weeknight meal. The recipe has been slightly adapted from Yotam Ottalenghi’s cauliflower cake in Plenty More.
Cauliflower cake
Adapted from the cauliflower cake in Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty More, this recipe surprises and delights guests at dinner parties but also works very well as a light meal when served with a fresh salad.
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower broken into florets and steamed until tender (about 5 minutes in the microwave)
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 red onion chopped, keeping aside a few onion rings for decorating the cake
- olive or canola oil spray for frying onions
- 1 sprig of rosemary leaves removed and roughly chopped
- 1 handful fresh herbs (oregano or basil work well) washed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup self-raising flour
- 2 tsp turmeric this gives the cake a beautiful color
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 6 large eggs
- 1/4 cup plain yoghurt or milk you might need slightly more or less, see instructions
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp nigella seeds not essential, for decorating. Black sesame seeds will also work.
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, to top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190 C.
- Fry the onions, garlic and rosemary in a non-stick pan using cooking spray. Add small splashes of water to the pan if needed to prevent sticking.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, eggs, turmeric, fresh herbs, and 1 tsp salt together in a bowl. Add enough yoghurt / milk to make the mixture the consistency of a runny batter. If in doubt, make it slightly thinner rather than slightly thicker – you don’t want the end result dry.
- Add the cooked onion and steamed cauliflower to the batter and mix to combine.
- Transfer to a prepared baking dish of choice. A round dish works well. I line the dish with tinfoil or baking paper to make removing the cake easier.
- Top with Parmesan cheese, sesame and nigella seeds, and then the reserved onion rings.
- Bake for approximately 45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. For a cheat version, you could bake it in the microwave for about 10 minutes if you are short on time.
- Let the cake stand for about 20 minutes before serving with a fresh salad. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutritional information per portion (1/4 of the recipe, a very generous slice): 283 kcal, 11.4g fat, 28.2g carbohydrate, 6.3g fiber, 20.1g protein.
If served as a side dish at a dinner party, it could serve up to 8.