Alsace and Lorraine: Broccoli and Cheddar Cake

This recipe is not really your quintessential dish from Alsace or Lorraine but it is French and it is one of my favorite recipes of all time! And I am totally serious about this one.
I discovered my love of these savory loaves back when I lived in France and I have been producing different renditions of them ever since. This one has been my go to flavor for quite some time now.
I love these cakes because of their versatility. You could take a cake on a camping trip, serve them as hors d'oeuvres, or eat a slice as a light lunch. The opportunities are endless so bare with me as I call it a cake there really is no better word and that is what they call them in France so you just have to go with the flow and enjoy a savory cake for what it is. DELICIOUS.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

2 cups of cheddar cheese

1 small head of broccoli about 2 cups

Pepper to taste

Start by preheating the oven to 355 degrees fahrenheit.  Then in a large mixing bowl whisking eggs, flour baking soda and pepper together. This will form a very thick mixture.

 

Next slowly add the oil while mixing. Warm the milk and then slowly add it to the mixture.

Add your grated cheese and mix it all together.

Meanwhile you should have chopped up the broccoli, using primarily the flowers not the steams, into small pieces. Now add that to the cheesy batter. 

 

Normally this cake is baked in a standard bread tin but sadly mine in falling apart so I opted to bake them in this cool Twinkie pan I have. When you make the cake in a loaf pan I suggest lining it in waxed paper for ease of removal. 

Bake the cakes for 45 minutes in a loaf pan or 20 minutes in a smaller pan similar to the one in this picture.

When the cake is ready it will be golden brown and smell amazing. 

remove from oven let cool and enjoy. Or eat them hot if you can't wait. these cakes are really great when eaten the next day so don't worry if you can't finish it right away! It also means that they are a great snack to make the night before. 

oh yeah! that is the good stuff!

I would like to thank my love of savory cakes to the women who started it all Sophie. She has a book called 'Les Cakes du Sophie' but it is only in French so hopefully my American rendition will keep you satisfied. for now. When you are ready to play with this recipe just remember you can get creative and make almost anything your heart desires.