Let them eat cake ... for lunch?
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Version 0 of 1. It is a Saturday and the children are hungry. “What’s for lunch?” says my eldest. “Cake,” I reply. She is busy writing a story at the kitchen table and I don’t think she really clocks the word “cake”. The middle child is hovering and also hungry and absolutely does hear what I just said. “Cake, for lunch? Brilliant.” She then skips off to tell her littlest sister that there is cake for lunch. In hurtles the youngest, who is only two. “Cake, me loves cake.” And so it goes. Lunchtime. The cake is in the oven. The children are hungry. In a springform tin lined with parchment that is bronzed and brittle from the cooking time, it looks like a cake, it even smells like a cake. Holding the tin high above their heads, I pop the cake in the middle of the table. “Ta-da! Cake!” I say. From their faces I can see that all three think I’ve gone mad: I never usually serve cake for lunch and maybe this heralds an exciting new order for lunchtimes. Then they spot the broccoli, and confusion descends upon their little faces. I’m smiling as I write this. Firstly, apologies go to both my neighbours on that unusually warm and sunny spring lunchtime. The kitchen door was open and the collective cry of “CAKE? BROCCOLI!” was impressive. I’ve just spent the better half of last year cooking and writing recipes for my new cookbook, and if there’s one thing my three young daughters have come to terms with, it is that I cook – a lot. It is testament to that year of furious cooking on my part and much sampling on theirs, that the cake cry was one of incredulity rather than disgust. I bake plenty of normal cakes and my children surely know it. Sampling, rather then eating, this cake for lunch should be a small price to pay for the countless blackberry yoghurt, cherry-and-coconut and pear-and-almond numbers that come their way. Credit goes to my Kiwi mother-in-law, Mary, for my spate of experimental savoury cake baking. She makes a brilliant version in the summer with courgettes and basil, the top of the cake peppered with scorched and sweet cherry tomatoes. As I watched her make this cake last year when she visited from New Zealand, I realised that the method is very similar to making a cake of the sweet variety: dry ingredients are mixed together with a raising agent, then blended into wet ingredients, and baked until the whole thing holds together and looks lovely. As courgettes aren’t yet in season, and also because mine is a household that seems to chomp through a veritable forest of broccoli every week, I wanted to use Mary’s method, but adapt the ingredients to include our favourite green veg. By boiling the broccoli first, then baking it into the cake with pine nuts, feta, onion and herbs, the broccoli held its own, and combined harmoniously with the other ingredients. Grace, who is eight, said it was the nicest thing I’d ever made. It made for a lunch that was part quiche, part frittata, but nonetheless, categorically cake. I like to give my kids an accompaniment to everything I cook, so I served it with this carrot tzatziki, which squeezes some raw veg and an extra flavour dimension into their lunches.. And delicious it was! Grace, who is eight, said it was the nicest thing I’d ever made. Sliced and popped in a lunchbox, it is welcome respite from slapped-together sandwiches for eating on the hop. Broccoli, feta, red onion and pine nut cake This is a foolproof base recipe, and I would encourage you to add and remove ingredients as you see fit. So, try using a different cheese – goat or even a mild blue, perhaps – or herbs such as dill, and other vegetables, too. Make it your own. Makes 1 large cake200g broccoli, cut into smallish and manageable sized florets 2 small red onions2 tbsp olive oil, for frying½ tbsp chopped rosemary leaves1 tsp picked thyme leaves4 medium eggs120g plain flour1½ tsp baking powder50g cheddar cheese, grated200g feta cheese, crumbled50g pine nutsSalt and black pepper, to taste 1 Boil the broccoli in plenty of water for around 4–6 minutes, or until tender. 2 Peel the onions and take 2 decent-sized rings, 2-3mm thick each, and reserve for the top of the cake. Finely dice the remainder of the onion. 3 Heat the oil in a pan over a moderate heat. Sweat the onions until soft and translucent. Add the rosemary and thyme towards the end of the cooking time and mix well. Leave to cool. 4 Prepare a 25cm round springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the flour, baking powder, grated cheese, crumbled feta, salt and pepper. 5 Add the cooked onion and herbs to the mix. Lastly, add the broccoli and mix to combine. 6 Add the finished mix to the cake tin and arrange the onion rings and the pine nuts on top. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the cake is firm and golden in parts on top. Carrot tzatziki Use as thick a yoghurt as you can find for this rich and chunky dip. Makes around 250ml200ml plain yoghurt1 large carrot, finely sliced or grated 3 spring onions, finely sliced1 small bunch of coriander or mint (about 15g), leaves picked and roughly chopped½ lemon, juiced½ garlic clove, crushed Salt and black pepper, to taste 1 Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and serve. Claire Thomson is author of The 5 O’Clock Apron (Ebury), a book about cooking for kids |