Cake salé | French Savory Cake Recipe

Cake salé translates as salted cake, which is a savory cake with added ingredients such as vegetables, meat, cheese, nuts etc. Savory cakes are very popular in France, everyone has its own version and makes them in small bites for appetizers with drinks. 

What is a Savory Cake (Cake Salé)?

A cake salé translates to “salty cake” in French (salé meaning “salty” and cake meaning “cake”). It’s a savory dish baked in a loaf pan, often made with ingredients like cheese, vegetables, and meat. Unlike traditional sweet cakes, this is more of a savory snack or meal.

The term cake salé is used to distinguish it from sweet cakes, emphasizing that it’s a non-sweet version. It’s somewhat similar in taste to a quiche but differs in texture. While quiche features a crisp tart crust and creamy filling, a cake salé has a texture that falls somewhere between a pound cake and a Japanese-style rolled omelet.

Much like a quiche, a cake salé is versatile and works well for brunch, a light lunch, or as a snack to pair with drinks. It’s particularly handy to have a loaf baked ahead of time. In France, where savory snacks like Japanese rice crackers are less common, a cake salé is a great alternative for satisfying small hunger pangs.

Why Make a Cake Salé?

A cake salé is simpler to prepare than a quiche. While quiches require making and lining a tart crust and preparing a separate filling, a cake salé involves just mixing the ingredients and baking them in one go. If you bake it in a muffin tin, it becomes even more convenient—like individual servings you can easily grab and eat, store, or take on the go.

How to Make a Cake Salé

The basic batter includes eggs, olive oil (or butter), milk, and flour. From there, you can add your choice of fillings.

For this recipe, I used olive oil for the base, onions for flavor, and bell peppers in green, yellow, and red for a colorful touch.

(Though the colors turned out great, my kids weren’t too thrilled about the vegetables. For a kid-friendly version, try adding bacon or ham along with the veggies—it’ll make it more appealing to them!)

Cheese Choices for a Cake Salé

You can use a variety of cheeses for your cake salé:

• Grated hard cheeses like Parmesan, Gruyère, Gouda, or Emmental can be mixed into the batter to enhance the overall flavor.

• Softer cheeses like Camembert or cream cheese can be added as chunks for a flavorful surprise.

In this recipe, Parmesan cheese worked wonders as the key ingredient. Since I skipped adding meat, the batter leaned towards a lighter taste, but the Parmesan brought depth and a balanced richness to the dish.

Fillings and Combinations

The beauty of a cake salé lies in its versatility—you can use almost any ingredients you like. Cheese, however, is essential for adding depth and cohesiveness to the flavors. Experiment with different combinations of cheese and fillings to discover what works best for you.

Cake salé | French Savory Cake Recipe

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4.5 from 13 reviews

• Author: Chicca Food
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

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Description

Cake salé translates as salted cake, which is a savory cake with added ingredients such as vegetables, meat, cheese, nuts etc. Savory cakes are very popular in France, everyone has its own version and makes them in small bites for appetizers with drinks. 

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Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

Dough

• 3 eggs
• a pinch of pepper
• 50 g parmesan cheese, grated
• 70 ml olive oil, extra virgin
• 70 ml milk
• 150 g cake flour
• ½ tbsp baking powder

Fillings

• ½ piece (50g) onion, diced
• ½ piece (50g) red bell pepper, diced
• ½ piece (50g) yellow bell pepper, diced
• ½ piece (50g) green bell pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin

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Instructions

1. Line a 8-inch(20cm) loaf pan with baking paper. 
2. Preheat oven to 175°C | 350°F.

Fillings

1. Cut onion and belle peppers into small dice.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. 
3. Add vegetables and saute 5 minutes. Set aside.

Dough

1. In a large bowl, add eggs, pepper and grated parmesan cheese and stir well.
2. Add olive oil and milk and stir well.
3. Put sifted flour and baking powder. Stir mixture until smooth.
4. Add sauteed vegetables into the dough. Gently fold vegetables into the dough until just combined.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 35-40 minutes.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Inactive Time: 0 hours
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Aperitif
• Cuisine: french

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 grams
• Calories: 218
• Sugar: 1
• Sodium: 237
• Fat: 14
• Saturated Fat: 3
• Unsaturated Fat: 10
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 17
• Fiber: 1
• Protein: 7
• Cholesterol: 76