Crumbs of Comfort
What's in a Cake Salé?
Recently, I scrolled past the image of a cake baked by Felicity Spector. The cake that caught my eye was an orange cake from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan. It looked beautiful, but Felicity said in the post that she accidentally omitted an ingredient because she was tired after returning from Kyiv.
Felicity has a day job in a newsroom and lately has been spending a lot of time in Kyiv.
But still, she baked. I reached out to let her know I was impressed. Her reply was that, yes, she was tired, but during the long journey back from Kyiv to London, all she could think about was cake.
I’m home, I’m overwhelmed; she’s out there, she bakes. I know we are not supposed to compare but her dedication to baking—despite it all—tells me something fundamental about the comfort found in a kitchen. World events swirl like a storm, but there’s quiet solace in pulling ingredients from cupboards, rhythmically stirring a batter, filling a home with wonderful aromas.
Cake in French
I like how she thinks. But when thinking about cake from the lens of a French kitchen, I do not see something sweet or multi-layered and thickly frosted. I see something golden brown in a loaf tin, and it is savoury.
When you say ‘cake’ to a French speaker, they will be seeing cake salé which is a savoury loaf-shaped cake, served in bite-size cubes to accompany before-dinner drinks.
Many food writers who lean towards France have recipes for Cake Salé. Melissa Clark included a classic ham and cheese recipe in her book « Dinner in French ».
Dorie Greenspan has a few; one is here on Substack for paid subscribers. Idem David Lebovitz which includes his trademark amusing banter, nice ingredient ideas, and a handy pronunciation guide (kek is how to say cake in French); so many reasons to love David. He also gives US measures, which I do not. I advocate fiercely for digital scales and metric in the kitchen.
Saveur magazine has an online article by Emily Monaco, fully dedicated to all things cake salé and it is a great read for a real deep dive, plus a recipe.
Even Ottolenghi has a cake salé recipe, though he doesn’t call it that. I’m calling it that. It is very very good but elaborate, and quite a departure from the standard apéro cake. Molly J Wilks has one, Rebekah Peppler too. Links, where I can find them, will be at the end.
Understanding Cake Salé
What is this thing? Cake salé is essentially a basic template for a savoury batter, always including a neutral cheese like Gruyère, to which different ingredients are added to make it taste like something. Almost like a cheese scone or a buttermilk biscuit, but less crumbly.
This is not fancy French cooking. It’s quintessentially homemade and rarely, if never, found in boulangeries or supermarkets outside big cities.
The exception, there is always one, is the French chain of frozen food stores, Picard. The flavours are great, but what I like most is that theirs are baked in long, thin loaf pans rather than the usual bread tin. Shape is everything with a cake salé because the browned and slightly crispier crust is the best part; therefore, you want a lot of it. Hence, mini loaf pans or a long, skinny pan will enhance the recipe. Plus, you can easily get bite-sized slices.
The classic recipe includes ham and cheese and often olives. Hard to imagine leaving them out because olives add a pleasing, briny note and look nice when you get a cross-section of olive in your slice of cake. My preference is always green olives, pitted, but use what you like. Tuna is another popular flavour. Suspend your disbelief for this one because, as 50s Dinner Party as Tuna Loaf may sound, it is really quite nice as a cake salé.
My recipe below derives from the basic cake salé found on the Marmiton website. I love the Marmiton website because if I ever want a mirror into the soul of French home cooks, I find it there. And this is where I found the cake salé au thon reminder.
Most of the recipes called for 3 and sometimes 4 eggs. The egg count felt excessive in the current climate, so I opted for the classic swap of 1 egg = 65 g yoghurt = 1/4 cup to get the egg count down.
Because it travels well, picnics are another occasion to whip out the kek. I will be packing one in the food bag for the upcoming drive down to the French house and it will probably be the Tuna. Seriously, it was fab. It was especially good spread with cream cheese. Spreadable goat's cheese would have been nice too, if I had any.
Please do not feel obliged to go out and buy stuff special. Cake salé is everyday fare and I feel its purpose, besides cushioning the effects of the apéro, is as a vehicle for using up that last slice or two of ham, the ends of the cheese, the single courgette, the remaining baking walnuts, the last few roast red peppers from the jar, the single surviving spoonful of tapenade, etc etc etc.
* * *
Felicity’s exhaustion cake truly inspired me. Confronted with overwhelm, the process of baking soothes—even washing dishes becomes contentment: soap bubbles between fingers, the methodical wiping of counters, the satisfying sweep of scattered crumbs. These ordinary acts become extraordinary anchors.
So here I am, in my kitchen at 10 PM on a Tuesday, covered in flour, testing recipes for cake salé. Felicity covers war zones and then goes home and bakes an orange cake. I read the news and end up raiding the fridge to see what I can add to the mixing bowl. But I think I get it. I’m seeking comfort in a familiar routine because the enormous feels too enormous. The news is still terrible. I want to know, but for now, I tune out. For a short time, I want to be in the sanctuary of my kitchen, reaching for the flour, channelling Felicity’s determination to create something that smells and tastes good, despite it all.
It’s not because I think cake salé will save the world, but in the quiet moments of lining my loaf pan, there is respite. And honestly? That’s good enough for now.
Any questions, ask me in the comments or put them on Notes. Likewise, ideas for flavourings, or swaps—there are so so many, please share yours.
If you enjoy reading this please could you kindly pause to hit the ❤️ at the top left or bottom of this post? It helps in the substack scheme of things, plus I’m not above feeling good when I get positive feedback. Laura xo
Cake Salé Base Recipe
For 1 loaf pan: 23L x 9W x 6.5D cm
200g flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
70 ml oil
125 ml milk
2 eggs
65 g plain yogurt
100g cheese, cubed or grated
Fresh ground black pepper
Flavourings
Ham, Cheese & Olive
1 tsp dried thyme
1 heaped tbsp coarse-grain mustard
100g pitted olives, plus a few to decorate
60 g ham, cubed or finely chopped
Extra grated cheese, to decorate
Tuna, Lemon & Chilli
1 200g tin tuna, drained and flaked
Big handful chopped celery branch with leaves
Big handful chopped fresh herbs: parsley or chives, or both
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
1-2 tbsp chopped deseeded red chilli, fresh or frozen
Grated Parmesan and small lemon pieces, to decorate
Method
Line the loaf pan with baking parchment, or grease it. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
In a big bowl, combine all the dry base ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt. If your Flavouring mix has any dry ingredients, like spices, add these now. Mix well, with a fork or wooden spoon. Don’t use a whisk, the mixture will gunk up inside and it’s a mess.
Make a well and add in the eggs, followed by all the wet ingredients: oil, milk, salt, yogurt and cheese. Mix well.
Add in everything else that is outstanding from your chosen flavouring, except any bits to use for decorating the top and mix to incorporate.
Transfer to the prepared pan, smooth the top and add a line of a few olives, or a few little lemon pieces down the top, then cover with a generous coating of grated cheese. Add a generous grind of black pepper, if you like.
Bake until well browned and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and tip out of the pan. Place on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.
Links
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/savory-gruyere-bread-with-ham-melissa-clark
https://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_base-cake-sale-et-differentes-garnitures_223949.aspx
https://www.mollyjwilk.com/cake-sale/
Laura, I am so happy to have discovered your lovely newsletter - yes, better late than never. And I'm with you - Felicity Spector is extraordinary. She covers a war zone and then bakes - "exhaustion baking" indeed. So looking forward to reading you regularly - xoD
I can’t wait to try this recipe, thank you for sharing!