Alpine cheese and ham loaf (Cake au fromage et jambon des Alpes)

This type of savoury cake has become very popular with French families and is usually served with a green leafy salad.

• makes

  12

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 300 g self-raising flour
• 4 eggs
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) lemon olive oil
• 50 ml thin cream
• 50 ml milk
• freshly ground black pepper
• 15 pitted green olives, each cut into thirds
• 15 pitted black olives, each cut into thirds
• 120 g Beaufort cheese, cut into small cubes
• 100 g Gruyère cheese, cut into small cubes
• 100 g walnut pieces 
• 200 g piece ham, about 1 cm thick, cut into long 1 cm wide strips

Cooling time: 10 minutes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and flour a loaf tin about 25- 28 cm long.

Place the flour, eggs and oil in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the cream and milk and season with pepper. Stir in the olives, cheeses and walnuts.

Spoon one-third of the batter into the prepared tin. Top with half the ham, then another third of the batter followed by the remaining ham. Lastly, spread the remaining batter over the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer withdraws clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve either on its own or with a green salad.

Note

• Take your time to assemble the ingredients attractively in the loaf tin before cooking. It’s worth it. Sometimes I decorate the top of the loaf with extra heart-shaped pieces of Gruyère.

 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.