Olive, Cheese And Bacon Cake For The Aperitive

The apéritif is a special tradition for French people, a moment to sit down alone or with friends and family to enjoy a drink and a little snack to build some appetite before one of the main meals. Remember to involve your kids too, they love these moments and little traditions, pour them a glass of juice and make them part of it. Some of my best memories as a child are in front of these "French tapas" listening to the grown ups chatting.

In this recipe, I will show you how to bake one of my all time favorite apéritif item, a savory cake which we call "Cake aux olives". Ideally, you would pair this olive, cheese and bacon loaf with champagne or white wine.

Olive and bacon cake ready to be served for the aperitive

Preparation time: 10 minutes to mix your ingredients and 45 minutes to bake in the oven.

Ingredients for your olive and bacon cake:

The quantities have been also converted in red color to make it easier for my North American friends.

• 3 eggs

• 10cl of milk [or 1/3 of a cup]

• 10cl of olive oil [or 1/3 of a cup]

• 100g of shredded cheese, preferably Emmental or Swiss [or 3,5 ounces]

• 150g of pitted green olives [or 5,5 ounces]

• 100g of lardons [or 3,5 ounces] (thick dices of bacon, chorizo would do too)

• 180g of flour [or 1 and half cup]

• 1 and half bag of dried baker's yeast which is approx. 10g [or 1 and a half table spoon]

• A pinch of salt

• A generous pinch of black pepper

Step 1 - Fry your bacon

In a hot pan, fry your lardons (thick bacon dices) until crispy. I personally like to mix half bacon and half chorizo dices.

Once golden crispy, remove your lardons from the pan and let them rest on a paper towel to remove the cooking fat.

Step 2 - Mix your cake batter

In a large bowl, mix together the following ingredients (in that order):

• 180g of flour [or 1 and half cup]

• Pinch of salt

• Generous pinch of black pepper

• 1 and half bag of baking powder [or 1 and a half table spoon]

• 3 eggs

• 10cl of milk [or 1/3 of a cup]

• 10cl of olive oil [or 1/3 of a cup]

Mix the cake batter until smooth.

You can now add the rest of the ingredients:

• 150g of pitted green olives [or 5,5 ounces]

• The fried lardons

• 100g of shredded cheese [or 3,5 ounces]

Mix all your olive and bacon cake ingredients together in a large bowl

Step 3 - Pour your cake mix in the the cake mold

You will need a rectangular cake mold for this recipe. It could be made of silicone or non-stick metal. Make sure to cover the surface of the mold with a little bit of butter going from bottom to top, it will help the cake rise.

Step 4 - Baking your olive, cheese and bacon cake

1. Preheat your oven at 200 C (390 F) for at least 10 minutes

2. Bake your cake for 45 to 50 minutes

Make sure it is well cooked and serve

To make sure your cake is ready, put the blade of a clean knife and "dip" it in the cake, through the crust. If the blade comes out clean and without raw dough on it, your cake is ready.

Let the cake rest for 15 minutes before serving it. Open a bottle of chilled wine, maybe throw a few slices of cold cuts on a small plate, a few cubes of cheese and you have the perfect French apéritif in front of you.

Enjoy, bon appétit!