Cake aux Olives et Jambon: Olive & Ham Loaf!!



I have this wonderful cookbook called PARIS BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries.

I have owned this book for 10 years and have never made a recipe from it!
Instead, I look at the photos of all the AMAZING pastries and artisan breads and drool.

I HAVE used this wonderful book as a guide to visiting the best bakeries while in Paris. I have never been disappointed. We have visited 5 out of the 13 bakeries so far. Hey, there is always next year.

A few months back my friend zen chef at Chefs Gone Wild blog made an interesting olive ham and gruyere loaf (he is French & knows what he is doing). It reminded me of the one we had at the famous STOHRER Patisserie located in the 2e arrondissement in Paris. (click on their website, it is a feast for the eyes).



A bit of history on this bakery:

Stohrer is the oldest bakery in Paris, and the original owner/baker was from Lorainne, France (I will be making a quiche Lorraine this week) back in the 1700's. The murals are gorgeous and were done in 1864 and are beautifully displayed behind gorgeous pastries and cakes. It is worth a visit. The cakes are works of art.

This cake is really a tea bread and is sold primarily on Fridays for Parisians to take to their country homes for the weekends.

Zen chef's recipe is different than the Stohrer recipe, but I liked zen's addition of sun dried tomatoes, so I made the Stohrer recipe but added the sun dried tomatoes.



If you make these in small loaf pans, they would make wonderful holiday gifts.



Cake aux Olives et Jambon: (from the book Paris, Boulangerie, Patisserie)

~ 2 cups minus 2 tbsp of flour
~ 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
~ 1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used a French Cotes de Rhone)
~ 1/2 cup of dry vermouth
~ 4 large eggs, beaten
~ 3/4 cup good olive oil (recipe calls for 200 ml)
~ 1 1/2 cups of chopped ham (I used smoked prosciutto), you can use bacon too
~ 1 1/2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese (I used the good AOC Comte...yummy)
~ 1 cup of green olives, *pitted and chopped roughly (use Lucques or Picholine please)
~ 1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes

* to pit the olives, just whack them with your chef's knife and the pit comes out easily

Oven at 350. Grease an 8 x 4 loaf pan.



Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, wine and vermouth. Mix gently just to incorporate.

Add the olive oil a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing until you have a smooth dough.
Add the ham, cheese, olives and tomatoes, mixing until just incorporated.

Bake about 50-55 minutes. Leave in the pan until cooled, then remove.

C'est magnifique!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Stacey,

That looks absolutely wonderful.
It should be called it a Parisian quiche cake.

I don't know about you, but I am super saturated with sugar and have been since Thanksgiving. This is a delightful alternative to something sweet. Thanks!

♥Rosemary
looks fantastic. i bet bacon in this would be awesome.
I love savory breads. This looks great as a gift. I might try it. My husband loves anything with prosciutto.
Peter M said…
Stace, it reminds of a corn bread and I think this would be nice with a cassolet.
kat said…
The bread sounds wonderful. We aren't planning on going to Paris for two years but Matt has already started drooling over which places he wants to go to for sweets.
Maria said…
Nice savory loaf! Perfect for gift giving...and eating:)
Anonymous said…
I just got distracted looking at the Stohrer site for the last 15 minutes. Gorgeous!
Pam said…
What a tasty bread. I never thought of making a savory loaf before - what a terrific recipe Stacey.
The Food Hunter said…
That looks good. I love olives
Anonymous said…
Mmmmm Stacey! You did a heck of a good job. I could have a thick slice of your cake with a green salad and call it lunch. I love it!

Stohrer is a great pâtisserie, my very first apartment in Paris was rue Montorgueil, very close. Too bad I was too broke to buy Baba au Rhum everyday.

Thanks for the plug! I have to try your version now. :-)
Alexa said…
Il est super ton cake au jambon. ;-) I made something similar for my kids' lunches the other day minus the ham. I made it into muffins. They were delicious. I bet the ham adds a little "je ne sais quoi"...
Anonymous said…
This looks delish, Stacey! I can't bake, but I might be able to pull this off!
Giff said…
This looks great. I remember that loaf from Zen and thinking I needed to try it, but that would require *baking*.

Can I ask how long this took you to put together?
excellent loaf and darius is on to something with the bacon idea...this looks great!
Anonymous said…
How I love olives...let me count the ways...this just looks like something I would love to eat. it's beautiful Stacey....I'm going to try it.
Lori Lynn said…
Hi Stace - this sounds great for brunch. I'll take savory over sweet anytime.
Oh the mural is beautiful, definitely on my list of places to visit...looking forward to your quiche!
Ahhh, Maybe one day I'll be in Parie' But until then, I can close my eyes and invision this patisserie, while taking in the flavors of this loaf!!
Jill said…
I agree with Darius...or maybe pancetta instead of bacon. God, I'm hungry!
Oh, I love moist savory cakes like this, Stacey. They're so good for an appetizer or a snack or alongside soup.
W.B. said…
Thanks, Stacey. Love the history of the Parisian bakery and the tip about giving this as a holiday gift. I have one last remaining person on my list and I'm going to make this for them!

Cheers,
Will
www.recipeplay.com