My Cauliflower ‘Cake’ – Low Carb Healthy Fat

I love this interesting ‘cake’.  It is my low carb healthy fat adaption of the Cauliflower Cake in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book, Plenty More. Hopefully, you will love it, as it is very attractive, colourful, unusual and delicious.  Serve it as an appetiser with the glass of wine before dinner or as a lunch dish with a fresh salad.

I don’t really think of ‘cake’ as savoury, but I now make quite a few. It was a few years ago, when staying with friends at the Domaine de L’Oiseau in Gergy, near Beaune, in Burgundy, my friend Dominique served as a vegetable cake as an appetiser with our before-dinner drinks.  It was quite a revelation and I loved it.  Now, I make that ‘cake’ frequently for the class morning tea in my French Odyssey cooking classes.  Dominique’s cake is made with red and green capsicums, onions, Comté cheese, feta cheese and black olives.  I will share that recipe another time.

If you wanted to make this into a Cauliflower Frittata, omit the coconut flour and reduce eggs from 8 to 7, plus add 10oml cream.
Serves 4 – 6

Preheat oven to 180℃
Place a baking tray in the middle of the oven and prepare the cake.
To steam the cauliflower: place the cauliflower florets in the steamer basket, sprinkle with some sea salt, cover with the steamer lid, and place over your wok, filled half-way with water.  Bring to the water to a simmer and steam the cauliflower until the florets are just soft, about 15 minutes. They should break when pressed with a spoon. Drain and set aside to dry and cool.
For the onion rings: cut 4 round slices, each 0.5cm thick, from one end of the red onion and set aside. Dice the rest of the onion and place in a small frying pan with the 75ml of olive oil, 20 grams butter and the finely chopped rosemary leaves. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Line the cake tin: meanwhile, line the base and sides of a 24cm springform pan or pie dish with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter, then mix together the sesame and other seeds and toss them around the inside of the pan so that they stick to the sides. Any loose seeds, add to the mixture.
For the filling: transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs and basil and whisk well to combine. Add the cheese, the coconut flour, baking powder, turmeric, a teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper. Stir gently until smooth. Add the 25ml of extra olive oil; it is a very thick mixture,. Add the cauliflower and stir gently to incorporate, trying not to break up the florets.
Spoon the cauliflower mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly, and arrange the reserved onion rings on top. Bake until golden brown and set, about 45 minutes. A knife inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving. It needs to be served just warm, rather than hot, or at room temperature.
Serve with pre-dinner drinks or as an entrée with a fresh, green salad or my red cabbage salad.
Baking pan options: If you don’t have a springform pan, you can just use a pie dish,  or a cake pan or even a 20cm square pan.  I have also used small individual pudding tins and they look fabulous as you can see from the photos here.  Always butter the tins and line with baking paper first, then butter again and sprinkle in the seeds to cover the base and sides.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.