--- Discover two sensational savoury cakes and more in , Mondays 7.30pm on SBS Food and then SBS On Demand ---
Sometimes dishes don't end up the way you'd planned - and that can mean a glorious invention. Such is the case with the BOSH! magnificent mezze cake, a multi-layered 'cake' full of the flavours of the Middle East.
"We’ll let you into a secret: the mezze cake started out as a lasagne! Our first idea was to create a delicious mezze lasagne, but when we laid all the ingredients out we realised that it would be too big. So we looked at the baking tins we had in the cupboard and pulled out a springform cake tin… and it was the perfect thing to use!," comes the answer from Ian Theasby and Henry Firth, when SBS Food checks in with the duo behind the BOSH! website and YouTube channel about how they came to invent this recipe.
The mezze cake is one of the stars of Living on the Veg, the duo's new television series, along with another savoury cake - this one inspired by a burrito.
"The mezze cake was a huge success on social media, so we thought it would be rude not to make another savoury cake – and that’s when the burrito cake was born!"
The cake takes on a whole new life when you look at it from the savoury side. Inspired by the BOSH! duo's inventions, here are some of our favourite savoury cake recipes.
Let's kick off with that almost-was-a-lasagne cake from the Bosh! duo. In Living on the Veg, Theasby describes this as "a mountain of falafel, flatbread, hummus, spices, and much, much more". There's quite a lot of "more", including sun-dried tomato, zucchini, eggplant, artichokes, babaganoush, tapenade and rice. It's layer upon layer of flavour!
Mezze cake Source: HQ Non Fiction
"This type of savoury cake has become very popular with French families and is usually served with a green leafy salad," says Gabriel Gaté of his cake au fromage et jambon des Alpes. The cake is studded with two types of cheese, black and green olives, walnuts and ham. "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," he says.
Alpine cheese and ham loaf (Cake au fromage et jambon des Alpes) Source: Taste le Tour with Gabriel Gaté
"This savoury cake is spongy, crispy on the edges and replete with the textures of the vegetables. It is light and satisfying, easy to make and takes care of itself in the oven," says Anjum Anand of her simplified version of a Gujarati recipe. You can switch up the vegetables to suit whatever you have in the fridge or freezer.
Savoury semolina cake Source: Indian Food Made Easy
"A giant burrito, wrapped up warm then baked in a saucepan = the most amazing sharing platter you ever had!" is how the BOSH! duo describe this "cake". Rice, sweet potato, capsicum, onion, cherry tomatoes and dairy-free cheese are wrapped up in tortillas in this clever creation from the vegan duo.
Giant burrito cake Source: Bosh!
A favourite at Swedish celebrations, this version of the classic smörgåstårta is made with layers of bread, smoked salmon, egg salad and cucumber, covered with cream cheese and sour cream "icing".
Smörgåstårta (Swedish sandwich cake) Source: Andy Baker
It's more like a tart, but the name means onion cake, so this German bake wins a spot on our list!
Onion cake (zwiebelkuchen) Source: Feast / Anson Smart
And a sweet bonus...
We couldn't talk about vegetables in cake without including a carrot cake. There's not just carrot but zucchini too in light and lovely slab cake (and good news if you can't have gluten - it's gluten-free, too).
There's plenty more in our , including a carrot and beetroot cake, a masala chai carrot cake and several classic carrot cakes with cream cheese frosting.
Gluten-free carrot and zucchini slab cake Source: Lyndey Milan's Baking Secrets
