After my mother’s passing, her best friends became my best friends. Though I wish it was under different circumstances, I am glad I have them in my life. Sevil is one of those friends, and she is very near and dear to me. Though she lives in Turkey, she and I regularly have coffee dates over Skype, where we almost always talk about food and recipes. Lucky for me, she is one of the best home cooks I know, and she is always available to help when I am in need.
Table of Contents
This Savory Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olive Cake recipe belongs to her. It is one of her signature dishes that you can almost always find in her kitchen. I can even say that the smell of this cake while it is baking is the smell that welcomes you when you visit her house. However, for me, it is the smell of my childhood years spent with accompanying my mother to afternoon teatime gatherings with her friends.
I love this cake, not only because it reminds me back home, but also because it embodies the characteristics of a true Mediterranean savory teatime cake. If you have ever visited a country from that region, you would know how much they love a cup of afternoon tea accompanied with a savory (or sweet) cake.
Growing up in Turkey, we were no different. Even at school, they would feed us with something similar as an afternoon snack.
Making it is rather easy and quick. All you have to do is to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together, add feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and fresh herbs, place it in an ovenproof dish, and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. After baking it in a low-heat setting for 45-55 minutes, you end up with a classic Mediterranean treat.
Here, I must mention that even though it is still a moist cake, it has more of a dense texture than a fluffy one. It is incredibly delicious after it comes out of the oven. And if you keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, it keeps its freshness for at least 3 days.
After those 3 days, if you still have some leftovers, you can also cut it into small cubes and freeze them to use as croutons. When ready to use, simply place them on a baking sheet, bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, and add it as a garnish to soups.
It goes especially great with soups that have tomato as basis. I think, using it as croutons is such an easy way to give a Mediterranean twist to an otherwise ordinary soup.
Savory Feta Cheese and Kalamata Olive Cake
Ingredients
- 8.8 ounces all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt *
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley and/or dill, chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
- 4 stalks scallions, both green and white parts chopped
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup yogurt, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup olive oil Vegetable spray
- 1 tablespoon black and white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray an 8X11 oven-proof casserole dish with vegetable spray. Set aside.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Mix feta cheese, fresh parsley, olives, and scallions in a bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs, whole milk, yogurt, and olive oil in a bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the egg mixture (we’ll use this to glaze the top of the cake later.).
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined.
- Fold in the feta cheese mixture while making sure that it is equally distributed within the dough.
- Transfer the mixture into the casserole dish. Equally spread the reserved 3 tablespoons of the egg mixture on top. Sprinkle it with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated 350 degrees oven. And then turn down the heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with no crumbs.
- Allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Question, recipe calls for 1/2 cup parsley and dill. Is this 1/2 cup each or 1/2 cup combined? I’m assuming 1/2 cup each.
Hi Rizan,
It is 1/2 cup of chopped dill or parsley. However, I don’t think that it would be an issue if you used 1/2 cup of each. I personally think that the more fresh herbs the better so feel free to use 1/2 cup of each.
I hope this helps.
too good to resist the product
i am from cypriot turkish background cant wait to try this recipe thank you…
While making this I realised that “1 cup of flour = 4.5 ounces” but you wrote “1 cup + 2 tbsp = 8.8 ounces”. Did you mean to write 2 cups + 2 tbsp? I used that amount and not 1 cup + 2 tbsp as with the latter the batter was too wet. Apart from this mix up the cake turned out great, I love the feta and Kalamata olive combination!
Dear Jade,
As a food blogger there is nothing more embarrassing than making errors when writing recipes. When it comes to baking I use a scale and then while writing the recipe I convert it to cups. This was an error on my part. It was supposed to be 8.8 ounces, which is 1 (5 ounces) + 3/4 cups (3.8 ounces). I made the correction. I am very sorry for the error.
Still, I am glad it came out great.
Thank you for letting me know.
I really appreciate it.
i just made this and its baking in the oven as I speak. I was wondering though, why is the recipe kind of different than the pictures. I see a dough but what I got was a batter, also, there are three eggs when the recipe asked for two. I hope it turns well though! just curious! 🙂
Hi Asma,
Thank you for reaching out. The original recipe was a little different that the current one. After I received an e-mail from a regular reader of my blog saying that she had problems with this recipe I had to make some changes to it.
This new version is slightly different than the original recipe. One of the changes I had to make was to use less eggs and no butter.I like this version much better because it is much lighter.
In terms of batter vs dough: the mixture is more like a tough batter, but I guess in the photographs it looks like a dough.
I hope it turned out well. I would love to know if you liked it..
Cheers!
Aysegul ben bunu denedim ama ne keke ne ekmege benzemedi. Ortasi kalip gibi oldu. Bir daha sefere bu hamurla pogaca deneyecegim. Just letting you know.
Merhaba..
Haber verdiginiz icin tesekkur ederim. Bu hafta sonu bu tarifi bir daha deneyecegim ve gerekli degisiklikleri yapacagim..
This cake carries true Mediterranean flavors. The perfect savory bite next to a morning cup of tea. We’ll done!
Hi Suzy,
You are so true. Feta, olives, and parsley.. Smells and tastes of home.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
Cheers!
Ice
I made this today and it’s wonderful! Thank you so much.
Hi Amy,
I am so glad to hear that it turned out well.
Thank you so much for letting me know.
Cheers!
Ice
This savory cake looks absolutely stunning, Ice! I really love these kind of cakes which are regularly served in the Mediterranean area. Now, thanks to you and Sevil, I can make one myself. Thanks for sharing!
Awww that is so sweet.. Thank you Sini!