Almost Turkish Recipes

Savory Spinach and Feta Cake (Ispanaklı ve Beyaz Peynirli Kek)



























In several previous posts I have mentioned the importance of afternoon tea time in Turkey and the snacks that we would have with our tea. This cake is a total green deliciousness that my mom used to make for our lazy afternoon tea hours. Years later during another tea gathering with her friends she learned a recipe for sweet spinach cake (I know it sounds weird, but it doesn't taste anything like spinach. Spinach is there just to make it green and distract the ladies from gossip by causing curiosity for the source of its color), and unfortunately stopped making this one. I never cared much about sweet cakes, so this one is definitely my most favorite green cake.

As you can see from the ingredients, it is a very flexible cake. You can add more herbs or take out the ones you don't like; use feta or grated mozzarella or cheddar; use crushed pepper flakes and make it spicy or very spicy. It's all up to you. Because of the spinach puree and the amount of flour this is a moist, spongy cake, not a dry one.



























serves 6-8 people

1 lb spinach
2 cups flour
1 cup oil (olive, canola, or vegetable; I used half olive and half canola)
3 eggs
1/3 cup Turkish white cheese or feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup black olives, sliced (you can use canned olives but they won't bring any flavor to your cake)
1 green bell pepper or 2 green chili peppers, fınely chopped
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp oregano leaves
1-2 tsp salt (depending on how salt the cheese is)
2 tsp baking powder


























-Put washed spinach in a food processor with a couple of tbsp of olive oil and make into a puree. You should have approximately 2 cups of spinach puree.
-Beat 3 eggs with salt in a mixing bowl until it doubles in volume.
-Add remaining oil, spinach puree, dill, parsley, peppers, green onion, sliced olives, and cheese to eggs and mix with a spoon.
-Add flour and baking powder to this mixture and mix.
-Grease a baking pan, any shape you prefer, with butter. Pour the mixture and bake in a preheated oven at 350-360F for 45-50 minutes. Baking time might vary with different shapes and ovens. Check with a knife or wooden skewer/toothpick.

Wıth all its greenness this is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging that was started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and is now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once, and is hosted this week by Katie of Eat This.

11 comments:

  1. This is so yummy! I have been eating a lot of Turkish food lately (thanks to my friends' family). And I still crave for more!

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  2. That's a really interesting idea! I never think of making savory cakes, but I should try it more often. This one sounds like a good one to start with! Thanks for participating in WHB!

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  3. Hi i love your blog! your recipes are divine. I gave you an award on my blog, go and snatch it! http://rkitchen.blogspot.com

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  4. This savoury spinach cake sounds so good!

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  5. Anonymous11:16 AM

    This is so intriguing. I was wondering if the cake is better cold or warm? Does it keep well? (I'm dreaming of slices of this one in my lunch box..). Thanks!

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  6. Hard to say, Caffetiera, I like it luke warm

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  7. That sounds yummy! You have some amazing recipes on here! Could you give me your mam's recipe for sweet spinach cake, that sounds nice aswell!

    -Ellie @ Mammy Made

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  8. That sounds yummy! You have some amazing recipes on here! Could you give me your mam's recipe for sweet spinach cake, that sounds nice aswell!

    -Ellie @ Mammy Made

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  9. Hello just wondering can you make this with defrosted frozen spinach with the water drained out of it ?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you can. (Sorry for the late response, the system apparently stopped notifying me about new comments)

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