Gâteau d’Alsace by The Careless Cook

 

A Savory Cake from the Alsace Region in France

A cake version of Quiche, with cheese, onion, and bacon

By The Careless Cook

 

For the few who don’t know, Alsace in on the border of eastern France and western Germany.  

Very historic and has been passed around more than a lady of the night with sailors in town.  In the War of 1870, also called the Franco-Prussian War, France invaded Prussia and Prussia not only returned the favor, they kicked some French fanny.  With the Prussian victory, Alsace and parts of Lorraine suddenly become Prussian.  Biggest thing to remember:  As a result of the Prussia victory, the Germanic states united and became Germany!  Yep, Germany as a country is younger than the United States!

Street scene in a town in Alsace

What the heck does that have to do with cooking a savory cake? Alsace and Loraine.   Cuisine! A wonderful mix and match!  And Le Gâteau d’Alsace is a wonderful example. Savory and delicious!

 

Time to git in the kitchen and git cookin’!

 

Gâteau d’Alsace

(My recipe differs slightly from tradition, but so does The Careless Cook!)

 

Ingredients

 

5 tablespoons salted butter, melted

8 oz of either chopped bacon or 2 packages of lardons (bits of either French or Italian fatty ham, available in packets in the deli section of most grocery stores)

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 cup full fat buttermilk

1 good slosh of olive oil, a tablespoon or two

2 large eggs

2 ½ all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder (I don’t measure this exactly.  I prefer to give it my best guess)

¾ teaspoons table salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon, more or less, black pepper

8 oz (2 cups) grated or finely diced baby Swiss cheese. Tastes much like Gruyère cheese at half the cost

Heaping teaspoon Italian seasoning (the only one I use is The Spice Lab’s Italian Rustica.  Far superior. Available on Amazon)

Puttin’ It Together

 

Oven at 350ºF 180ºC

Butter and flour a 12 x 8 Teflon baking pan

 

Fry the lardons in a skillet over low heat and cook until crispy and the fat is rendered.  Takes about 15 minutes.  Scoop them out of the pan and place in a small bowl.  Set aside.

 

Add the onion to the fat in the skillet.  Medium heat.  About 10 minutes or until turning golden.

 

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and pepper.  Stir in the cheese, Italian seasoning, and lardons.  Stirring these  into the flour keeps cheese and lardons from sinking to the bottom of the pan when you bake.

 

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs and melted butter.

 

Important:  USE A SPATULLA (I dip mine in cold water) to blend the buttermilk mixture and flour mixture.  This doesn’t happen immediately, but have faith and stick with it until all is sticky and blended.

 

Scrape the dough into the oil/floured pan.  Smooth it out and bake for 45-50 minute, or until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Wait 10 minute or longer to make sure the cake is cooled enough to be easily removed from the pan.

 

Serve warm.

 

Past time to pour the wine, or if you make this for breakfast, pour a nice cup of café au lait.  You might want to renew you high school French or at least practice the accent.  Zeez is un gateau with zee goo-d fla-vor, n’est pas?  Help your French friends to forget the Franco-Prussian War.  Vive la France!