Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Cake And Apple Pear Crumble With Creamy Cider Syrup
I just have to say what a lifesaver it has been to have the guest posts. I have been so extremely busy I really haven’t cooked much of anything and most of what I have cooked is not noteworthy enough to blog about. Thank you so much to everyone who has submitted guest posts, you truly are amazing. I also have been delinquent in reading and commenting on your blogs. I will not be able to catch up there are just too many, once Halloween is done I should be able to breathe and get back to my routine.
Searching through the hundreds of cookbooks I have (and rarely use) I happened upon this recipe from “Plenty More” by Yotam Ottolenghi. Since my latests obsession is cauliflower this immediately grabbed my attention, the list of ingredients sounds delicious, I decided this is a recipe I have to try. It does contain some flour, one cup of all purpose flour but I subbed spelt flour making it lower in carbs and more healthful. It’s a simple recipe, easy to put together and with my current crazy busy schedule this was a must. I really do love Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, the photo’s are drool worthy and recipes are not complex they use simple ingredients but how they put it all together is genius.
Cauliflower Cake
from Plenty More- Yotam Ottolenghi
Serves 6-8
1 small head cauliflower broken into 1 1/2 inch florets
1 medium onion (recipe calls for a red onion)
5 tbs olive oil (I didn’t measure)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
7 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup all purpose flour (I used spelt flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan or your favorite grating cheese
melted butter for brushing – about 1 tbs
1 tbs white sesame seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds (I misplaced them so just used sesame)
salt and pepper to taste
Pre heat oven to 400 degree’s
Place cauliflower florets in saucepan filled with salted water, simmer for 15 minutes until the florets are quite soft, they should break when pressed with a spoon. Drain and set aside in a colander.
Cut 4 round slices approximately 1/4 inch thick from one end of the onion and set aside. Coursely chop the rest of the onion and place in a pan with some olive oil and the rosemary. Cook for 1o minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the onions to a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and basil and whisk well, then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, cheese and 1 tsp salt (I used less salt) and plenty of ground pepper stir to combine and add the cauliflower stirring gently so as not to break up the florets.
Line the base and sides of a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter then mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them in the pan and swirl the pan around so that the seeds stick to the buttered sides. Pour the cauliflower mixture in the pan smooth the top and arrange the onion rings on top ( I sprinkled some of the grated cheese on top as well). Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and set. A knife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving. It should be served warm or at room temperature rather than hot.
For Dessert was an apple Pear crumble using no refined sugar and almost no flour. To sweeten the fruit and crumble I used a little bit of maple syrup and served it with a creamy cider reduction, again made completely without sugar. The natural sweetness of the cider when cooked down into a syrup is intensely sweet, I softened it with a little heavy cream (to make even more decadent you could add a little butter also) and the end product was amazing on this simple crumble. The cider syrup would be great on oatmeal, pancakes or waffles also, instead of adding cream just add a little butter.
This dessert is great and you don’t feel badly eating it, you could even use a little less maple syrup because the cider syrup is sweet enough that you would never know that this is not loaded with sugar.
Apple Pear Crumble
Made 2
Crumble topping
1/4 cup whole oats
1/4 cup spelt flour
2 tbs toasted hazelnut flour (or any nut flour)
pinch of salt
2 tbs softened (not melted) coconut oil
1 tbs cold butter
2 tbs maple syrup
Mix everything together with your fingers until it is blended completely (it will look more like a cookie dough). Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s
2 -3 apples (if you don’t have pear use 3 apples)
1 ripe pear
1 tbs maple syrup
pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
Peel and slice the apples and pears. Oil or butter the baking dish, mix the fruit with the maple syrup, spices and salt, lay the fruit in the pan. Add the crumble topping and pour a little apple cider over it. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crumble is browned and fruit is soft. Note: The crumble topping was patted into place rather than dropping in crumbles, after baking I broke it up kind of like a cookie crust.
Creamy Cider Syrup
Apple cider
Heavy cream
Pour about 1 cup cider in saucepan over medium high heat until reduced to a very thick syrup, it took about 20 minutes. One cup of cider reduced to about 1/4 cup of syrup. The more cider you use the longer it will take to reduce of course. One cup of cider in a saucepan took a little over 20 minutes on medium high heat.
Add some heavy cream about 2 tbs and continue to cook another 30 seconds approximately. The sauce will be thick.
Spoon over the crumble and enjoy.
A cauliflower kick? Could be worse you know (I loveeee cauliflower!). A fall crisp is so delicious too. Have a good weekend coming up Suzanne! xo
Nothing wrong with cauliflower obsession at all, thank you so so much!!
LOL-ENJOY! XO
So many tasty ideas – and so beautiful ! thank you, dear Suzanne 🙂
I did not know the reduced cider cream … wonderful with or without cream certainly. So creative ! amitiés et bises de france 🙂
Many thanks France, the cider syrup or cream is wonderful, so sweet and natural. Merci Merci amités et bises mon ami!!
Absolutely gorgeous Suzanne! I’m pinning your cauliflower cake- looks just like the cookbook photo too. Impressive! 🙂
Thank you so much Josette, it’s such a great cake, the flavor is wonderful love Ottolenghi.
Suzanne, hang in there — it ought to stop at some point! I feel your pain. The cake is absolutely divine, looks better than Ottolenghi’s. Plenty More is the only Ottolenghi’s book I do not have and I am so going to get it now.
Thank you Aleksandra, I feel pulled in so many directions right now balance is hard to find. Thank you and I hope to make your focaccia once things settle down a bit.
That cauliflower cake is just gorgeous and sounds delicious, and a crumble is definitely my dessert of choice.
Thanks Julie can’t go wrong with Ottolenghi or an apple dessert thanks so much.
What a great post Suzanne, it all looks delicious and healthy. I have some apples and I am tempted to turn them into your crumble. Hugs !
Thank you so much Gerlinde the crumble is delicious I hope you like it. I am tweaking the crumble recipe to make into a press in tart crust we will see how it comes out. Thank you so much!
Hi Suzanne, I have this thing I call ‘The Quest To Enjoy Cauliflower.’ I don’t mind eating it raw, or in a soup – cooked any other way on the other hand is a challenge. This really looks like a tasty way to eat cauliflower cake style. Love that crumble as well…and the syrup YUM! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you Eartha, I think cauliflower is one of those vegetables that has people divided as to which side they are in the lovers and hater or dislikers. I am in the lovers camp and whether raw or cooked it’s all good to me. This cake is full of flavor and delicious, the cauliflower is chameleon like taking on the flavors of the other ingredients. Thank you so much and have a great day!!
This sounds delicious and what a beautiful presentation as well. Thanks for sharing! Saving … 🙂
Thank you so much Arlene.
Oh wow, Suzanne. This really does look delicious — and so does the dessert. I just finished lunch and it’s enough to make me hungry again. 😀 Enjoy your pre-Halloween activities. Mega hugs.
Thank you so much Teagan, both were wonderful, working on Halloween, just finished a meeting a little while ago. I’m worn out. Thanks again,
Looks absolutely delicious!
Lily
Thank you so much Lilly.
Suzanne, that is one gorgeous looking cauliflower cake!!
Thank you so much Archana!
This is absolute gorgeous Suzanne!! I am pinning this will give this a try. Thanks for this great share.
Thank you so much Sumith, it’s such a lovely cake and a savory cake is something I have never tried before.
Both cake and crumble look amazing Suzanne, cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies. Take care.
Thank you so much Cheri, cauliflower I think is my favorite, second is eggplant.
I hope you find balance soon, Suzanne! So hard when you feel pulled in different directions and overwhelmed. Thank you for reminding me of this cauliflower cake! I made it when I first got this book and just loved it. I need to make it again soon. And your crumble sounds divine…I love sweetening with maple syrup. Hang in there and hugs to you!
Thanks Hannah, when things get to busy I feel disorganized and it’s confusing. I am not a good multi tasker. I love the cookbook as well and plan on making more from it. Everything looks so incredible you can’t help but want to make it all. Thank you so much.
Such a beautiful adaption of the cauliflower cake, Suzanne! It looks gorgeous!
Thank you so much Freda. It’s a terrific recipe.
I have a fresh head of cauliflower in the fridge, yay! But I don’t have a spring form pan. Do you think I could just make this in a deep glass pie dish? My other question is are you going vegetarian in your new diet? You don;t have to answer if it’s too personal… xoxo
Hi Kathryn, You don’t have to use a spring form pan, I think it would work just as well in any deep pan. I don’t think a regular cake pan or pie pan would be deep enough as there is quite a lot of batter. No, not vegetarian, it just happens that most of what I make now involves vegtables and anything I have made with meat is pretty uninteresting. I have thought about it though, not for health reasons but ethics. Thanks so much.
It doesn’t matter either way to me my friend!!! xxoo
:o)
Hey Suzanne! I made Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake a few months ago and it is sooo delicious! Great post! 😀
Thanks Julianna, isn’t it a wonderful cake. So flavorful. Thanks so much.
Cauliflower cake looks soooooo appetizing Suzanne!! Bookmarking it!!
Love the crumble too!! I must buy a cook book by ottolenghi! Loved the post!!❤️
I love cauliflower and this sounds amazing
Love the cauliflower cake, I’ve seen it before but never made it, maybe it’s time?! xx
Loving both recipes. I’ve never tried making this type of eggy cake before. Easy to make as well. And I love cauliflower at this time of year. Just don’t start me on crumbles! I remade my pear, caramel and crumble tart recently – and greedily ate the whole thing (just in case it would go off!). Yums. 🙂
Omg Johnny so nice to see you. Thank you so much. I happily ate the crumble since there was almost no sugar and very little flour. How are you, haven’t seen any posts from you are you still blogging?
Ah, supposed to be! I’ve made three batches of pumpkin pie (as tartlets) during the week, and none of them were usable for photos (even though they tasted great). The only pumpkins I can get here are carving, so the flesh is pale yellow which turns to a muddy brown when baked. Not photogenic!
I’m fine. Hoping you’re well. 🙂
What a beautiful, unique recipe–it looks and sounds wonderful!
Thank you so much Nancy.
Hey Suzanne– you’re back!! And that photo of yours looks every bit as delicious as the fancy cookbook version! Your healthy eating is so encouraging to eat better here… So do you have Halloween plans?? Does your neighborhood organize something? Hope it’s the best whatever you do. We will be driving home from San Francisco on Halloween– been here a couple weeks with my Ani & Brian and their new baby!! OK, well, fun to see your warm friendly posts again– take care Blog Buddy!! hugs hugs!
Thanks so much Rhonda. I am trying desperately to catch up on blog posts, working on it now and I know yours is in queue. Oh how wonderful that the baby arrived. I can’t wait to read about it. Thank you so much for the kind words, the cauliflower cake is fantastic. Yes, I am so busy right now. Halloween is huge here in Clinton Hill, we do it up big and I am on the planning committee so am working hard with my neighbors to get everything done. This coming week is crunch week, lots to do. So happy about the baby, congratulations and hugs and more hugs right back.
Hey Suzanne– hope you make it through all the work ahead and really have a blast on Halloween! Do you don a costume?? It sounds like you live in the best neighborhood– have a great time!! (and don’t worry about being behind on your blogging– you have so many people who love to read your posts– we’ll be patient…) hugs!
I absolutely love the creamy cider syrup Suzanne! I can think of a lot of fall treats to use it on. Great recipes!
This sounds very delicious Suzanne, I can imagine to make this with either cauliflower, broccoli or a mix 🙂
Cauliflower was only $1.99 a large head so I bought two this morning. Perfect timing as I have had fun making cauliflower rice and pizza so far. Now I have a cake to try!
Both of these look totally delicious, and perfectly compliment each other! I used to hate cauliflower, but there’s so many great recipes using it these days that I’ve totally fallen in love (who knew it tastes yum when you don’t just boil it haha!)
Love your cauliflower cake, it is something that I could definitely delve into. It looks like you are right on track with your great food choices, how’s it coming along. The pear crumble is definitely Fall inspired, I too baked a dessert with pears in it just last week.
2 lovely fab recipes but I made your lovely tasty apple-pear crumble + that cider syrup! Delicious!!! xxx
Cauliflower cake sounds delicious. I can’t wait to try it out for myself.