Rachel Khoo: Savoury apéritif cake

With 1 April looming, you could call this my gastronomic version of an April-fool prank (I’ll admit, it’s fairly tame). This tasty cake masquerades as your average sweet pound cake, but the surprise comes when you cut it open to reveal the savoury studded interior.

Apéritif cakes became all the rage in France a few years ago and often make their way on to a pre-dinner spread in someone’s home. This one keeps very well for a couple of days, thanks to the moist addition of the courgette, so it’s handy to have around for nibbling on with a glass of wine after a hectic day.

Savoury apéritif cake

Serves 4

3 medium eggs

25g caster sugar

250g plain flour

1 tsp sea salt

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

100ml buttermilk

150ml olive oil

100g sun-dried tomatoes

80g pitted black olives

60g hazelnuts

1 medium courgette (approx 130g)

100g soft goat’s cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan assisted)/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper. Beat the eggs with the caster sugar. Measure out the flour, sea salt, baking powder and paprika in a separate bowl, then fold into the eggs, followed by the buttermilk and olive oil. Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes, olives and hazelnuts and add to the batter. Grate the courgette on the coarse side of a box grater and add. Crumble in the goat’s cheese in bite-sized chunks.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean. You want it to have a lovely golden crust. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes then turn out. Serve in small pieces as an apéritif nibble or in large slices at a picnic.