Cake aux Olives et Jambon: Olive & Ham Loaf!!

I have this wonderful cookbook called PARIS BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries.

I have owned this book for 10 years and have never made a recipe from it!
Instead, I look at the photos of all the AMAZING pastries and artisan breads and drool.

I HAVE used this wonderful book as a guide to visiting the best bakeries while in Paris. I have never been disappointed. We have visited 5 out of the 13 bakeries so far. Hey, there is always next year.

A few months back my friend zen chef at Chefs Gone Wild blog made an interesting olive ham and gruyere loaf (he is French & knows what he is doing). It reminded me of the one we had at the famous STOHRER Patisserie located in the 2e arrondissement in Paris. (click on their website, it is a feast for the eyes).



A bit of history on this bakery:

Stohrer is the oldest bakery in Paris, and the original owner/baker was from Lorainne, France (I will be making a quiche Lorraine this week) back in the 1700's. The murals are gorgeous and were done in 1864 and are beautifully displayed behind gorgeous pastries and cakes. It is worth a visit. The cakes are works of art.

This cake is really a tea bread and is sold primarily on Fridays for Parisians to take to their country homes for the weekends.

Zen chef's recipe is different than the Stohrer recipe, but I liked zen's addition of sun dried tomatoes, so I made the Stohrer recipe but added the sun dried tomatoes.



If you make these in small loaf pans, they would make wonderful holiday gifts.



Cake aux Olives et Jambon: (from the book Paris, Boulangerie, Patisserie)

~ 2 cups minus 2 tbsp of flour
~ 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
~ 1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used a French Cotes de Rhone)
~ 1/2 cup of dry vermouth
~ 4 large eggs, beaten
~ 3/4 cup good olive oil (recipe calls for 200 ml)
~ 1 1/2 cups of chopped ham (I used smoked prosciutto), you can use bacon too
~ 1 1/2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese (I used the good AOC Comte...yummy)
~ 1 cup of green olives, *pitted and chopped roughly (use Lucques or Picholine please)
~ 1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes

* to pit the olives, just whack them with your chef's knife and the pit comes out easily

Oven at 350. Grease an 8 x 4 loaf pan.



Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, wine and vermouth. Mix gently just to incorporate.

Add the olive oil a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing until you have a smooth dough.
Add the ham, cheese, olives and tomatoes, mixing until just incorporated.

Bake about 50-55 minutes. Leave in the pan until cooled, then remove.

C'est magnifique!