This traditional Cypriot Olive Cake has all the authentic flavours and it’s quick and easy to prepare. Simply chop up the ingredients, mix them all together and bake! This olive cake makes a lovely savoury snack, or it can be served as a side dish with salads, soups or stews.
After the disappointingly gloomy spring weather, summer is finally in the air! The past few days have been beautifully sunny and warm in London, so I wanted to share one of my favourite recipes to make during the warmer months. This olive cake is bursting with delicious Mediterranean flavours, and its light and crumbly texture makes it the perfect savoury snack to take on picnics.
Why Make this Cypriot Olive Cake
This cake is quick and easy to make
Perfectly moist texture
Bursting with delicious Mediterranean flavours
It’s completely vegan
It's perfect for picnics and packed lunches
You won’t need any fancy baking equipment
Can be made a day or 2 in advance
How does Cypriot Olive Cake taste?
Although it's called a cake, the texture is actually more similar to a cross between a bread and a scone. It's packed with succulent black olives and fresh spring onions which gives the cake it's moistness, and the combination of dried mint, thyme and Aleppo chilli flakes gives it a summery Mediterranean taste. If you like olive bread and savoury scones, you'll love this recipe!
How to Serve Cypriot Olive Cake:
This olive cake can be served hot or cold as a delicious savoury snack , or it can be served as a side with salads, soups or stews.
Ingredients for the Cypriot Olive Cake
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this cake:
Soya milk – The milk will help to the to bind the dry ingredients. I’ve used soya milk in this recipe, but any plant-based milk will do.
Flour - You'll need all-purpose flour to make this cake. You could you wholemeal flour, but the texture will come out a little more dense.
Aquafaba - Aquafaba is essentially the liquid in which chickpeas or other pulses have been cooked in. Aquafaba makes a great, neutral-tasting substitute for eggs in vegan baking. If you don't have any aquafaba, you can use an additional 120ml of soya milk instead. I've used the liquid from one 400g can if chickpeas, which is usually about 120ml (1/2 cup) of aquafaba.
Chia seeds - I combined 2 tbsp chia seeds with the aquafaba to create the egg replacement. The thick, viscous mixture gives the baked cake a better texture and also helps to bind the ingredients.
Olive oil - You can use either regular olive oil or extra virgin olive oil. I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil as it intensifies the olive flavour in the cake.
Yoghurt - I’d recommend you use a vegan Greek style yogurt as it has a thicker consistency and a delicious, sour taste. I used the Alpro Greek style yogurt, but any vegan Greek-style yoghurt will do.
Baking powder - You'll need 3 tsp baking powder to help the cake rise and to give it a fluffy texture.
Spring onions - A few finely sliced spring onions will add a delicious flavour to the cake. If you don't have any spring onions you can use 80g finely chopped chives or brown onion instead.
Olives - I've used pitted black olives for this recipe, but other varieties of olives also work well. Whichever type of olive you use, just make sure that they are pitted. The salt content varies quite a bit with different types of olives, so check how salty your olives are and then adjust the amount of salt you add the the cake batter accordingly.
Aleppo Chilli flakes - The Aleppo chilli flakes add a slow-building heat and a delicious earthy, fruity taste to the dish. You could use different types of chilli flakes, but bear in mind that different types of chilli will have different levels of heat, so make sure to add it accordingly.
Mint and thyme -The mint and thyme will add a delicious earthy flavour to the cake. I've used a combination of dried mint and fresh thyme, but dried thyme would also work.
How to Make Cypriot Olive Cake
STEP 1:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC, 350ºF. Combine the aquafaba with 2 tbsp chia seeds and let it stand for 3-5 minutes or until the aquafaba has thickened.
STEP 2:
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the mint, salt, baking powder, black pepper and chilli flakes and whisk.
STEP 3:
Add the aquafaba and chia mixture, olive oil, vegan yogurt and soya milk to the bowl and combine everything with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be quite sticky and a little lumpy at this point.
STEP 4:
Stir in the olives, spring onions and fresh thyme until it's nicely combined. Prepare a 9×9 inch or similar sized baking tray by greasing it with vegan butter & lining it with baking paper. Spoon the mixture into the tray and spread evenly. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until golden on top. Leave it to cool down completely before slicing.
How to store Cypriot Olive Cake
Store the slices of cake in an airtight container and they’ll stay good for up to 3 days at room temperature, or store them in the fridge and they’ll keep well for up to 5 days.
Top Tips
I recommend using the gram measurements rather than the cup conversions. When it comes to baking, accuracy is key, and cup conversions are never as accurate as grams.
Let the cake cool down completely before slicing.
Make sure to use pitted olives for this recipe. Slice to olives so that you get an even distribution of olives throughout the cake.
This cake tastes even better the next day, so it's great for preparing in advance.