Cauliflower cake from Plenty More (page 258) by Yotam Ottolenghi

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    This recipe is on p.246 in the US edition.

  • nlehrer on April 21, 2026

    So yummy and looks beautiful! Per the comments, I added more spices: ground mustard seed and curry powder, inspired by a different Ottolenghi recipe for cheesy mustardy cauliflower

  • CourtneyT on September 22, 2025

    Not a quick recipe but easy and a great addition to a family feast. Based on reviews here, I added some cumin, seeded mustard and a dollop of greek yoghurt. I also threw in some mushrooms I needed to use up and gently toasted them first. It baked faster than the proscribed 40 minutes and was almost dry but everyone loved it.

  • Pandan on September 27, 2024

    This is also edible for people who dislike cauliflower. I wouldn’t really call it a cake, it was conceived more like a frittata or Spanish tortilla. I really liked it, also good cold in a lunchbox, but wasn’t a huge hit with my guests.

  • Delys77 on April 17, 2023

    We had something similar to this years ago in Paris at a little cafe, and this brought back those lovely memories. The addition of the flour and the baking powder gives you a nice bit of lift and the texture is definitely half way between a cake and a frittata. As per usual with Ottolenghi the flavours were excellent and the technique worked very well. Great hearty vegetarian main served with a salad. At our house this serves 4.

  • Ganga108 on October 29, 2021

    Ottolenghi says that cauliflower needs more attention. He says that it’s one of the most magnificent of all vegetables and is as versatile as potato. I reckon he is right. I don't cook with eggs, but wanted to make something with similar flavours. So I made a farinata using the other ingredients in the recipe. I hadn’t cooked Farinata for so long, years in fact – so long that I have forgotten how good it is. So it is back on the menu, with cauliflower, onions and parmesan. Farinata tastes a little like an omelette, and cooked right, it will slide right out of the pan. Served in wedges with a salad (and some Ottolenghi Celeriac Chips!), it makes a lovely lunch or light evening meal.

  • SuzyP on October 29, 2021

    Very very bland - not to repeat.

  • meginyeg on October 12, 2021

    This was way better than I anticipated. We would make it again. It rounded out a vegetarian meal nicely.

  • Shaxon on August 08, 2021

    Add crushed cumin. Consider roasted cauliflower instead of boiled for more flavor. This is basically like a frittata, so it is open to any creative variation - meat, vegetarian meat, asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, corn, etc.

  • anya_sf on August 01, 2021

    I'd made this years ago before I knew about EYB - remembered liking it and finally made it again. Lacking basil, I added some dried herbes de Provence and also supplemented the parmesan with cheddar. Baked 45 minutes, it was a bit overdone (should have checked sooner) but still very good. More seeds stuck to the parchment than the cake and I may not bother with them next time. I quite enjoyed this with some roasted cherry tomatoes.

  • mcvl on May 08, 2021

    I'm not a vegan, but my husband is, and I like to make him a treat from time to time, so I rigged up a vegan version, using JUST egg substitute (https://www.ju.st/products/just-egg), Earth Balance baking sticks to "butter" the springform (https://www.earthbalancenatural.com/baking-sticks), and Rebel Cheese Parmesan substitute (https://www.rebelcheese.com/). It was pleasant, and he was grateful.

  • Shaxon on March 21, 2021

    I used a large paella pan instead of springform so it finished in 30 minutes (400 deg f convection fan oven). I didn't have rosemary so I added a little sage but it didn't really come through. I served it with tomato & pomegranate salad from the same book. Good vegetarian brunch, lunch or dinner.

  • Frenchfoodie on December 20, 2020

    Looks great and is tasty too, breaking me out of a cauliflower cheese rut. Best as part of a spread with some punchier flavours,

  • jhallen on November 15, 2020

    This was good but not as great as I was expecting. It took much less cooking time than specified in the recipe for me.

  • TrishaCP on May 04, 2020

    We really liked this. I didn’t read the reviews prior to making this, but had I done so, I would have added mustard as mentioned below. I had the nigella seeds and they were really good here. I also used frozen cauliflower (#covidcooking) and it worked just fine.

  • Lepa on February 22, 2018

    This was fine but not as good as I expected from all the rave reviews. I make a similar cake with broccoli, cheddar and bisquick from a recipe my MIL got from her friend years ago (the lady was a home economics teacher in the 70's). That recipe is much easier (no pre-cooking for the broccoli and onions) and, I'm sorry to say, tastes better. If my family wasn't already loyal to broccoli cake, I imagine this would have been more exciting.

  • raybun on June 12, 2017

    I made this to take to a picnic and it was delicious! I followed general advice and added a dollop of whole grain mustard and some pesto to the mix.

  • ksg518 on March 20, 2017

    I know I'm late to the party with this recipe but what's one more review? We made this by the recipe except that we only had regular sesame seeds instead of the nigella seeds. I think that step might not be worth the effort in any event. I liked this fine although mine was a little dry; perhaps next time I'll add a few tablespoons of milk or cream. Overall, I thought this was a little on the bland side. But I plan to make this again in the summer with roasted peppers instead of the cauliflower.

  • e_ballad on September 03, 2016

    Really tasty - boosted the flavour even more by roasting the cauliflower while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. The Parmesan also made this sufficiently seasoned, so I've omitted the additional salt. As with everyone else, the leftovers were even better!

  • lorloff on February 07, 2016

    Really liked this served as a side side with roasted chicken. Will definitely make again. 8/6/23 I regularly make this for dinner parties. Most recently tried this substituting buckwheat flour 1 to 1 for the all purpose flour. It was deliciously flavorful but a little dense. Next time I will use ½ all purpose flour and ½ organic buckwheat flour.

  • dinnermints on August 09, 2015

    Good, but was expecting something more transcendental given the reviews. Also I think we overcooked it a bit. Nonetheless it was a hit at our brunch, served with irish soda bread, pistachio sausage patties, the fig salad in Plenty More and sliced melon.

  • emilyrf on July 22, 2015

    I made this without any turmeric, as I was cooking in someone else's kitchen and assumed that they must have some, (I seem to have at least 3 jars on the go at any one time), but it was nevertheless extremely tasty, and went down well with both my 90 year old grandmother and my 17 year old brother - not the easiest feat. I will admit to just using whichever small seeds I could get my hands on for the crust, but the lovely textural contrast between the crisp seeds and tender cauliflower made me glad I didn't skip it entirely. I'm definitely making this again, if only to use up some of that turmeric.

  • digifish_books on June 27, 2015

    Yay! I made it using the lesser quantities (as per my other note) and the method from 'The Guardian' link. The 'cake' came out perfect. Some minor modifications - 6 eggs (instead of 7), no fresh basil, only dried (it is winter here) and no nigella or black sesame seeds, just regular sesame seeds. Also added (as I like to do with all omelette/frittata recipes) 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt and 1 teaspoon sugar.

  • debkellie on June 23, 2015

    I was inspired to make this after reading notes this week about disputed quantities.. my variant halved quantities in the book version, and didn't quite follow specified technique - it seemed bizarre to add the eggs to the onion and to mush the cauli .. so I made the batter and added the onions to it; poured the batter into the tin, and pushed microwaved cauli florets into the batter, so they stayed whole. I also subbed in mascarpone in place of hard cheese.. it was delicious! And even with half quantities there's still enough for 6!

  • ellabee on June 21, 2015

    Quantities in the book are those at the link in digifish's note. No doubt some recipes were adjusted from the version that first appeared in the Guardian during re-testing for the book.

  • digifish_books on June 21, 2015

    Quantities of some ingredients (e.g. cauliflower, eggs, parmesan) in the linked recipe are quite different from those on the Ottolenghi website (http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/cauliflower-cake-shop).

  • KarinaFrancis on June 20, 2015

    This is as good as they say. I had a little feta in the fridge so I added that too. I guess I'll have to make it again to find out if it is good the next day, no leftovers.

  • FJT on May 11, 2015

    This was easy to make and quite nice to eat - I don't think it really wowed me as much as I had expected. Fairly sure the family won't be putting in requests for me to make it again although they'd eat it if I served it up.

  • Bloominanglophile on May 02, 2015

    I thought this was good, but not spectacular. Leftovers, however, are ideal for the lunchbox!

  • chawkins on February 22, 2015

    Very good and very easy to prepare, but it does take a bit of time, because both the cauliflower and the onion/rosemary mixture need to cool down before you can proceed with the rest of the steps. It also did not help that I was distracted during the preparation by a herd of over a dozen deer grazing in my backyard.

  • MelissaM0223 on January 11, 2015

    Delicious! Skipped the nigella / sesame seeds, and used dried rosemary instead of fresh, but this was excellent. Takes a while so as noted, plan accordingly.

  • Zosia on November 10, 2014

    Beautiful, tasty, and not very complicated to make. I used thyme since it was all I had and it went wonderfully with the other ingredients. Leftovers, as has already been noted, were delicious.

  • Melanie on November 05, 2014

    Another success, this was tasty and relatively easy to make. Looks great and the leftovers are fantastic.

  • Cati on September 27, 2014

    Following Jane's notes decided I had to make before cauliflower season finished. Became an instant favourite especially since left overs will save me cooking tomorrow. I might cut down a little on the rosemary next time but possibly the new shoots on my young plant may have had more oil in them than an older plant.

  • Jane on September 25, 2014

    There are so many recipes I want to make from this book but this is the one that grabbed me first (mainly because I had all the ingredients at home). Well, all except basil so I subbed sage. This cooks for 45 mins then sits for 20 mins so plan accordingly. Really delicious and looks gorgeous with the cheesy bronzed crust on top and circles of red onion. YO says it's even better the next day so I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

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