Cake salé with white asparagus and pancetta

A postcard from the forest’s edge

Welcome to The Bakers’ Cottage – a newsletter about recipes, stories, and the quiet rhythm of baking in the north. If you’re new here, thank you for reading. And if you’ve been following along – I’m so glad to have you back.

Today’s post is a postcard from the forest’s edge – a quiet afternoon, a spring picnic, and a savoury loaf I’ve been making for nearly twenty years. There’s a recipe just below, and a few ways to serve it, depending on the day.

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Friday afternoon. Warm, with a soft breeze. The tulips almost blooming. Pea shoots curling up their tendrils.

We packed a näverkorg [birch-bark basket] and walked to the trunk of a tree that fell years ago – now half-covered in moss and surrounded by bilberries and lingon. I pan-fried slices of cake salé – white asparagus, pancetta, wild garlic, Västerbottensost – in butter, until golden. Served them with whipped crème fraîche, lemon, and a piping bag of Kalix caviar.

K. and Sienna explored the forest paths, counting ants on the myrstack [ant hill]. I stood by the pan, listening to the birds and the butter.

Before we left, we planted rhubarb in a raised bed K. had built – just where the pines begin. Canada Red. Not for now. For next summer.

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Cake salé with asparagus, pancetta, wild garlic, and Västerbotten cheese

This is a recipe I’ve been making for close to twenty years. In France, cake salé is a staple – the kind of thing you’ll find on a picnic table, served with a green salad for a light lunch, or sliced into fingers for an apéro. It’s simple, adaptable, and always welcome.

The batter is forgiving and endlessly flexible. You can fold in whatever you have on hand – bits of cheese, herbs, roasted vegetables, leftover pancetta or ham.

Some of my favourite combinations are:

• prunes, goat’s cheese, and bacon

• pitted green and black olives, cubed Emmental, and walnuts

• sun-dried tomatoes, feta, pine nuts, and coriander

But in the spring, I nearly always turn to asparagus and wild garlic. This version, with Västerbotten cheese and crisp pancetta, is one I return to often.

It’s delicious on its own, still warm from the oven – but I never turn down a dollop of crème fraîche and a spoonful of Kalix caviar.

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MAKES one loaf cake, serving 6–8 as an appetiser or a light meal

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For the mix-ins

250 g white asparagus, peeled and trimmed
150 g pancetta, thinly sliced
8–10 wild garlic leaves
80 g Västerbotten or Comté cheese

For the loaf cake

2 eggs
150 g full-fat Greek yoghurt
150 g plain flour
2½ tsp baking powder
35 g olive oil
Salt and black pepper

To serve

200 g crème fraîche
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt, to taste

160 g Kalix caviar or fish roe of your choice

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

1 lemon, cut into wedges

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Preheat the oven

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / fan 180°C.

2. Butter a 1.5 L loaf tin and line with baking paper.

Prepare the mix-ins

1. Blanch the asparagus in boiling salted water for 6–8 minutes, until just tender. Cool in iced water or under cold running water. Slice into 1 cm pieces, reserving two spears halved lengthways to decorate the top.

2. Fry the pancetta in a hot pan until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool.

3. Finely chop the wild garlic. Coarsely grate the cheese. Set aside until needed.

Make the batter

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yoghurt, olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Fold into the wet mixture until just combined.

3. Add the chopped asparagus, pancetta, wild garlic, and grated cheese. Fold gently until evenly distributed.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and arrange the reserved asparagus spears on top.

Bake

1. Bake for 45–55 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

2. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Make the whipped crème fraîche

1. Whisk the crème fraîche with lemon juice and salt until thick.

To serve

1. Warm from the oven
   Let the loaf rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve while still slightly warm. Add a fresh side salad, a dollop of whipped crème fraîche, a generous spoonful of caviar, and a few lemon wedges.

2. Room temperature
   Perfect for picnics or buffet spreads. Slice and arrange on a platter. Garnish each slice just before serving.

3. Next-day, pan-fried
   Slice into thick pieces and fry in a knob of butter for 2 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp at the edges. Especially lovely with the cool, thick crème fraîche and caviar on top.

4. Plated
   Place a warm or toasted slice on a small plate. Top with a scattering of finely chopped chives, a spoonful of whipped crème fraîche, a generous teaspoon of Kalix caviar or roe, and a lemon wedge on the side.