Cake au Thon (Tuna Cake)

Say what?!?! Yes...your eyes aren’t deceiving you...tuna cake...this is a regular in French kitchens and yet I had heard of its existence just a few weeks ago. It wasn’t part of my mom’s daily repertoire as we were growing up…and well honestly my mom didn’t cook French food very often…aside from boeuf bourguignon (burgundy beef), coq au vin (chicken in wine stew), and hachis parmentier (sort of Sheppard’s pie)…we were more likely to see chicken curry and dhal or simple western dishes such as spaghetti bolognaise on the table. I guess for one thing my mom was cooking dishes that my dad would enjoy and identify with…and she was making dishes that were fast and easy as being a mother of two doesn’t always allow the time to prepare gourmet meals.

So just recently my mom got hold of a recipe for cake au thon…tuna cake…and so she decided to make it…she loved it so much that gave me the recipe…and at first the name just didn’t sit right with me…tuna cake…sure there aren’t any sweet ingredients…so it’s not that kind of a cake…but still…just the words tuna and cake together seemed strange…but at my mom’s insistence about how good it is I decided to bake it…and you know what? This is really really good! It’s tasty…and filling…you can have a few slices with a salad and you’re set to go. Sometimes you just have to try things…at least once to know if it’s something you’d like.

Tuna Cake

You can choose to change up the filling for this. My mom likes to use pine nuts and green olives. Next time I make this I'm thinking about adding in sundried tomatoes as well. It's so simple to make and it makes a great meal.

3 eggs
100ml milk
80ml olive oil
100g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Handful of chopped basil
Handful of sliced black olives
1/2 handful of capers
1 1/2 cans of tuna, drained (I use 1 can of chilli tuna and half a can of tuna in water)
1 handful grated gruyere cheese (I didn't have gruyere and used emmenthal)

Preheat oven to 200C. Mix the eggs, milk, oil, flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the basil, olives, capers, and tuna. Pour into a loaf pan and sprinkle on top with the cheese. Bake 40-45 mins.