Herzhafte Bärlauch-Küchlein (savoury wild garlic cakes)
Small savoury cakes built on a quark batter with roughly chopped wild garlic folded in raw at the very end, which keeps its sharp, fresh bite intact rather than dulling it through cooking. Folding the wild garlic in rather than blending it through the batter is what leaves visible green flecks and pockets of concentrated flavour instead of an evenly muted green batter.
Prep15 min
Cook25 min
Servings4
Christoph's savoury wild garlic cakes, the leaves folded in raw at the very end so their sharp bite stays intact.
Ingredients
Written for a 6 cm round tin
Units
Temperature
Servings
Cakes
- 200 g quark rounded
- 3 eggs rounded
- 60 ml neutral oil rounded
- 200 g flour rounded
- 8 g baking powder rounded
- 5 g fine salt rounded
- 50 g fresh wild garlic leaves, roughly chopped rounded
- 60 g shredded cheese rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Grease or line 8 small tins or muffin cups.
- Whisk the quark, eggs and oil together in a bowl until smooth.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Fold into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Fold in the chopped wild garlic and shredded cheese, gently and briefly, until just distributed.
- Divide the batter among the tins. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden.
Notes
- Fold the wild garlic in raw, at the very end, without over-mixing. Wild garlic’s sharp, fresh flavour is what these little cakes are about; folding it in gently leaves distinct green flecks and pockets of flavour, while blending it through mutes and evens out the taste.
- Chop the leaves roughly, not finely. Larger pieces hold their character better through baking than a fine mince, which tends to disappear into the batter.
- Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. As with any quick batter, overworking it develops gluten and makes the cakes dense rather than tender.
- Best eaten warm the day they’re baked, though they reheat acceptably in a low oven.
Ingredient substitutions
- Wild garlic is only in season for a few weeks in spring; outside that window, a mix of finely chopped chives and a small garlic clove approximates the flavour, though not exactly.
- Any hard, well-flavoured cheese works here.
- A pinch of chili flakes in the batter adds a little heat.
From Christoph Mayer