Mezze Cake

Mezze Cake

This one genuinely blew us away the first time we made it. It looks like something you'd order at a fancy Mediterranean restaurant, but it's completely plant-based and comes together in about 40 minutes. You've got crispy griddled aubergine and courgette, proper homemade falafel, and flatbread all layered up in a cake tin so when you turn it out it looks absolutely stunning. The flavours are smoky, herby, and fresh all at once. Make this for a dinner party and watch everyone's faces when you slice into it.

Cook: 40 min
Serves 8

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 180°C
  • Food processor
  • Cake tin (lined with flatbread)
  • Griddle or large frying pan
  • Cook rice in advance

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines
  • 2 courgettes
  • 1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes - drained
  • 1 jar of artichokes - drained
  • 1 large pot of hummus
  • 1 portion of Baba Ganoush
  • 1 jar of tapenade
  • 1 flatbread
  • 1 handful of coriander - chopped
  • 100g basmati rice
  • chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp chilli powder - more to taste
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 can chickpeas - rinsed and drained
  • 1 garlic clove - roughly chopped
  • 1 handful of parsley
  • 1 small red onions - roughly chopped

Method

1

Prepare the falafel mix

  • Put all the falafel ingredients in a food processor, blend to a thick paste and put to one side
  • Meanwhile, cook the rice, following the instructions on the packet
2

Prepare the Mezze cake

  • With a sharp knife, cut the flat bread to the shape of your cake tin, and place in the base of the cake tin
  • Cut the aubergine and courgette into to 1cm thick slices
  • Then griddle on both sides of each slice until they're cooked through
  • Carefully and creatively layer each ingredient to build the cake using the remaining ingredients and rice (it's your cake, add what you want) - make sure the top layer is the falafel mixture
3

Bake and serve

  • Bake the cake at 180°C for 20 minutes, then take it out of the oven
  • Spread a layer of Hummus on top of the cake, and decorate it as well as you can!
  • Carefully remove the cake from the tin, and cut into slices to serve

Tips & Variations

  • Get a good griddle char: Don't rush the aubergine and courgette. Let them sit on the griddle long enough to get proper dark lines, that's where all the flavour comes from.
  • Flatbread base matters: Cut it nice and neat to fit snugly in the tin, it acts like a crust and holds the whole cake together when you flip it out. A bit of patience here pays off.
  • Make the falafel mix ahead: You can blend the falafel mix the night before and keep it in the fridge. It actually gets better as it sits, and it means the actual build is super quick when you need it.

Why This Works

The trick here is griddling the aubergine and courgette properly on both sides before layering, because that's what gives the whole thing that deep smoky flavour rather than just steamed veg. The cake tin is the real magic though, it holds everything together so you get those gorgeous clean layers when you slice it. Trust us on this one, it looks way more impressive than the effort it takes.