Variety is the sweet or savoury spice of life - Saltaire Clandestine Cake Club

You might well ask if there is such a thing as a savoury cake. And you would be forgiven to think carrot or courgette cake. To me, these are sweet cakes. We’re talking real, honest to goodness savouriness such as ham, olives, cheese; not a spoonful of sugar in sight … hopefully you get the picture?

We’ve had a few savoury themes in the past and they have been extremely interesting and great antidote to the inevitable sugar rush of all that sugar and buttercream.

This event was no different with an array of interpretations of the theme and combinations of flavours and textures. Stilton cheesecake, apricot & feta, ham & olive featured amongst the savouries. Our sweet cakes (or what I like to call our ‘pudding’!) were a very sumptuous carrot cake (recipe from our very own Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook), beetroot & chocolate and a citrus syrup cake.

Our very welcoming hosts for the evening were Vicars Bistro in Saltaire.

This is a non-profit social enterprise, café by day and bistro by night (on Friday & Saturday evenings). Vicars offer delicious food and drink; all their menus and events are detailed on their website. They support several local and international causes one of which is a Zimbabwean HIV care programme and orphanage. A corner of the earth that holds very special place in my heart being my land of birth! One of their local causes is their successful fund raising campaign called ‘Suspended Coffee’ where customers to their café can purchase an extra coffee and/or cake whereby that money goes towards providing food for someone in greater need.