Cake salé or savory quick bread? Just call it delicious

A cheese loaf that's good for brunch, soup suppers or nibbling with wine

Hello! Hello!

I’ve got a thing for what the French call cake salé. Salé means salty or savory and cake, for the French, means anything sweet or savory – other than bread – that’s baked in a loaf pan. It can be confusing, but it’s always tasty.

A cake salé is so much a part of the French way of eating – and entertaining – that you can buy all kinds of them in bakeries and supermarkets. The famous frozen food chain, Picard, always stocks a few different cakes and a lot of my Paris pals keep one on hand at all times, ready for when friends stop by for a drink. While the cakes are great for a bunch of things – think brunch or alongside soup – my French friends are most likely to cut them into cubes or fingers and offer the cake during apéro, that delicious moment before dinner when a glass of wine and a nibble is most appreciated.