Bovril is probably the last ingredient you would expect to use in a cake, but try this bovril cake and be pleasantly surprised. As strange as it may sound, it really does work magic for the taste buds! Its sweet and savoury combination is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Quick and easy to make, this Bovril cake is super soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy golden on the outside. To give the cake its salty taste, simply melt butter and Bovril together in the microwave and pour over the cake. The cake is best served warm, sliced and piled with mild cheddar cheese.
As a variation, bake the cake in muffin pans for morning tea. While it is fun to make these smaller Bovril “cakes”, the usual method is to bake it in a single cake pan.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Since its invention in 1870, Bovril has become an icon of British culture. It is commonly associated with football culture, since during the winter British football fans in stadium terraces often drink it from thermos flasks.
- In the film In Which We Serve, the officers on the bridge are served “Bovril rather heavily laced with sherry” to warm them up, after being rescued during the Dunkirk evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force.
- British mountaineer Chris Bonington appeared in TV commercials for Bovril in the 1970s and 1980s in which he recalled melting snow and ice on Everest to make hot drinks.
Ingredients
TOPPING
- 115 gram melted butter
- 15 ml bovril
- 1 cup of fine grated cheddar cheese
CAKE MIX
- 80 ml butter
- 200 ml sugar
- 1 egg
- 200 gram flour
- 2 ml salt
- 250 ml milk
- 10 ml baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Mix the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg and mix well.
- Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the mixture, gradually adding the milk.
- Pour into a greased oven dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.
- In a sauce pan, melt the butter and Bovril.
- When the cake is removed from the oven, prick the cake with a fork to make even holes.
- Pour the Bovril mixture over the cake.
- Sprinkle with the cheese. The heat from the cake will melt the cheese.
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