Hearty Spinach Cake / Spinach Pie

When you think of Cake, you probably expect something sweet but in Germany, Spinach Cake is a hearty meal. When I googled “spinach cake” to get an idea what American spinach cakes look like, I was surprised to find a lot of sweet cakes that are simply green from the spinach ingredient but still had frosting and everything. So, this recipe is totally different!

Video Spinach Cake

For Easter and beyond

On Easter Sunday, families in Germany enjoy a rich easter brunch and a spinach cake is most likely part of it. There is no specific reason for it, I think. But the fact that it needs some eggs – and we need some egg shells to paint for easter decoration – might play a role. It’s bright green color also fits the spring theme and at the end of our grey German winter, everyone in Germany is craving spring colors. Yet, we don’t only eat spinach cake in spring or for easter, we also eat it year round. Especially if we want to bring something to a party, a spinach cake may come to our mind. It’s easy to prepare upfront, everyone likes it, it can be vegetarian (though not vegan) and one can eat it either warm or cold – though warm is definitely better!

With cheese on top

You can use the cheese you like: Gouda, Mozzarella, American Cheese, … it should have enough fat though to melt nicely! I like gouda for this recipe and I don’t only put it into the filling, I also like to sprinkle it on top. This extra layer of cheese not only looks delicious, it tastes great, too and adds another dimension of taste if you know what I mean.

Spinach Cake

A hearty German Spinach Cake recipe

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch (or Dinner), Main Course, Snack

Cuisine German

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Dough

• 250 g Flour (2 cups or 8 ounces)
• 150 g Butter cold / in slices
• ½ tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp. cold Water

Filling

• 600 g frozen Spinach (21.1 oz)
• 2 Leeks
• 1 bundle Parsley
• 1 Tbsp. Oil for the pan
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 4 Eggs
• 125 ml Milk (1/2 cup or 4.22 fl. ounces)
• 125 ml Cream (1/2 cup or 4.22 fl. ounces)
• 150 g Shredded Cheese (1 cup or 4 ounces)
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

 

• Thaw the spinach.
• Knead the cold Butter with the Flour, Salt, and Water until you have a smooth dough.
• Cover the bowl with the dough and let it chill in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Wash the Leek and the Parsley, then cut the Leek into rings and chop the Parsley.
• Heat the Oil in a pan, then add the Leek. Let fry for a bit, then add the garlic.
• Now add the spinach and let it all fry until the liquid from the spinach has evaporated.
• Take the pan off the stove and add the Parsley.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it to the size larger than your baking pan.
• Prepare the baking pan with some parchment paper on the bottom and some butter at the sides.
• Press the baking pan lightly on the dough for a moment. The indention shows you the dimension of your pan and helps you cutting out the right size for the bottom.
• Preheat the oven to 435°F / 225°C.
• Put the dough for the bottom into the pan, then knead the remaining dough.
• Divide the remaining dough into halves, shape each half into a string and use it to cover the sides of the baking pan. Try to cover the sides as high as possible.
• Use a fork to poke into the bottom of the pan several times.
• In a large bowl mix the eggs with the milk and cream. Add salt and pepper and whisk a little to dissolve the salt and pepper.
• Add the cheese. Optional keep some cheese for the top.
• Add the content of the pan (spinach, leek etc.) to the egg mix and stir well.
• Fill the baking pan with the mix. Optional sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
• Bake for about 30 minutes (might take longer if your ingredients were very wet. Check if the filling is solid, that's when you can take it off the oven.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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