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Taverna: Recipes from a Recipes from a Cypriot Kitchen by Georgina Hayden

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I’ve included this recipe here as opposed to in the sweet chapter, because even though it is a cake and it is baked, it isn’t sweet per se. To be honest it isn’t overtly savoury either, and can work in a multitude of situations – a slab for breakfast, and afternoon treat, even on the side of a bowl of soup instead of bread. If you like halloumi you must give this a try. Halloumi. Cake. Enough said.

Serves 12

A knob of butter
250g self-raising flour, plus a little extra
6 sprigs of mint
250g halloumi
2 pieces of mastic and mehlepi (see page 17) (optional)
5 large eggs
125ml olive oil
200ml whole milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. Grease a bundt tin with the butter and dust with flour so it’s completely coated, tapping out the excess.

Pick the mint leaves, finely chop and place in a large mixing bowl. Coarsely grate in the halloumi. Crush the mastic and mehlepi with a teaspoon of flour, until finely ground, and add to the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk everything together until well mixed. Pour the batter into the flour bundt tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until cooked through. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.