Breakfast Veggie Crinkle Cake
Posted on: April 18, 2024. Updated on: April 19, 2024.
by Carolina Gelen
Table of Contents
Popularized by @RaminaSaidWow on TikTok a few years ago, crinkle cake has seen lots and lots of takes and twists from online creators. I wanted to explore the savory side of this typically sugar-drenched treat, so I decided to put my spin on in and make it for breakfast. I packed my crinkled phyllo pastry with freshly sliced veggies and drowned it in a rich, spiced egg yolk custard.
The resulting veggie crinkle cake turned out to be irresistible: soft and tender pastry on the inside, sweet, deliciously roasted veggies in each bite, with an invitingly flaky exterior, brushed with fragrant garlic and parsley. SIGN ME UPPPP!!!
This veggie crinkle cake is the perfect thing to serve at your next breakfast gathering and a guaranteed crowd pleaser!
How to make the veggie crinkle cake
Step 1: Crinkle the store-bought pastry in a circular motion and pack it in a skillet.
Step 2: Pack the crinkled phyllo pastry with a mix of thinly sliced veggies. In the picture, you’ll notice a mix of leeks, red bell peppers, carrots, summer squash and Yukon gold potatoes. That said, this is the step of this recipe you can really have fun with, so make it your own and use whichever veggies you prefer—think cauliflower, onions, shallots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, butternut squash, jalapeños, beets, radishes, eggplant, cabbage leaves, turnips, and more. Have fun with it!
Step 3: Brush the pastry with a quarter cup of extra-virgin olive oil and season the veggie-packed pastry with a hefty pinch of salt on top. Bake until the pastry looks golden brown on top and feels hard and crusty to the touch.
Make the spiced custard mixture: egg yolks, whole milk, spices and a hefty pinch of salt, then pour that mixture all over the baked pastry. Return the skillet in the oven and bake it at a lower temperature, until most of the custard has been absorbed and cooked in the pastry, while the top is crusty and flaky to the touch.
Step 4: As soon as the pastry comes out the oven, brush the top with garlic and parsley oil for some extra flavor in each bite. Using a serrated knife, slice the cake into wedges and serve warm.
How to serve the veggie crinkle cake
You can serve the cake warm, as soon as it comes out the oven, as is—similar to how you would serve a croissant for breakfast, or another morning pastry. If you want to step things up a notch, top the pastry with a soft boiled or poached egg and let the yolk flood those veggie-packed crinkles. A dollop of cold crème fraîche, sour cream, cream cheese, or some room temperature butter righty on top will also do!
Looking for more breakfast recipes?
Try my spicy everything cheddar biscuits for an inviting morning treat, my soft and tender banana bliss pancakes for a sweet breakfast, the very best crepes with a homemade chocolate hazelnut spread, or my super fun breakfast egg rolls.
Breakfast Veggie Crinkle Cake
Servings: 6 to 8
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226g) store-bought phyllo pastry, thawed in the fridge overnight
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and topping
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups thinly sliced mixed vegetables
- 1/2 small red bell pepper
- 1/2 small Yukon gold potato
- 1/2 small carrot
- 1/2 small zucchini
- 1/2 small leek
- other veggies you could use: onion, shallots, cherry tomatoes, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, roughly crushed
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Make the veggie crinkle cake: Brush a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or round baking dish with oil on the bottom.
- Open the phyllo package and lay the phyllo sheets flat on your work surface. Working with 2 phyllo sheets at a time, crinkle the sheets together and arrange them in a circular motion in the skillet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets until the base of the skillet is completely covered in crinkled phyllo.
- Stuff the sliced veggies in between the phyllo sheets.
- Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil on top and season with a pinch of salt all over the top. Place in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden on top and hard to the touch.
- Remove the cake from the oven and reduce the heat in the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a medium bowl, combine the yolks, milk, fennel, paprika, garlic, a few cracks of black pepper and a hefty pinch of salt.
- Pour the mixture over the baked crinkled phyllo and veggies.
- Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the garlic, parsley, and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Brush the garlic and parsley using a pastry brush all over the top of the veggie crinkle cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Slice the veggie crinkle cake into wedges and serve warm.
I love this! Thank you!!
I clicked on the stars to get brought to the review, not to rate it.🤦🏽♀️ I wonder how often that happens. Sorry about that!
Really good! Love this modern style Börek, it’s very yummy! Even my one year old loved it 🙂
We used two packs of yufka and I did put some Feta on it for the last 15 Minutes.
found you with your raspberry vinaigrette, exploring more of your lovely looking recipes 😄
Family loved this for Sunday brunch. Thanks for blessing us with this recipe
Can I pre cook the first step of crinkle cake and then add yolk/milk mixture later and finish baking? I’m having guests and I wondered if I could pre cook any part of this to just finished right before they come
Absolutely! That is a great idea to cut your prep time in half the day of serving it 🙂
I love this recipe! I add dill, as well as parsley for the topper. I can use so many of my homegrown vegetables, too. Delicious!
Sooooo good If you are looking for something different and have a little time and patience This is it I had to stop myself from eating all of it
Any thoughts about swapping the whole milk for a non-dairy option? e.g., suggestions on what non-dairy option would taste the best, whether it’s a 1-1 swap, different cooking time, etc.
Any non-dairy milk will work as a substitute for the whole milk in this recipe: soy, oat, almond, even coconut milk!
Would this work with puff pastry in place of the phyllo? Your recipes are so different and inventive. I just saved the ones on the NYT website.
I’m so happy to hear that! Puff pastry has much more fat compared to phyllo pastry, so it won’t work as well in this scenario. I would say flour tortillas would work better than puff pastry in this case, they would crisp us nicely and absorb the liquid well.
Hi! Do you know if this would freeze well or be good for the next few days? Really appreciate your help 🙂
Definitely! It would freeze well, but also keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I tried this today and it was really fantastic. I am going to add this to my regular rotation and try different topings and spices! I have been following you for a while on social media and this is the first recipe I tried out. Excited to try more!