Cauliflower Bake
Cauliflower has two failure modes: raw, or collapsed into mush. Four minutes in boiling water is exactly the line where it is soft outside and still holds. The custard here uses no flour: cream and eggs give a light, set base instead of a thick béchamel that buries the vegetable.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 1 h 10 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 260 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: a 22×30 cm dish, 6 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Break up and blanch
Divide into florets and boil in salted water for 4 minutes. A knife should meet slight resistance in the stem — that is the line you want.
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Step 2: Dry them
Drain for 5 minutes and blot with a towel. Water trapped in the florets dilutes the custard and stops it setting.
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Step 3: Make the custard
Beat the eggs with cream, mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper and stir in two thirds of the cheese. The mustard does not make it hot — it sharpens the cheese.
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Step 4: Assemble
Arrange the florets cut side up in a buttered dish so the custard runs between them rather than past them, and pour it over.
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Step 5: Bake
Scatter over the rest of the cheese and bake 35–40 minutes at 180 °C, until golden on top and set at the edges.
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Step 6: Let it stand
Ten minutes before serving lets the centre finish setting.
Tips & variations
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Tip
A spoon of vinegar or lemon juice in the blanching water keeps the cauliflower white. Without it, hard water greys it slightly.
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Tip
Use a well-aged cheese — cheddar, gouda, parmesan. Young cheese stretches but has little flavour, and the bake tastes of nothing.
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Variation
Classic British cauliflower cheese uses a béchamel: 40 g butter, 40 g flour, 500 ml milk. The version here is lighter and gluten-free.
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Storage
Three days in the fridge. Reheat covered in the oven so the custard does not dry out and weep.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 260 kcal | 1,560 kcal |
| Protein | 14 g | 84 g |
| Fat | 18 g | 108 g |
| Carbohydrates | 10 g | 60 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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