Zaatar Cake
My mom called me last week and told me she has been making this cake for the past few months and it has been a hit with the family and her friends. I didn’t know what to expect but let me tell you this is a fantastic recipe! It is darn good and so easy to make that no one is intimidated to make it! This zaatar cake needs very little effort and only a handful of ingredients to be made. It is full of flavor, super moist, and gives the house such a beautiful aroma.
What Zaatar is used in this Zaatar Cake?
For those who may be wondering, zaatar is the Arabic word for a few things. Many of you may know zaatar as that seasoning blend made up of sesame seeds, sumac, fine dried thyme, and fine dried oregano. Zaatar however is also the name for oregano and/or thyme in Arabic.
Any zaatar can be used in this recipe but dried or fresh oregano would be best as it has the most flavor. It also goes beautifully with the cheese in the batter. I promise you that you will be enjoying a slice daily of this savory zaatar cake.
This is the type of dish that you can make on the weekend with your children and enjoy with a warm cup of mint tea. It also goes perfectly served with some fresh tomato and cucumber slices on the side. I love it along with some fresh cheese as well. It really is a delightful bite that I urge you to try. It is definitely a recipe that will be on repeat in my household and I am sure for many of you as well. Just give it a try!
Here are a few other recipes with zaatar that you should make sometime:
Za’atar Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Vegetable oil You can use olive oil or do half of each oil
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- Sprinkle of salt
- 1 cup Dried Oregano or Fresh Oregano (Za'atar) Za'atar seasoning mix will work as well but it will not be as potent in flavor
- 1 cup Arabian cheese or Queso Fresco cheese, cubed or Nabulsi cheese, halloumi cheese, feta cheese, (about 5 oz)
Topping
- 1/2 cup Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Prep a 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- First, mix together the oil, milk, and eggs very well together.
- To this, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and za'atar. Mix together until creamy and smooth. Then, add the chunks of cheese and gently mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepped pan 3/4 of the way because the cake will rise when it bakes. Top off with sesame seeds evenly throughout.
- Bake for about 40 minutes. Broil for a minute to achieve a light brown color on top. Check the center of the cake by inserting a toothpick and checking doneness. It should come out clean if the cake is done. If not, keep it in a few minutes longer. Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into the cake. Enjoy as is with a cup of mint tea or with a side of fresh cheese and veggies.
Notes
25 Comments
Makarem
Literally my new favorite breakfast!! Its so easy to make and tastes amazing!
Maysam
Wallahi, this has got to be the easiest thing to make!!! The za’atar cake is so light it absolutely tastes great with a cup of tea. Thank you Heifa for the recipe
Hadeel
So simple to make and came out delicious! Super light and moist! I definitely love savory more than sweet and this was amazing! Definitely making this again and again!
Heifa
So do I! I am happy you enjoyed it !
Dalia
Best savory cake you could ever make. Everyone loved it. Thank you for this amazing recipe
Mahja
It’s definitely a family favorite. We finished half of the zataar cake while it was still steaming hot. 😋
Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Safaa Abdelfatah
Such a delicious, easy recipe that the whole family enjoyed! Will definitely be making it again.
Ruba
Delicious and moist it was so easy to make too! Perfect with a cup of maramia or mint tea.
Maysam
Love love the zataar cake! So light & tasty. Definitely will be making more to freeze
Lena
This was amazing! It was like eating moajinat with out the headache and mess! Can’t wait to make it again this week!
Jasmin
Amazing cake!! So soft and savory. You can change up the cheeses and it still tastes so good! Tastes perfect with honey on top too. And so easy to make!!!
Yasmin
Incredibly simple and yet incredibly delicious! Everyone loved it. Tried in a loaf tin and worked great as well. I like to add more zaatar than the recipe calls because I love the flavor, but it is amazing as is.
Heifa
Thank you, Yasmin! So happy you like it!
HAF
This looks AMAZING – can’t wait to make it!!
If I’m using zaatar mix (what I have at home), should I use more than 1 cup because you said the flavour may be less potent?
Also for cheese – if I choose to go with feta or mozeralla cheese, do I still add them in cubes and about a cup?
Thanks!
Claire
This is soooo tasty! I just used the mozzarella cheese that I had on hand and used half fresh oregano and half dried. I sliced up some cucumber and tomatoes with it. Both comforting and refreshing, this zaatar cake is definitely a new favorite recipe! Thank you for sharing! Xoxo.
Rana Elkhatib
Delicious recipe, took less than 10 minutes to get ready and exactly 35 min in the oven and tasted so good right out of the oven !
Rana
It’s sensational! So moist and delicious. I used Halloumi cheese instead and increased the quantity coz we are cheese lovers! And it turned out to be very delicious. Was part of the games night dinner I made and it was wiped out right away. Making this again for sure.
Sumayyah
This zaatar cake was delicious mashAllah 😋😋 I loved it and with a cup of mint tea even better 👌 this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for the recipe. I did use zaatar blend (1cup) and it worked and I used 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Next time I would just add more cheese because we love cheese 😃
@_plattersbyd
Loved this zaatar cake so much! I used fresh oregano leaves, nabulsi cheese and half cup olive and half vegetable oil instead of all veg. Oil. Can’t wait to make it again, it’s super easy and delicious. Thank you Heifa♥️
Diana
Loved this zaatar cake recipe so much! I ised fresh oregano leaves, nabulsi cheese and half cup vegetable oil and onother half olive oil. It turned out so delicious and I can’t wait to make it again but will be using a bigger pan for next time. Thank you Heifa♥️
Summer
This was amazing! Literally took no effort! The only thing i did differently was use oat milk which i had to cook a 10 minutes longer! My family loved it, it a great breakfast and snack. This is definitely something i have to make probably every couple of days because it’s already half way gone after just making it! Thank you Heifa for sharing your tasty and easy to make recipes with the world!
Tala
Amazing recipe and it was so easy to make!! My family loved it!
Heifa
Awesome to hear that!
Fatima
I tried this cake twice, and both times it was a huge hit! It was insanely easy, and honestly, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. It’s my go-to cake recipe from now on. If you’re debating making this, consider this a sign to get in the kitchen and do it!
PS: I used Fetta cheese and it was PERFECT.
Heifa
Yes!! Isn’t it amazing?? We love it in our household too!