Debatably Delectable Broccoli Cakes

I love broccoli. I love cake. I know zucchini bread is sweet and delicious, but savoury broccoli cake? I'll have to take Kitchenist's word for it and give this unusual recipe a try:

"While savoury broccoli cake might seem bizarre to some, I know that if anyone is going to appreciate this recipe's quirky character, it's Etsians. Surprisingly delicious, these mini cakes contain spices, cheese and an individual broccoli floret nestled in each one. Far richer than a muffin, they make great party food, and are also good served as part of a lavish afternoon tea."

Recipe below by Ele of Kitchenist, adapted from the beautiful Phaidon cookbook, Breakfast, Lunch, Tea by Rose Carraini.

You Will Need:

• Stand mixer or electric beaters
• 12-cup muffin tin, greased and floured well (or silicone)
• 12 trimmed broccoli florets (each one should fit into a muffin cup with room to spare)
• 275g (1 cup and 2.5 tbsp) butter, softened ?50g 
• (1/4 cup) sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 300g (1 1/4 cup) flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 60g (full 1/4 cup) strong cheddar cheese, grated

Prepare the broccoli.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Bring a pot of water to the boil and blanch the broccoli florets for 3 minutes. Rinse well in cold water to stop the cooking, then dry each floret well with paper towels and set aside.

Make the batter.

Beat the butter until soft and creamy, then add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix together the flour, baking powder, turmeric, cayenne and salt, and beat this into the wet ingredients as well. Finally, fold in the grated cheese with a spatula.

Floret your cakes.

Place one heaping tablespoonful of batter in the bottom of each muffin case, then tap the tin against the counter to spread batter out. Stand a single floret in each muffin case, and top with the remaining batter, dividing it evenly between the cases. Spread the batter over the top of each floret roughly, but don't worry about it looking perfect.

Bake!

Bake the cakes for approximately 30 minutes, until golden brown and hard to the touch. While baking, some butter will bubble up around each cake — you can mop this up with paper towels if you like, but don't worry too much about it. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before serving, but do try to eat on the same day.